NSF Visitor Support for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a national astronomical observatory primarily to support spacecraft missions and to obtain infrared observations of Solar System objects. The IRTF is managed, operated and maintained for NASA under a Cooperative Agreement with the University of Hawaii (UH) through its Institute for Astronomy. NASA provides the majority of the operating cost of the facility as well as visitor support for the astronomers carrying out programs focused on Solar System objects. Fifty percent of the available observing time is allocated to Solar System observing programs. The rest of the observing time is allocated to observational programs emphasizing scientific programs outside the Solar System. The IRTF visitor use for these non-Solar System programs has been supported by the NSF in the past. This grant will continue the NSF funding support for visiting astronomers for the IRTF for an additional two years.From 2012-2016, 539 refereed publications have resulted from IRTF observations, of which 395 are non-Solar System publications. Most of the IRTF staff is based at the UH facilities in Hilo, situated in a largely rural setting with large minority communities. Several underrepresented groups (e.g., native Hawaiian) are employees of UH or are UH students with the IRTF. The IRTF contributes to educational and public outreach within the Hilo community through three major programs: Journey through the Universe, the Imiloa Astronomy Center, and the Maunakea Scholars Program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.