Astronomers have found what they say is the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth. The 4,053 metre high-up site, known as Ridge A, has average winter temperatures of 70 degrees Celsius. The air is almost completely free of water, and there is nearly no turbulence in the air– making for perhaps the best telescope observing conditions on Earth. Astronomers have said before that they want to build telescopes at other plateau sites known as Dome A and Dome C, where a telescope could compete with ones two to three times larger at the existing top sites in Hawaii and Chile. This is all well and good, but you’re still going to have to convince astronomers to put on the parkas, go down there and build the things. There are reasons why astronomers like to wear Hawaiian shirts.