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ì
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m A PROGRAÃI FOR CONSTRUCTION
OF OPTIUL TELESCOPES
What types and sizes of optical telescopes should be built in the next ten
years? The preceding sections have shown that observational astronomy is
at a stage where more telescopes are urgently needed, both to increase the
rate of acquisition of observational data and to enlarge the rather small circle
of ast¡onomers who can now work on faint sources. This section of the report
presents the specific recommendations of the Panel as to the telescopes that
it believes represent a reasonable and prudent investment over the next
decade.
TYPES NEEDED
The next generation of general-purpose resea¡ch telescopes will almost cer-
tainly follow the over-all optical design of existing small-ffeld reflectors. This
type of instrument has been shown to be extremely longJived anil versatile,
and adaptable to changing astronomical problems through the ûtting of new
analyzing instruments and detectors. The larger telescopes will ofier more
tÏan one focal ratio through the use of secondary mirrors, and will provide
for large and healy analyzing equipment at a ffxed coudé focus. Fields of
view somewhat larger than the fraction of a degree previously customary
can be achieved by slight deparhrre from conic seetions in the primary and
secondary minors, or by improved correctol lenses placed a short distance
ahead of the focal plane. But in inshtments that depend on the well-under-
stood elements of geometrical optics, revolutionary changes in design are
unlikely.
38
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lli,-
T el'e s coPes
cial-PurPose
Spe
Special-purpose wide-ûeld telescopes will not, the Panel believes,
become
The 48-inch
fraction of those built in the next few years'
"i "ppå"iá¡U telescope has been a superb survey instrlrment' Experience
Puloir-ar Schmidt
since the completion of the Palomar Sþ Srirvey has shown
trhat this one
parts of the heav-
,"rve the neeils of u. s. astronomers for the
;rrroo*"rra
""r,to it. A similar instrument is urgentþ neeiled in the Southern
ãrr,
"""urribl"
ffã*irpfr"t". It could be identical, or it might be modiûecl-to give a larger
plate Jcale at a price of reducecl angular feld-and,speed' For surveys to a
il;htermag;tñde Limit, the smalier Schmidt telescopes (up to 24-ineh
the nert ten
I suãh as those at Michigan and Case, should sufice-for
"pËt*"
.,å"rr. Wid*-û"ld astrometric refractors, such as the twin Carnegie instnr-
õUservatory and its counterpart being built for the Yale-Colum-
i.f.
í"*i
¡i" ,a"aio" in Argentina, will not need to be duplicated, since the "ripening
",
plates is so much longer than the expos're cvele for
;ñJ;i;";*;otion
coverage åf the sky and the subsequent evaluation period'
;"";;i"¿
fhe OO-inch astrometric reflector now being tested at the Flagstafi sta-
tl.rat
tion of the U. S. Naval Observatory is another special-purpose telescope
r-,irfy U. S. demands in iis particular ffelcl for the next decade'
rit""fa
Solnr TelescoPes
The completion of the McMath solar telescope at the Kitt Peak
National
of the country the largest such
ô¡r"*"tärv f.". given the solar astrQnomers
;b.;;p; i Ur" i'o¡¿. The large aperture (60 inch) gives a brightgives an
image'
drermal controi of every part of the surroundings
^"JAä ""t"ruf high-resolution spectrcscopy of fine iletails of the solar sur-
;;;";,."1t for
Peak Observatory is
fååe. Still ánother facllity ât the Àtu Force-Sacramento
stagås, and construction seems assured' The loss of reso-
ì;;hJ¿;h""ing
by tlo.boì"rrt air currents within the optical system (internal
i"ri""
"""*a¡"'.olvetl by placing the entire telescope and spectrogÉph in â
r""ìîgiìt iå feels that it
lrr"rliå. In view of thesL ma¡or ãdditions to facilities, the-PaneJ
being
techniques
*o,,,1ã ¡" *ir" to await evaluãtion of the new instrumental
employed before recommending construction of further solar
telescopes'
be vigorously sup-
Thå Pánel believes, however, thai solar researchers shoulil
p-iJ * the development of new auxiliary instruments an¿l in the testing
of new methods
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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SIZE CATP.GOAIES
The optical telescopes that could be built in the next ten years may be
divided into the following arbitrary size categories:
Giant: diameter larger than 250 inches
Large: 100-20p inches
fntermediate : 60-84 inches
Small: 36-48 inches
Except for tle giant class, the size ranges listed are those represented by
existing U. S. telescopes. The gaps are not signi.ffcant, except in the sense
that a ready-made, highly successful design cannot be taken over fo¡ the
in-between sizes without some scaling up or down.
