Principal Instrument Upgrade at the BYU West Mountain Observatory

杨百翰大学西山天文台主要仪器升级

• 批准号: 0618209
• 负责人: Joseph Moody
• 金额: $ 69.34万
• 依托单位: Brigham Young University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-15 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0618209&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Principal; Instrument; Upgrade; BYU; West

AST-0618209J. W. MoodyBrigham Young UniversityUnlike most states in the clear-skied, western part of America, there are no modern astronomical telescopes in Utah. This situation is distressing since Utah universities, lead by BYU, and grant more undergraduate physics degrees per capita than any other state in the union. BYU has an especially strong program with 64 astronomy majors as of 2004. These undergraduates go to all the best graduate programs in the nation. It is in the best interest of American astronomy that they be properly trained on state-of-the-art facilities. It is also in the best interest of American astronomy to establish an intermountain facility that can be used for dissertations, stand-alone research projects, and research projects that support the work done on larger telescopes elsewhere. It is within the scope and mission of the NSF and the PREST program to improve education and research by helping secure a modern telescope in Utah.The premier astronomy program in Utah is at BYU, which owns the 20-year-old West Mountain Observatory (WMO) at the southern end of Utah Lake. The facility itself is in good condition but its 50-year-old 0.6m telescope (the largest telescope in Utah) is worn out and inadequate for modern research. Funds from this award will be used to replace the 0.6m telescope with a 0.9m DFM telescope and outfit it with a modern imager, spectrometer, and guiding system. This size is a good fit for the existing facilities. A 0.9m telescope is small by modern standards. The advent of larger telescopes has changed their use and focus but has not made them obsolete for doing front-line research. Smaller telescopes are useful for time-series work and specialized surveying of the type not usually possible at over-subscribed larger observatories. Programs of research in nebular and extragalactic imaging, nearby galaxy nuclear spectroscopy, stellar photometry and stellar spectroscopy will be pursued. The retrofitted WMO will be used for research and education projects at BYU and made available for 10 weeks per year to outside universities through a time allocation process. In addition to these 10 weeks, 2 weeks per year will be made available to students at the BYU sister institutions in Idaho and Hawaii. This new telescope will enable the campus 0.4m telescope to be used exclusively for an expanded education and public outreach program. This award will greatly strengthen the astronomy program at BYU and extend astronomical research and teaching opportunities to institutions and students that currently do not have access to modern facilities located on a convenient and dark site.This award is funded by the Division of Astronomical Sciences and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.

AST-0618209J。W.穆迪杨百翰大学与美国西部大部分州不同，犹他州没有现代天文望远镜。这种情况是令人痛心的，因为犹他州大学，由杨百翰大学领导，并授予更多的本科物理学位，人均比任何其他国家的联盟。截至2004年，杨百翰大学有一个特别强大的项目，有64个天文学专业。这些本科生去所有最好的研究生课程在全国。为了美国天文学的最大利益，他们应该在最先进的设施上得到适当的训练。建立一个山间设施，用于论文、独立研究项目和支持其他地方大型望远镜工作的研究项目，也符合美国天文学的最佳利益。这是在NSF和PREST计划的范围和使命之内，通过帮助确保犹他州的现代望远镜来改善教育和研究。犹他州的首要天文学项目是杨百翰大学，它拥有位于犹他州湖南端的20岁西山天文台（WMO）。该设施本身状况良好，但其50岁的0.6米望远镜（犹他州最大的望远镜）已经破旧不堪，不足以进行现代研究。这笔资金将用于用0.9米DFM望远镜取代0.6米望远镜，并为其配备现代成像仪，光谱仪和导航系统。这个尺寸非常适合现有的设施。0.9米的望远镜以现代标准来看是很小的。更大望远镜的出现改变了它们的用途和焦点，但并没有使它们在一线研究中过时。较小的望远镜对于时间序列工作和专业测量是有用的，而这类测量通常在超额订购的大型天文台是不可能的。将开展星云和河外成像、邻近星系核光谱学、恒星测光和恒星光谱学等研究方案。改造后的WMO将用于杨百翰大学的研究和教育项目，并通过时间分配程序每年向外部大学提供10周。除了这10周，每年将有2周的时间提供给杨百翰大学在爱达荷州和夏威夷的姐妹机构的学生。这台新望远镜将使校园0.4米望远镜专门用于扩大教育和公共宣传计划。 该奖项将大大加强杨百翰大学的天文学计划，并将天文学研究和教学机会扩展到目前无法获得位于方便和黑暗地点的现代设施的机构和学生。该奖项由天文科学部和多学科活动办公室资助。