Collaborative Research: The Boston University/Lowell Observatory Partnership - Bringing the Perkins Telescope into the 21st Century

合作研究：波士顿大学/洛厄尔天文台合作伙伴关系 - 将珀金斯望远镜带入 21 世纪

• 批准号: 0440936
• 负责人: Kenneth Janes
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-01-01 至 2008-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0440936&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Boston; University; Lowell

Proposal: AST-0440936Principal Investigator: Kenneth JanesInstitution: Boston UniversityTitle: Collaborative Research: The Boston University/Lowell Observatory Partnership - Bringing the Perkins Telescope into the 21st CenturyABSTRACT:Five years ago, Boston University and Lowell Observatory joined in a partnership to operate the1.83-meter Perkins telescope on Anderson Mesa outside Flagstaff, Arizona. Much of the efforts over the ensuing period were directed toward the development of a new generation of instrumentation for the telescope: PRISM, a wide-field optical imager, polarimeter and spectrometer went into operation in November 2003. Mimir, a wide-field 1 - 5 micron imager, polarimeter and spectrometer and the White Spectrograph, a moderate-resolution optical spectrograph, will achieve first light by early fall of 2004. The goal of the current program is to continue the modernization of the Perkins Telescope, with a few key improvements, thus creating effective resources in support of the scientific and educational missions of the two partnering institutions and to the astronomical community via a program of competitive community access to the telescope. These efforts will improve the image quality of the Perkins telescope, make some key productivity enhancements and for educational innovations. Specifically, the new development program includes ventilation of the control room, telescope and dome, telescope and dome insulation, telescope safeguards, student travel, a graduate-student-in-residence program, a real-time cloud monitor and instrument upgrades.Intellectual Merit: The new instrumentation now going into operation at the Perkins will provide the Lowell/Boston University partnership with an important niche in "observation space," not readily available elsewhere, including wide-field polarimetry, imaging and multi-object low-resolution spectroscopic capability across the spectrum from the near UV to the near IR. This will position the telescope well for surveys and synoptic studies, ranging from tracking Kuiper-belt objects, to following stellar activity in old open cluster stars, to mapping the galactic magnetic field, to monitoring polarization variations in blazars.Broader Impact: Boston University has a rigorous graduate program and one of the largest undergraduate programs in the country and Lowell Observatory has an extensive outreach program. The next generation of students that pass through the Boston University and Lowell Observatory programs will be enriched in their understanding and appreciation of the way astronomical observations are done. Astronomically, ongoing surveys and synoptic programs will provide scientific support for projects on larger telescopes and spacecraft.This award is being funded jointly by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.

提案：AST-0440936首席研究员：Kenneth Janes机构：波士顿大学标题：合作研究：波士顿大学/洛厄尔天文台合作--将帕金斯望远镜带入21世纪摘要：五年前，波士顿大学和洛厄尔天文台合作，在亚利桑那州弗拉格斯塔夫外的安德森梅萨上运行1. 83米的帕金斯望远镜。在随后的一段时间里，大部分工作都是针对望远镜新一代仪器的开发：棱镜，一个宽视场光学成像仪，偏振计和分光计于2003年11月投入使用。Mimir是一种宽视场的1 - 5微米成像仪、偏振仪和分光计，白色摄谱仪是一种中等分辨率的光学摄谱仪，将于2004年初秋首次亮相。当前计划的目标是继续帕金斯望远镜的现代化，并进行一些关键的改进，从而创造有效的资源来支持两个合作机构的科学和教育任务，并通过竞争性社区访问望远镜的计划来支持天文学界。这些努力将提高帕金斯望远镜的图像质量，提高一些关键的生产力，并促进教育创新。具体而言，新的开发计划包括控制室通风、望远镜和圆顶、望远镜和圆顶隔热、望远镜安全保障、学生旅行、研究生住宿计划、实时云监控和仪器升级。智力优势：新的仪器现在将在帕金斯投入使用，这将为洛厄尔/波士顿大学的合作伙伴关系提供一个重要的"观测空间，"其他地方不容易获得的，包括宽场偏振测量、成像和从近紫外到近红外光谱的多物体低分辨率光谱能力。这将使望远镜能够很好地进行调查和天气研究，从跟踪柯伊伯带物体，到跟踪旧疏散星团恒星的恒星活动，到绘制银河磁场，更广泛的影响：波士顿大学有一个严格的研究生课程，也是全国最大的本科课程之一，洛厄尔天文台有一个广泛的推广计划。通过波士顿大学和洛厄尔天文台计划的下一代学生将丰富他们对天文观测方式的理解和欣赏。在天文学方面，正在进行的调查和天气方案将为大型望远镜和航天器项目提供科学支持，该奖项由天文科学司和多学科活动办公室联合资助。