PERF ORMAN CE V ERSUS SIZE
The Panel's decision ón what telescopes to recommend for funding has re-
quired balancing scientiffc obiectives against size, cost, and time for con-
struction. A brief résumé of the interdependence of these factors is necessary
to make clear the decisions Ênally taken.
Faint star images must be detected against the unavoidable background
of the Iight of the night sþ. Astronomical telescopes are normally built to
optical and mechanical tole¡ances such that the tremor or seeing disk caused
by atmospheric turbulence sets the limit of per{ormance; tlat is, the instru-
mental blurríng of a point star image is less than the blurring caused by
inllomogeneities in the earth's atmosphere above the telescope. Then the
problem of registering a faint star image with a large telescope is one of
contrast between the small angular patch representing the star (about 0.5
arc seconds in diameter ulder very good conditions ) and a simila¡ adjacent
patch of blank night sky.
Under these conditions the brightness of the faintest obiect detectable
with a speciûed degree of certainty in a given time does not improve in pro-
portion to the collecting area of the telescope obiective ( all dimensions of
the telescope being scaled in the same proportion), as would be expected in
the presence of negligible sþ background, but only in proportion to the
square root of the area. (See, for example, Astronomi,cal Techniques, lJni-
versity of Chicago Press, 1962, editecl by W. A. Hiltner, Chapter I by \M. A.
Baum. ) The same rule applies to photoelectric photometry of faint obiects
40
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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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spectroscopy anil
through a focal plane cliaphragm, antl to low-dispersion
----In
spectrophotometry.
*ort of the frontier problems the aim is to reach out to the most reached
each class' Êut fo¡ these faint obiects the ilistance
¿irt""i
"Ui""tt "f assuming the
of the telescope'
varies only as the square root of the diameter
space anil no redshift corrections; allow-
inverse-souare law in transparent
u"a.äa.UU, *ilt di-ioir' rhe clistance reached. The
;#;i"iilrr*r,
lr"riu, tlre square of the diameter for the sizes alreaclv
;ilfä;""d. ",
;;ïr:it;;,h;'.,i"nt" t"l"."op"' oåt vet attempted' the cost mfav beincreasing expected
because o the
. varr, r"piilv as 2.5-3.0 po*"t oi thu iliameter'
ä;í"t-;;i.É ã"rie" ^"å hig¡ ungineering costs' Thus' scince the nphoton umber
"r
u"-ãt"' Jqo"'"d, th" cost per ollected
;i;ffi;'u.J;î-it'" power of the diameter'
from such telescopes varies only as ûte ó/4 or 6/4
and clistance' the
But in view of the sqrra,e-'oot í"htio" b"t*""tt diameter
reached' The cost varies
;;;;;;t"t ""ah" 5th'or 6th power of the clistancepened.to e(xploration')-
;;ä;5À;;61á power of tle volume of space o where the tight of the
- -î;; l"ãi"-j""a high-rãsolution
-
'p*åtto'"opy' the gain with tele-
night sky does not enter as a backgrountl illumination'
ao"' t'uty-"s the sq'are of the diameter' provided^
r"å"àt ìi rã.àåt
"ti"*r.u L ptoportion to the iliameter of
the collimator of he spectrographî"'"u'"'
or.Bowen' Chapter 2
,h;;"1**t" (See, e-.g., Bo:t"i, p'"'oiorr'- reference'emains unchanged' the
É"tï th" "oú-"tot diameter r
;";;;;il;.¡ aperture, and
gain with telescope size varies at best as the square r-oot of the
gratings large
ffä;ä;;;ã tñt " th"," i' tto gain at all' Savailable even for the existing
ingle-difiraction
are not
;;;;;;;;;;.',he desireil condíIion 24 to 30 inches in
ãöó-ii"r.i"r"t-pe' For a 400-inch telescopø a grating-area a size is beyoncl
ãi"*ì,"t *""r¿ Ue re(uired for proper eåi"i"ticy' a"ã srrch
to these conclusions is that
;"ä;;;;;h-tog'v. dTht ob''"ioi'o"o'ollutvlarger glatings would be
i,r"""rrfot iogi.reerin-g evelopment f much -as
of the obiectivã'even with existing tele-
;äl-J;; inL""rinittt" "puit"" Such
.^,,.,hêc âc is iliscusseil furthår in the section ãn auxiliary instr.ments.
