We present a design concept for WHAT – the Wide-field Antarctic
Horizontal Telescope – to take advantage of the unique possibilities
of Antarctica for both optical and near infrared astronomy. The design
is an 8 metre, wide-field, fixed-axis, all-reflective, f/4 Schmidt
telescope. Prime and Cassegrain (or Gregorian) foci are provided, giving plate scales
150-1500 µm/'', over fields of view 3'-3°. Diffraction limited,
NGSAO-corrected Kdark images are possible over arc-minute sized
fields, over most of the sky. The sensitivity, resolution, field
of view and cost all compare favourably with current or proposed space
or ground-based telescopes.