AURA Management and Operations of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the National Solar Observatory

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AST 0132798Smith, WilliamThis award will support a five year Cooperative Agreement with the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for management and operations of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) and the National Solar Observatory (NSO). NOAO and NSO will administer observing time to the astronomical community via peer reviewed observing proposals, providing access to research facilities for over 1000 scientists per year in astronomy and solar physics. NOAO and NSO will also administer public outreach through education programs, visitor centers, and Web-based information and imagery. NOAO and NSO will also be responsible for coordinating planning by the US community for major new federally funded initiatives in ground based optical and infrared astronomy; this planning is in close partnership with US universities and non-federal observatories. NOAO's facilities are located at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) near Tucson, Arizona, and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) near La Serena, Chile, which together include 4 telescopes of 4-meter class. NOAO is also responsible for the US Gemini Program Office (USGP), which is the gateway for US astronomers to their share of observing resources on the twin 8-meter Gemini Telescopes. Scientific studies will include Wide field imaging studies in optical and infrared wavelengths to locate and characterize the most distant visible objects in the universe and the dark matter pervading the universe, Spectroscopic studies to understand composition, distances, and ages of stars and galaxies, Imaging studies to locate and characterize Kuiper Belt Objects, the most distant bodies in the solar system, Imaging and spectroscopic observations of supernovae and other stellar explosions, to understand their intrinsic nature and their use a measures of the acceleration of the universe by "dark energy", Spectroscopic studies of the centers of galaxies and quasars to determine the nature of massive black holes located in these active galactic nuclei. NSO's facilities are located on Sacramento Peak, NM, and on Kitt Peak. The principal telescope at Sacramento Peak is a vacuum tower telescope with world's best image quality for solar studies, through use of solar adaptive optics. The principal telescope at Kitt Peak is a 1.5-meter all-reflecting solar telescope, world's largest solar telescope and optimized for infrared observations. NSO will also operate the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) telescopes and the worldwide telescopes for the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG). Scientific studies with the NSO telescopes will include High precision imaging of magnetic fields on the surface of the sun to understand the energy release mechanisms in solar flares, Synoptic monitoring of changes on the solar surface, including sunspots and explosive activity, to determine how these changes affect the Earth, including global climate change, Characterization of the internal structure of the sun using helioseismology, to determine why the sun changes with the 11 year sunspot cycle, Infrared spectroscopy of the solar chromosphere and corona to determine the location and composition of cooler clouds of molecular material, Infrared spectroscopy of the solar corona to understand the role of magnetic fields in shaping and controlling the corona, where solar material is ejected into interplanetary space.