Leading First Mid-IR Astronomy by the CanariCam Science Team at the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC)

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AST-0903672TelescoWhen it begins science operations in Fall 2009, the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) will be the largest optical and infrared telescope in the world. The GTC is located atop 2400-meter-high Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands. Its segmented mirror has a light-collecting area equivalent to a single circular mirror 10.4 meters in diameter. The University of Florida is a GTC partner with Spain and Mexico. Dr Telesco led the team that built CanariCam, the GTC facility camera that operates in the mid-infrared (thermal) region at wavelengths between 8 and 25 microns. To use to best advantage over 30 nights of GTC observing time awarded to the instrument builder, Dr Telesco formed the CanariCam Science Team (CCST), an international team of more than thirty astronomers. The CCST will carry out groundbreaking research in three key areas: sub-stellar objects (brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets), active galactic nuclei, and protoplanetary disks. These results will have broad implications for our understanding of puzzles at the leading edge of astrophysics.This award provides critical threshold support to assure the success of the CCST, covering travel funds for observing runs and team meetings. This is crucial for bringing the GTC into full science operation and allowing US access to the world's largest telescope and its state-of-the-art mid-IR instrumentation. The graduate students and post-docs on the CCST will receive training in a superlative international environment, which will also lay the groundwork for future world-wide collaborations.