Re: Space situational awareness upgrades


http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/releases/2006/0607.html

7 June 2006
Site testing under way at McDonald Observatory for federally funded
telescope

FORT DAVIS, Texas - Astronomers are studying two sites at McDonald
Observatory to find the prime location for a new federally funded
telescope. Called the CCD Transit Instrument II (CTI-II), the 1.8-meter
telescope will be part of the federal "NESSI" program - the Near
Earth Space Surveillance Initiative.

The NESSI program is being funded by federal appropriations to The
University of Texas at Austin, The University of New Mexico, and the
Air Force. U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) sponsored the
appropriation. Mr. Bonilla represents the 23rd Congressional District,
which encompasses much of West Texas, including McDonald Observatory.

"The important discoveries being made by researchers at the McDonald
Observatory are improving the lives of so many here on Earth,"
Congressman Bonilla said. "I have been working for many years on
obtaining this new technology for the McDonald Observatory which will
vastly enhance its research potential and competitiveness, while
providing quality jobs for the people of West Texas."

He continued, "I am proud that my position on the Appropriations
Committee has allowed me to secure funding for this project each year.
I am also tremendously excited that this Near Earth Space Surveillance
Initiative will benefit students who are the future of America's
scientific community."

[remainder snipped]


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http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/releases/2004/0927.html

27 September 2004
McDonald Observatory and Partners Receive Federal Appropriation,
Move Forward Plans to Develop New Astronomy Facility

AUSTIN - A $2.8 million federal appropriation to The University of
Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, The University of New Mexico, and
the Air Force will bring a new research telescope to McDonald and fund
major upgrades to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), one of the world's
largest optical telescopes. These funds are an addition to an initial
appropriation made in September 2003.

The appropriation funds a program called "NESSI" - the Near Earth
Space Surveillance Initiative. It involves moving a 1.8-meter telescope
from New Mexico to McDonald Observatory. This telescope, the CCD
Transit Instrument (CTI), has a special detector array that creates a
large-scale image of the sky.

U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas) sponsored the appropriation. Mr.
Bonilla represents the 23rd Congressional District, which encompasses
much of West Texas, including McDonald Observatory. Bonilla's role as a
senior member of the Appropriations Committee and Defense
appropriations Subcommittee enabled him to secure funding for the
Observatory.

"The value that Mr. Bonilla sees in this initiative for the people of
the 23rd District, the State of Texas, as well as the greater science
community is gratifying," said Dr. David Lambert, Director of
McDonald Observatory. "The front-line technology that this will
develop will be a source of great pride."

"A seat on the Appropriations Committee is an amazing position to
hold," said Bonilla. "I represent one of the largest districts in our
nation - that's a lot of people, businesses, and resources to take
care of. My role on this committee gives me the opportunity to shepherd
and secure funding for my home-district in Texas."

Locating CTI at McDonald rather than creating a new site for it will be
a great cost-saver, because it will take advantage of McDonald's
infrastructure of skilled personnel, roads, and electricity. At
McDonald, the telescope will also benefit from the darkest night skies
in the continental U.S. for astronomical research.

The project will foster a productive partnership between two state
astronomy institutions. This partnership builds on longstanding
scientific cooperation, as the CTI telescope was conceived and built by
Dr. John McGraw of The University of New Mexico, who received his Ph.D.
in astronomy from The University of Texas in 1977.

"CTI uses a novel detector array to create a large-scale image of one
portion of the sky, night after night," McGraw said. "If anything
changes or moves, this telescope will catch it. Those things include
nearby asteroids, middle-distance supernovae, and distant active
galaxies containing huge black holes that eat stars and gas for lunch."

Putting CTI at the same site as HET will provide great opportunities
for researchers. "The combination of an imaging survey telescope (CTI)
and a dedicated spectroscopic telescope (HET) is really powerful and
unique," McGraw said. "Anything that CTI can detect, HET can get a
spectrum of."

A spectrum of a star, galaxy, or other astronomical object provides
information about its motion, temperature, and chemical content. A
spectrum is made when the light from that object is broken into its
component wavelengths, like a prism breaks visible light into a
rainbow. HET specializes in this type of astronomy, called
"spectroscopy."

Proposed upgrades for HET include greatly expanding the useful
field-of-view of the telescope, and major improvements to the control
system for the telescope. Development will begin on a new instrument
for the telescope that will be survey the spectrum of objects in space
much more efficiently than ever before. "These efforts will build on
what is already a telescope with a novel design that is being used as a
model for future large telescopes. The improvements to be made are
similarly novel, and will set new standards for astronomy
instrumentation," Lambert said.

The upgrades will dramatically improve the research capabilities of
McDonald Observatory. "I'm thrilled to make this announcement. I know
the folks in West Texas have been waiting a long time for this funding
and I'm honored to provide it," said Bonilla. "I can't wait to hear
about the advances made with this great technology. Who knows what the
fantastic scientists at the McDonald Observatory will discover next?"

The appropriation will be administered by the Air Force Research Lab
(AFRL) at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms
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    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms
    ... Acronym List for Space and Astronomy ... Note that this is intended to be a reference for frequently seen acronyms, ... Apollo Telescope Mount ... Compton Gamma Ray Observatory ...
    (sci.answers)
  • Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms
    ... Acronym List for Space and Astronomy ... Note that this is intended to be a reference for frequently seen acronyms, ... Apollo Telescope Mount ... Compton Gamma Ray Observatory ...
    (sci.space.tech)
  • Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms
    ... Acronym List for Space and Astronomy ... Note that this is intended to be a reference for frequently seen acronyms, ... Apollo Telescope Mount ... Compton Gamma Ray Observatory ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms
    ... Acronym List for Space and Astronomy ... Note that this is intended to be a reference for frequently seen acronyms, ... Apollo Telescope Mount ... Compton Gamma Ray Observatory ...
    (sci.astro)