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On the first day of CMBmas, the observatory Had a low PWV Telescopes like us are inconvenienced by water in the atmosphere emitting/blocking microwaves (same reason why a microwave heats food well). Luckily, the #Atacama desert has one of the lowest Precipitable Water Vapour amounts Earth.

On the second day of CMBmas, my telescope gave to me: Two optical designs 🔭🧪 and a low PWV We are fielding both refractors and a reflector in the Atacama Desert, (see our two previous threads for explainers!) bsky.app/profile/simo... bsky.app/profile/simo... Image credit: Elle Shaw

On the third day of CMBmas, my telescope gave to me: Three working SATs 🔭 Two optical designs and a low PWV Last winter, we fixed a cracked lens in one of our Small Aperture Telescopes. We put it back on its' platform and it's now scanning the sky again. (Timelapse made by Josh Borrow, UPenn)

On the fourth day of CMBmas, my telescope gave to me: Four Stokes components Three working SATs 🔭 Two optics designs and a low PWV Any light can be decomposed into the four so-called Stokes parameters: total intensity I, two linear polarizations Q and U, and circular V. SO measures I, Q and U.

On the fifth day of CMBmas my telescope gave to me: FIVE SCORE PAPERS Four parts of Stokes Three fine SATs 🔭 Two optics designs and a low PWV We have already published more that 100 papers describing the instruments and forecasting their performance! See them at that link: