Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.

OCR for page R1
A Strategy for Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy Panel on Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics Board on Physics and Astronomy Space Studies Board Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications National Research Council 'ü National Academy Press Washington, D.C. 1995

OCR for page R1
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance ofscience and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal govemment on scientiflrc and technical matters. D¡. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an advisor to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identifr issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr, Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Resea¡ch Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the b¡oad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the govemment, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. The material in this report is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-9412476. Front Coyer'. The summit of Mauna Kea. Owing to atmospheric conditions at an altitude of 4.2km, this observatory is generally regarded as one ofthe fînest sites known for OIR astronomy observations and hosts many ofthe world's greatest telescopes. Seen in the foreground (left to right) are the 3.8-meter United Kingdom Infra¡ed Telescope, the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter Telescope, a small dome soon to be demolished to allow construction of the Gemini North 8-meter Telescope, and the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Beyond them are the domes of Japan's 8-meter-class Subaru Telescope, the two sister 1Q-meter telescopes of the W.M. Keck Observatory, and the 3-meter NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. The summit of Haleakal4 Maui, where the Phillips Laboratory is constructing a 3.7-meter telescope, is seen in the background. (Courtesy of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.) Back Cover: The Cero Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Ceno Pachon, site of the 8-meter Gemini South Telescope, is on the skyline, some 12 km distant. (Courtesy of National Optical Astronomy Observatories.) Additional copies of this report are available from: Board on Physics and Astronomy,HA562 National Research Council 2l0lConstitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

OCR for page R1
PANEL ON GROUND.BASED OPTICAL AND INFRARED ASTRONOMY RICHARD McCRAY, JILA, University of Colorado, Chair BRUCE CARNEY, University of North Carolina JOHN S. GALLAGHER, University of Wisconsin JOHN HUCHRA, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics KENNETH L KELLERMANN, National Radio Astronomy Observatory ruDITH PIPHER, University of Rochester ROBERT ROSNER, University of Chicago J. ANTHONY TYSON, AT&T Bell Laboratories TODD BOROSON, National Optical Astronomy Observatories (Consultant, National Optical Astronomy Observatories) MARC DAVIS, University of California at Berkeley (Liaison, Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics) GILLIAN KNAPP, Princeton University (Liaison, Board on Physics and Astronomy) JOSEPH MILLER, University of California at Santa Cruz (Liaison, National Science Foundation) JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER, Princeton University (Liaison, Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics) ROBERT L. RIEMER, Senior Program Officer COMMITTEE ON ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS MARC DAVIS, University of California at Berkeley, Chair LEOBLITZ, University of Maryland ARTHUR F. DAVIDSEN, Johns Hopkins University HOLLAND C. FORD, Space Telescope Science Institute JONATIIAN E. GRINDLAY, Harvard University JOHN P. HUCHRA, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics KENNETH L KELLERMANN, National Radio Astronomy Observatory RICHARD A. MoCRAY, JILA, University of Colorado JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER, Princeton University Observatory MARCIA J. RIEKE, University of Arizona BERNARD SADOULET, University of California at Berkeley ROBERT L. zuEMER, Senior Program Officer ANNE SIMMONS, Administrative Assistant lll

OCR for page R1
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY DAVID N. SCHRAMM, University of Chicago, Chair LLOYD ARMSTRONG, JR., University of Southern California DAVID H. AUSTON, Rice University DAVID E. BALDWN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory PRAVEEN CHAUDHARI,IBM T.J. Watson Research Center FRANK DRAKE, University of California, Santa Cruz ROBERT C. DYNES, University of California, San Diego HANS FRAUENFELDER, Los Alamos National Laboratory JEROME I. FRIEDMAN, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MARGARET GELLER, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics MARTHA P. HAYNES, Cornell University WILLIAM KLEMPERER, Harvard University ALBERT NARATH, Sandia National Laboratories JOSEPH M. PROUD, GTE Corporation (retired) ROBERT C. RICHARDSON, Cornell University JOFIANNA STACHEL, State University of New York at Stony Brook DAVID V/ILKINSON, Princeton University SIDNEY WOLFF,* National Optical Astronomy Observatories DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director ROBERT L. RIEMER, Associate Director DANIEL F. MORGAN, Senior Program Officer NATASHA A. CASEY, Program Assistant STEPIIANIE Y. SMITH, Project Assistant *Recused from the review of this report. lv

OCR for page R1
SPACE STUDIES BOARD CLAUDE R. CANIZARES, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair LOUIS J. LANZEROTTI,* AT&T Bell Laboratories, Chair JOHN A. ARMSTRONG,IBM Corporation (retired) JOSEPH A. BURNS, Cornell University ANTHONY W. ENGLAND, University of Michigan JAMES P, FERRIS,* Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute DANIEL J. FINK, D.J. Fink Associates, Inc. FßRBERT FRIEDMAN,* Naval Research Laboratory MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute HAROLD J. GUY, University of California, San Diego NOEL W. HINNERS, Martin Marietta Aeronautics Company ROBERT A. LAUDISE, AT&T Bell Laboratories RICHARD S. LINDZEN,* Massachusetts Institute of Technology JOHN H. MoELROY, University of Texas, Arlington WILLIAM J. MERRELL, IR.,* Texas A&M University NORMAN F. NESS,* University of Delaware MARCIA NEUGEBAUER, Jet Propulsion Laboratory SIMON OSTRACH, Case Western Reserve University JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER, Princeton University Observatory CARLE M. PIETERS, Brown University ruDITH PIPI#R, University of Rochester MARCIA J. RIEKE, University of Arizona ROLAND W. SCHMITT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute WILLIAM A. SIRIGNANO,* University of California,Irvine JOHN W. TOWNSEND, JR.,* National Aeronautics and Space Administration (retired) FRED W. TUREK,* Northwestern University ARTHUR B.C. WALKER, JR., Stanford University MARC S. ALLEN, Director *Term expired June 1994.

