The Antarctic Plateau is the best site on Earth for astrophysical research from millimetre to near-infrared wavelengths. The low temperature, high elevation on top of the ice sheet, and the Polar Vortex, which blocks the infusion of moist air, result in extremely low column densities of atmospheric water vapour. These unique conditions may result in the clearest and darkest sky available from the surface of the Earth in this wavelength range.