Optical sky brightness at Dome C, Antarctica

Dome C, Antarctica is a prime site for astronomical observations in terms of climate, wind speeds, turbulence, and infrared and terahertz sky backgrounds (for example, see Aristidi et al. 2005; Storey et al. 2005). However, at present little is known about the optical sky brightness and atmospheric extinction. Using a variety of modelling techniques, together with data from the South Pole, the brightness of the night sky at Dome C is estimated in Kenyon & Storey (2006) including the contributions from scattered sunlight, moonlight, aurorae, airglow, zodiacal light, integrated starlight, diffuse Galactic light and artificial sources. The results are compared to Mauna Kea, Hawaii. We summarise the main conclusions.