The Decade of Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics (1991) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
3. Existing Programs
3. Existing Programs
Pages 55-71
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From page 55... ...
In the discussion below, the committee highlights planned enhancements to certain ongoing programs that would be particularly effective scientifically. The committee emphasizes that a vigorous research program requires grants to individual astronomers and broad access to telescopes; these issues are addressed in Chapters 1 and 7.
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The WIYN (University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories) telescope project will put a 3.5-m telescope funded by the three universities on Kitt Peak.
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The 3.5-m ARC telescope is being built by a consortium of universities (University of Chicago, University of Washington, Princeton University, New Mexico State University, and Washington State University)
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During the 1980s, new receivers and computing techniques enhanced the power of the VLA to more than 10 times that of the original instrument, all without major changes in telescope hardware. However, the declining NSF budget has caused major problems at the VLA and its parent National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
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From page 59... ...
The telescope will incorporate novel design features, such as an active surface, that may eventually permit operation at wavelengths as short as 3 mm. The telescope will begin operation in 1995, initially at centimeter and longer wavelengths, for the study of pulsars, active galaxies, and 21-cm hydrogen emission in our own and in distant galaxies.
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in extragalactic surveys of HI in galaxies even after the Green Bank Telescope is built. MILLIMETER AND SUBMILLIMETER WAVELENGTH ASTRONOMY The focus of U.S.
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Planetary Astronomy NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO)
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The nuclear fusion reactions that cause the sun to shine occur deep within the sun's core but are revealed directly by observations of particles called neutrinos. The United States operates the chlorine solar neutrino experiment, which detects rare high-energy neutrinos of the electron type.
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NASA's plan includes telescopes that range from small payloads like the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite to be launched in 1995, to the four Great Observatories (discussed below)
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GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY The Gamma Ray Observatory will study a broad range of topics, including accretion processes around neutron stars, the origin of gamma-ray bursts, nucleosynthesis in supernovae, interactions of cosmic rays with interstellar matter, and energy production by giant black holes in galactic nuclei. GRO's instruments have sensitivities and angular resolutions more than an order of magnitude better than those available on previous missions.
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From page 65... ...
Spectroscopic observations with a resolving power of 250 will be carried out on EUVE through a guest observer program. A deep survey will cover about 1 percent of the sky with a sensitivity at least 10 times greater than that of the all-sky survey and will provide guest investigators the opportunity to make spectroscopic observations of interesting new objects.
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From page 66... ...
The committee urges NASA to provide strong support for the analysis of data from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) , including a vigorous guest investigator program.
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, a 0.9-m telescope operating for 15 years in a C-141 aircraft, opened up far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths to scientific investigation, produced over 700 scientific papers, and trained 40 PhD students. The importance of the suborbital program for the training of instrumentalists is exemplified by the fact that 80 percent of the U.S.
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From page 68... ...
This predictive capability is often crucial in designing new instruments: for example, the characteristics of the Cosmic Background Imager recommended in Chapter 1 are determined by theoretical calculations of fluctuations in the microwave background, and the proposed gamma-ray-spectroscopy Explorer mission is designed to detect theoretically predicted lines from supernovae in other galaxies. Solar neutrino experiments
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From page 69... ...
If the full scientific benefits are to be realized for existing and planned space missions, then theoretical interpretations are required. · The committee believes that NASA's support for theoretical investigations should grow in approximate proportion to NASA's support for the analysis and interpretation of observational data.
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These detectors would also be sensitive to supernova neutrinos. · The committee urges the DOE and NSF to continue to support American participation in international solar neutrino experiments.
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Only in the first few microseconds after the "Big Bang" were the conditions of density and temperature extreme enough to produce some of the reactions predicted by modern theories of elementary particle physics. Some particle physics models can be tested by comparing their predictions for cosmology and for elemental abundances with astronomical observations.
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