C-BASS

C-BASS (for C-Band All Sky Survey) is an astronomical survey of the whole sky at wavelength 6 cm (frequency 5 GHz) with an angular resolution of better than 1 degree. One specific purpose is to characterize the CMB foreground, i.e., other microwave sources that affect CMB observation.

The term C band is for a communications microwave band covering 4-8 GHz. Two telescopes are used for the survey, a 6.1-meter dish in California for the northern hemisphere and a 7.6-meter dish in South Africa for the southern. The name C-BASS is also used to refer to the telescopes. Both are re-used dishes with new, custom instruments. The northern portion of the survey was carried out from 2009 to 2015, and the southern portion begun in 2014 and continuing into 2019.