Astronomy from the Antarctic Plateau

Dome A on the Antarctic Plateau may be the best site for astronomical telescopes on Earth, In the Mawson centennial year we should note that Australians have been pioneers in collecting these site test data. We now have an opportunity to join a Chinese project to build a 2.5 metre telescope at Dome A. This would be the most powerful infrared survey telescope anywhere. A two-micron survey of the southern hemisphere would find targets for spectroscopy with NASA's successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST. We would detect the first generation of stars to form in the Universe after the Big Bang and see the powerful supernovae that produce the first black holes.