still larger instruments'
;;:";'p*;. ;; "" essential preliminary to buildingto ofier in extending the
have something
Other factors b"ria",
"fi'tu'" T onger er(posure times will' for a linear
*"tú; ilï;f "1"rg" t"lã'"ope' root of the time
detector, pro'drr"" a gain that ia¡esãs the square
"""","i"
iä;ä; ;,h;;tãgraphic pìátes the situation is complicated bv saturation to- tÏe
il;;þ;;"ìÉ fail;e. The'u;it """ b" extendeil igainroportionrealizecl
np
may be
Such a
square root of the gain i" qi'"n-t"* "ffi"i"o"y'
photogrãphic emulsions; the
from a practical itn"g" uoåî ito*-improuåd
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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efficiency is-low,enough at present so that there is room for a gain at least
as gleât as tliat from doubling the telescope aperture. Better avetage seeing
through the discovery of superior sites, or through treatment of the immedil
ate surroundings of the telescope, is another obvious possibility. Here the
gain is in direct proportion to the reduction in image diamete¡.
HOW BIG?
An-y rational,ten-year plan
to provide facilities for the optical astronomers
will inevitably put the major share of the funds into b;il¿ling large tele_
scopes; partþ because tÏey are needed for frontier problem{ anJ partly
because experíence has shown t}rat the record of reseãrch yierd froni sucÍr
telescopes over tfre whole range of observational astronomy has been an
excellent return on the investment.
LARGE TELESCOPES
The Panel concluded that ffrst priority should go to telescopes in the large_
size c_atego-ry. Three large telescopes in the l50-200-inch aperture range
shor'1¿ 6u funded as rapidly as meritorious proposals fo¡ their construction
and operation are put forward. proven designi should be used wherever
possible, a¡d at least one of the three should be located in the Southern
Hemisphere. Each of the large telescopes placed at a new site should include
a_ supporting auxiliary telescope. For the Southern Hemisphere
site, this
should be a 4S-inch Schmidt-type survey instrument. This conclusion was
based in the main on the consideration of urgency versus the long time-scale
for the "giant x-inch."
fn view of the rather slow gain in per{ormance with size, an increase in
apertu-re from the Iargest existing instrument (200 inches) to anything less
than 350 or 400 inches would hardly be worth the inveitment needed to
produce a new engineering design. If ffrst priority were to be given to a
"giant x-inch" in tle 350-400-inch aperture range, the cost wodJbe of the
order of $100 million, and the time-scale would be ffve to seven years longer
þ1r for the straightfor-ward construction of a proven design, iuóh as ùat
of the 200-inch Palomar telesc
the neecl for access to large tele-
À seconil important consideration was
.";;;;;-;*h 1urser number of astronomers than isnumberossibls and ttlat he
now p
or fronts
advances on a
;""iå:ïä#äåi'itv "o"'""t"ã access' It should be emphasizeil that the
"lp-"uel
would come with such i will not deny
îT9h'": this timethe creation of
"giant
¿lecision âgainst consbuction of a
to
;.H;"ï":ä; Jdd*lv u'"""n"itrtt"tttold analogousanv large telescope
the cutofi or
;:iöffitr';;;;;r";"""b"tor, since
is not a suilden one'
telescopes wa-s dictated in part
The ilecision to recommend thtee s¡ch on faint obiects'
outlinetl neeJfor acceleration of research
.il;;;;;it
b"
i-ge telescopes has not in recent vears kept
üJi;"ti;í .il"
;id """'l'"' u't'o"i*lcal wãrk force-in the country' Three
"i
oace wit}r the grovrth of r¡" large tele-
*o"r¿ ¿ãï¡i" the number of u' s'-controlled
#; ffi äåÇ", mentioneil
tu"g" roõ t" zóo it"rt"s' since' as hasleen
::"*ïrh;;tJo'" Uniteil States is
in the'
in earlier discussion, tf'" outnt"' of astronomershe-number should not be