OCR for page R1
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS RICFIARD N. ZARE, Stanford University, Chair zuCHARD S. NICHOLSON, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vice Chsir STEPHEN L. ADLER, Institute for Advanced Study SYLVIA T. CEYER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology SUSAN L. GRAHAM, University of California, Berkeley ROBERT J. HERMANN, United Technologies Corporation RHONDA J. HUGHES, Bryn Mawr College SHIRLEY A. JACKSON, Rutgers University KENNETH L KELLERMANN, National Radio Astronomy Observatory IIANS MARK, University of Texas at Austin THOMAS A. PRINCE, California Institute of Technology JEROME SACKS, National Institute of Statistical Sciences L.E. SCRIVEN, University of Minnesota A. zuCHARD SEEBASS III, University of Colorado LEON T, SILVER, California Institute of Technology CHARLES P. SLICHTER, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory SHMUEL WINOGRAD,IBM T.J. Watson Research Center CHARLES A. ZRAKET, MITRE Corporation (retired) NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director vl

OCR for page R1
Preface In November 1993, Hugh Van Horn, director of the Division of Astronomical Sciences of the National Science Foundation (NSF), met with the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA) of the National Research Council (NRC) to seek advice regarding NSF's strategy for supporting ground- based optical and infrared astronomy (hereafter, OIR astronomy). In response, the CAA recommended to the NRC Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA) that the NRC establish a panel of the CAA, the Panel on Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy (OIR Panel), to prepare this report. After consultation with the CAA and other members of the astronomical community, the CAA nominated a list of members for the OIR Panel. The proposed panel \'/as approved by the Board on Physics and Astronomy and appointed by the NRC chair. In addition to the regular members, the OIR Panel enjoyed the active participation of liaison members from the CAA, the BPA, the NSF Physics and Astronomy Advisory Committee, and a consultant from the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO). In preparing this report, the OIR Panel met three times. At the first meeting, which took place in Tucson, Arizona, on February 24-26,7994,the panel heard detailed presentations regarding the budget, stafÍing, and operations of the NOAO, and it also heard presentations regarding the operations of the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona. An open forum was held to listen to opinions and advice from Tucson astronomers. At the second meeting, which took place in Washington, D.C., on April2l-22,1994, the panel held discussions with NSF and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program managers and representatives of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA, the management contractor for the NOAO). At the final meeting, which took place in Minneapolis from May 30 to June 2,7994 (held concurrently with the summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)), the panel held an open forum to discuss the issues with interested AAS members. The panel also met with members of the Optical, Infrared, and Submillimeter/Meter Strategic Review Panel (the OIM panel) from the United Kingdom (which had a similar charge from the U.K. Science and Engineering Research Council) and representatives of the National Research Council of Canada. In addition to attending these meetings, members of the OIR Panel visited the Canada-France- Hawaii Observatory, the Sacramento Peak Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and several independent observatories and made a return trip to NOAO to examine its budget and staffing in detail. The panel maintained an open forum on an electronic bulletin board, which elicited a lively debate and many thoughtful and provocative comments. The panel sent a questionnaire to directors of independent observatories requesting detailed information about facilities and operating costs. On July 1 1 , 1994, the chair of the OIR Panel attended a meeting of directors of independent observatories to discuss possible recommendations and the most effective ways to implement them. With the benefit of these extensive interactions with the astronomy community, the NOAO, the NSF, and other concerned parties, the OIR Panel was able to reach aconsensus on a strategy for ground- based optical and infrared astronomy that yields the best scientific return for the NSF investment in the field. This report describes the panel's recommended strategy and the information that the panel used in formulating it. vlt

OCR for page R1

OCR for page R1
Contents II. THE STATUS OF OIR ASTRONOMY .........................,4 CURRENT I{ESOURCES ron OIR AsrRoNotr¿v ............................5 III. OPPORTUNITIES IN OIR ASTRONOMY .........................14 THE PRoMrsE oF NEw TEcHNoLoctES ....,..,...,..... ..,.,..............l4 PRINCIPLES FORMAXIMIZTNC SCrcNIPIC YIELD...... ,.,,...,.....,.20 rv. NoAo rN THE GEMINI8R4..........,. ,.,.,,.,.,..,.,,.........21 CERRO ToLoLo INrER-AMERICAN OsssnvAToRY.......... ........24 lYho Should Build the Facility Instruments for NOAO Telescopes? .. .....................,.....26 SUMMARYRECOMMENDATIONSFORNOAO..,..,.,....... ,,,,..,..,..28 IX

OCR for page R1
V. INSTRUMENTATION ÄT INDEPENDENT OBSERVATORIES ,.....................28 A NEw PRoGRAM FOR INSTRUMENTS AT INDEPENDENT OBSERVATORIES ,......,.,... .,,,,,,,,,,29 DEVELOPMENT,.,,..,. REVIEW oF PROPOSALS FOR INSTRUMENT ..-.,..,,............33 VI. PROGRESS WITHIN A CONSTRAINED BUDGET .........,...........33 SuppoRT oF Specr AsrnoNoMY MISSIoNS....,.............. ..........36 l. I l¡ , I i

OCR for page R1
A Strategy for Ground-Based Optical and fnfrared Astronomy

OCR for page R1