Near-infrared Spectro-photometry of Carbon Stars

Antarctica offers probably the best ground-based conditions for observing in the 1–3  μ m region, and may thus be considered as an alternative to Space for this domain. We examine the potential of integral-field spectro-photometry over wide areas of the sky in this wavelength range for the study of carbon stars, that seems promising. On the other hand, the conditions of transparency, background, and their short-time stability from Antarctic sites still need to be evaluated.