ilecaile' t
the r'"xt
exnected to double, at te"st, itt
of experiencetl operating groups that
t¡"
ò;;ilio"
;.T""1"* ""-tãt
"p'oi""'t'îiul r'i"¿lpr"' tle size of the burden that
f
äîîï;d"";"i;-riÀr" astronomers' sets an upper
î'är¿ be lr-""¿ on thJinstrumentaþ-inclinedhree'
of the Panel' this limit is t
l" ,f"
ü-ir. "p-ron
LOCATION OF LARGE TELESCOPES
should certainly be located in the
At least one of the three large telescopes
have three large instr-uments makes
Soutlerl Hemisphere' Th" ilÀi* ¿ them at three difier-
i"ö;i" ;;ä" *o*tr''I "'ã ob¡""tu"'{iot putting design can- shorten
uv
ã ptou"o
ent sites. And the immedí"t" -r"tto"tio" in
telescope of maiol size can bring
the interval until a U. S.*""ttåU"¿ sky:
riches of the southern
observations of the unique ää ""a"t"tpf"it"il
Clo'ds ) , the center of our own
Mage[ånic
the nèarest extemal galuxies lthe "nearest
globular clusters' The existing
th"
.t"u'-th"
;;îC;;itg "enìrh' t"l"t"op"t ii the all in the Northem
imbalance, wíth the sete" l;;;;'t 'wor]d
;;ã .h' t*" 7l-i;;i' ;'i'o-u"o in the- southern ausplces t"Ï:*':
iï"-öil; in palt under European
at infeúor sites, may soon be redresse'l
seem logical for the united
whatever other countries ;;;;;l;;;"id
tul""op" that will bring to the
States to set up a So"tft"* ï"-l'ph"t"
tltut ttte Ïigtrly suecessful 200-
skies the t"-" n";t;;;ã tãtt"tifity
southern
Hemisphgre'
aaescope hìs provicletl in the Northern
îJi"-"t
i""rt
l¡-
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
lliili
Unless telescopes in the 150-200 inch aperture range are located at the
most favorable sites, their potential usefuIness can be seriously degraded.
In the United States, climatological factors make it imperative that large
telescopes be located in the soutlwestem part of the country. Thorough
lltl investigation of temperaturg wind, clear night hours, Eansparency, ilarkneìs
of the sþ, and especially seeing is required before a new site is occupied,
il
in the United States as elsewhere. Considerations o{ convenience or prox-
imity to urban centers are secondary tb ûnding a site of superior quality.
UNDER WHAT AUSPICES?
The Panel has not attempted to select speciffc institutions for each optical
telescope that it recommends to be built. Such designations by the panel
could have created conflict-of-interest situations tìat would have prevented
qualiûed astronomers from se¡ving on the Panel.
For each class of ínstuument, proposals will undoubtedly be put forward
ll by universities, research institutions, or associations of universities. For the
larger instruments at leas! and particularly in cases where a choice must be
made, ad, hoc evaltation panels should be established to review proposals.
l,l
The Panel has given thought to the general principles to be followed in
selecting the organization to build and operate the telescopes of largest
li
aperture.
ll
l.i Preaíous PetJormnnce
Competence, demonstrated by building a telescope of lesser aperfure and
lri
producing research results with it, constitutes an essential qualiffiation. The
alertness and breadth of experience of the astronomers ässociated with the
ltl
organization must be weíghed. The group must have shown itselÍ capable of
ilt developing auxiliary instruments that work well and of maintaining tlem in
optimum condition.
Tgpe of Instítutìon
There is no single answer as to the type of organization best suited to be the
builder and custodian of a large optical telescope. In this, as in quite a num-
ber of thÍs country's other educational, cultural, and scientiffc enterprises,
ti
the strength tåat comes from diversity and friendly rivalry would appear to
i,t
give the best guarantee of outstanding achievement.
ii
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J ! L+.
