2010 photometry of variable stars from Dome A

We carried out high-cadence time-series aperture photometry of 9125 stars with i{<~}15.3mag located in a 23deg^2^ region centered on the south celestial pole. We identified 188 variable stars, including 67 new objects relative to our 2008 observations, thanks to broader synoptic coverage, a deeper magnitude limit, and a larger field of view.

We used the photometric data set to derive site statistics from Dome A. Based on two years of observations, we find that extinction due to clouds at this site is less than 0.1 and 0.4mag during 45% and 75% of the dark time, respectively.