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Since optical astronomy requires a gooil climate, there were strong
th" Kitt Peak National Observatory, a national cen-
reasons for
"ìtubüthlog
ter operated by an association of u¡riversities' Such an organization can
eogale in actiuities u¡suited to the clouily surroundings of excellent
univer-
for any one of them to
part of the country, and too large
,iuiJlt ttt"
""tt"* nationwicle character of such a center, anil its status as a
The
manage alone.
f"a".ãty ffnancecl facility open to aII qualiÊed applicants, combine to guar-
to its telesãopes will be granteil to the less-v/ell-established
alr"t
^"""r. center must, of course, have a large telescope' and until jt
".ri""
workers. Such a
à*r,lt""tt* *mpleteþ {tllll its objectives' The 150-inch reflector alreaily at the
;ñ;Jby the Kiti Peai National Observatory shouldttre completeil cience
be
ã".Ii".t pá"ti""l date. This enterprise, approvetl by National S
of ìhe thrãã hrge telescopes recommended
F;;á"ai"", is counteil as one
by the Panel.
Certain single universities witlr experience in the operation of an
ob-
,u*",ory ,rtqi* Ïkely to ask to be asilgneil the resp-onsibility of building
;il;;i"b;"å;". wháe the qualiûcatiðns -can be demonstrated bevond
iolrti tft"." ""ãcl be no hesitatiãn about singling out a particular university
i" ifrií *"y. When the funds of the feileral government go into such a proi-
but must
ect, the oierating instituuon cannot have sole proprietary rights'
granting a por-
ttt" nÃv astronomical resource as a national asset'
"dáitrirt"i
ii* of obr"rui.g time to qualified observers from other institutions' Never-
theless, the morã intimate association of such a telescope with
an astronomi-
the plannìng of a
with a single instituiion could favor
.t"ÍI
Ñ;;J;"á concentrated relear"h campaign, when such ismembers Anil
""i "ooo""ted needed'
in a
ihe fact that tÏe home team of observers would be faculty
woultl give a chance
,rniversity, who taught cou¡ses and had thesis students,
fo, th" Iarge telescãpe to exert its maximum influence on the educational
pro""rr, u,rätt though the graduate students ditl not themselves have access
to the insûument.
universi-
Decisions between competing universities, or between single
commitlee t}l':at
ties anJ associations, must be grappled with by the ad' hoc
facility' The most important require-
all the factors for each large
"onside.sthe Panelis view, is {ree and open competition' T}ie inter-university
ment, in
or national center is a valuable device for enabling universities
by itself'
to clo collectiveþ what no one of them can do as well, or at all'
"r.o"iutlon
preemption by such
But there should not be any automatic, unreviewed
Ín the universi-
centers of functions that can be carried out as well or better
ties. Each assignment should be maile on the merits'
45
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Tha Pri.mnrg Goal
The decisions to be taken in locating ttre largest and most expensive optical
telescopes must be clirectecl to the primary goal-acceleration of astronomi-
cal research on the most dificult frontier problems. The quality of the people
who builit and administer the new facilities, and particularly the quality of
the observers selecteil to use them-seasoned veterans, young developing
asùonome.rs, and promising postdoctoral fellows-are more important tìan
the organizational structure or tle management scheme. More than one
arrangáment has been made to work well by the nuclear physicists in tÏe
opurutiott of particle accelerators. But whatever schemes are adopteil to
bimg the nation's Iargest telescopes and talented astronomers together, the
prinãiple of equality of opportunity must, at this level, be subordinated to
ãn insistence on performance-to the requirement of excellence at the top'
A GIANT TELESCOPE
ENGINEEAING STUDT FOR
The Panel recommends that as soon as tlle three large telescopes for the next
decade are ulder way, a representative stuily group be assembleil to con-
sider the problems of buildÍng a telescope of the largest feasible size, to
decide on practícal design concepts, and to prepare a cost estimate for the
design adopted.
Th"r"ìutt hardly be any doubt of the ultimate desirability of planning
for an optical telescope larger than any yet built. Yet, for the reasons given
in our discussion of performance and size (p. 40), the next upward step
cannot be a small one if a sizable gain in depth-penetrating power is to be
realized. A tholoughgoing engineering design study to determine the feasi-
bilíty anil cost of a 400-inch or possibly 600-inch telescope ought -to b-e
undårtaken before any proposal to start such a project is seriousþ considered'
The problems to be consideretl are both optical and mechanical What
material tho"ld bu used for the mirror and what technique for fabrication
and for producing the ûnal precise shape? What focal ratio is practical anil
how shall the enormous surface be supporteil so as to hold its proper shape
at all pointing angles? \Mill transportation problems preclude making the
mi..oifrom the raw material at any other place than the observing site? Can
the mechanically desirable shift to an alt-azimuth mounting-no\¡/ standard
for large ¡adio telescopes-be made without loss of following antl pointing
u""*Jry? Can the flexure in the very heary mounting be balanced out, or
46
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
introduce¿l tlrough a com-puter?
compensated by corrections
----'SJ"" be one of national
dre ånterpríse would, in the enil' uniloubtedly
(AURA)
in
.""pãlaU" ¡tr""i"tiän of Univársities for Research 'A'stronomy
organíze.the study' The
would be an appropriate agency under which to
;"'ä;;;;tËir¿'¡"Lrd"-o¡tárvational asbonomers' optical experts' and
structural engineers of the highest competence'
rn""ú"ii""i
""¿
TELESCOPES OF MODERATE SIZE
telescopes of ap:rture
The Panel recommends rheLt lour general-purpose
tä" ão ," Sa.ches be built in the-next ten years'telescopes melf-suficient
These are s
entioned as
;:iä"ö;, ;J"'" i" "Jalti"" to the suppoiting 42' page
to th" large instruments discussetl on -
"rr*iüu¡u"same consitlerations àf performance veisui size-that create difficul-
The
telescopes larger than
d", f;;;J;;;;ers contemplatirìg the constr"ction of
,"rì"i¡"tfa are favorable^to thã users of telescopes of i:rtermediate size,
instruments
ilí"i";ûneã-;¿0 to 84 inches aperture' Experience with such McDonalil
(such as the Moo"i \Milson oiservatory and the
;;";l;il research on
öUiããi"w l .ho*, th"* to be capable of tuming out first-ratehat from the
t
t"," ot prtoton collectÍon mav be less ,t}''n
iå;il;;il;it page 17' Such telescopes
"
i"rfJ "*irai"g aelescopes; e*amoL' were cited on of anaþzing insbuments'
to support thå complete range
rrJi"rg"
{or-observational work that would other-
"rroigh th"m àin be
\iih;;;;"";f "sed latg"st telescopes' the opportunities for
wise consume time on one of the
developments may be tested
access to the latter are multçiieã. Insämental their
ù""rt"rreil to the'largest telescope after they have proven
""Ji"i*
worth.
""-îrou"n exist' but' where
designs for telescopes of intermediate size
engineering costs' Instru-
,"q"o¿ *ãitû-ed clesign wouid not involve high tlreir capabilities- are
" and'
ments,ft*f this size cost a gfeat d.eal, however,
-o
at good-sites' The conditions need not
,ft"t .lt"old be loJat"d only
,"ät
for the wL*t Lí""Jp"s' bul. universíties in
the clouclv
;;;';ü;; strong astonomy
"s which have,
eastern or ãidwestern parts ãf the country'
proiluctÍve operators of intermediate-size
deoartments anil could qualifu as
observatiorial prosrarns' must consider
ät:ä#ï""ä"';;;T;i"td Often this coulcl
Duttins them at olrr"*i"g tüioot L th" W"'t ot So:uthwest'
^b"
on ãt atllacent to an already-occupiecl- site'
'.ooth*"rt"- part of the country with
universities t trr" *"rt""o o.
_À
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
well-established astronomy departrnents can put forward a strong case for
intenneiliate-size telescopes. He¡e suitable nearby sites can be found, and
the easy integration of the telescopes into graaluate-student thesis problems
can be a very important part of tle development and training of new astrono-
me¡s. Universities or research instífutions already operating good telescopes
of intermediate size or larger should not be excluded from consiileration for
an additional telescope ín the 60-84-inch range if the entire case, based on
site, productivity, and educational beneffts, is a strong one.
The recommendation ol four telescopes is dictated again by the number
of institutions with the proper capability anil background. There are now
ûve U. S. telescopes in thís aperture range at goorl-climate sites.
SMALL TELESCOPES
The Panel recommends that eight telescopes of 36 to 48 inches aperture be
built in the next decade. These should be fully equipped ¡esearch instru-
ments located at dark-sþ sites near universities with active gtaduate depart-
ments. Climatic conditions need be given little weight.
The case for modern telescopes of research quality as an integral part
of the basic local equipment of an ínstitution maintaining a graduate-level
astronomy department has been set forth in Section II. The efiectiveness of
the concept has been demonstrated at several institutions ín relatively poor
or mediocre climates, of which Wisconsin, Michigan, and Case Institute have
been cited as examples. While tle 36-to-48-inch aperture range is given,
the most useful design thus far has been a 36-inch Cassegrain reflector,
equipped with a photoelectric photometer, a low-dispersion spectrograph,
and possibly a spectrum scanner. Telescopes in this category are now almost
"ofi-the-shelf" items, and need not be re-engineered in each case.
Some of the institutions acquiring these telescopes may be acquiring
their ffrst instruments with research capabilities. The qualiûcation should
be an existing graduate department of demonstrated vitality; at least one
faculty member in it should have some aptitude and experience in observa-
tional astronomy anil the use of instruments.
The ¡ecommend ation of eight such telescopes is based on the number
already existing and an estimate of the number of astronomy depârtments
that are likely to come forwar¿l with meritorious proposals. The recent rapid
development of graduate study in astronomy in universities that previously
had only small programs or did not awarcl tlre Ph.D. degree in astronomy at
48
I
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
at
the decade ahead will see similar- developments
all makes it probable that wilt
rilt p"*i¡le that øi*hf such telescopes
several more institutions. rn"t
¿"""¿", p'*"'to b" too few' If the sufÊcient
number
äïåil;"d;tl" set forth here
the qualiffcations
of small telescopes for insututiã"s meeting
oriven a- Iarger number' the
should prove to be tweloe t'üJth;; 'dltt'
päce"tage of the total expeniliture
,tilt t" ooti"
ìä"d:; ä'ãã '-"uwithin the margin ot
Panel, and well
ä;"-;;Jüthe ^error'
in the.36 to 48 inches
It should be emphasized inlt '¡" instruments teaching telescopes of'
¡'aáltional
aperture range are research tä[t""p"t' gradu-
befuncleil from p::llttott for
sav. 16 to 30 inch", *"v "pn'åi'tåi"iv
*r'l"r' are not within the province of thís Panel'
;îå'l'joî^ö;;úprrrétt,
FOR
SUMMARY OF RECAMMENDA?IONS
OPTICAL TELESCOPES
class' The Kitt Peak pro-
Thrae Iargetelescopes o{ the 150-to-200-inch
I tft" tttt'uments The other two should
iecteil 150¡inch is included "t "i" "f be located in the southern
ffîitäffift;-"t"', ""i*ì"* o""
't'outd sites can be considered for
Hemisphere. only the t"ty ;"';;;;oi"ltop
location. Cost: $60 millíon' three large telescopes are
gtå,,p to be formeil as soon as the
î*"ît,ö feasible optical reflec-
*ell rrnder wav, to considerä" a"ttg";f th-e largest
four vears'
$1 0 million sptead over
.;:'ö;i;áe: aperture to be located
3 Fourmoderate-size t"Ëö;sî;b-io-s+--i""ntrong astronomy depart-
with s
in above-average 'ä-ü"jásities
"fi-"tt
mentsorresearchinstitutions'withexceptionalpromiseorpâstachievement
îã"iã t" .ft" t""ipients' Cost: $4 0 million' telescopes of 36 to 48 inches
4 Eís,ht fuIly "q"ipp"a äoÏ"'ïï"Sã"i'"e good universities'
*"1t-o'g"tti""ã;;;";;ty tlJpartm"nts at
to be located
"t
studv program' baseil
or this rour-part construction and
fii;lüf#::;t VI¿nil the Appenclix' is thus
on the detailed
",tgin""'ioiäiu*"ìi;;tt""
expense incìuded'
õä4.ä*inioo, *ith ì'to ope'ii'-'g
49
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.