MRI: Acquisition of a meter-class telescope at Western Kentucky University

研究人员建议用现代望远镜和控制系统取代西肯塔基大学（WKU）使用的过时的望远镜和控制系统。这台新仪器将为西堪萨斯大学和附近大学的学生和教师提供一个平台，让他们可以进行高质量的研究观测。该仪器将被学生和教师用于研究一系列涉及遥远星系和恒星天文学中悬而未决的问题的研究。新工具将使西堪萨斯大学能够增加本科生对研究项目的参与。研究人员建议用新的PlaneWave 0.7米望远镜和控制系统取代西肯塔基大学贝尔天文台现有的40年历史的0.6米望远镜和控制系统。这台新仪器将为西堪萨斯大学和附近的学院和大学的学生和教师提供服务。目前，美国还没有一种仪器足够大，既能提供高质量的研究数据，又能广泛地提供给学生和教师。研究人员将使用该仪器(1)来了解活动星系核（AGN）的结构和发射机制；(2)探索银河系的结构；(3)区分凌日行星系统和低质量食双星；(4)研究以前被忽视的变星类别，它们是重要的距离指示器（RR Lyrae变量）和可以直接确定恒星物理特性的系统（食双星）。该项目由AST ATI计划、刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）和OD/OIA/MRI共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The investigators propose to replace an out of date telescope and control system used at Western Kentucky University (WKU) with a modern telescope and control system. The new instrument will provide students and faculty at WKU and nearby colleges and universities, a platform with which they can undertake research-quality observations. The instrument will be used by students and faculty to study a range of research involving studies of distant galaxies and outstanding questions in stellar astronomy. The new instrument will enable WKU to increase the involvement of undergraduate students in research projects. The investigators propose to replace the existing 40-year-old, 0.6 m Group 128 telescope and control system at Western Kentucky University’s (WKU) Bell Observatory with a new PlaneWave 0.7 m telescope and control system. This new instrument will serve students and faculty at WKU and nearby colleges and universities. There is currently no instrument in the state that is both large enough to provide research quality data and widely available to students and faculty. The instrument will be used by researchers (1) to understand the structure of, and emission mechanisms at work in, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN); (2) to probe the structure of the Milky Way galaxy; (3) to distinguish between transiting planetary systems and low mass eclipsing binaries; and (4) to study previously neglected classes of variable stars that are important distance indicators (RR Lyrae variables) and systems that allow the direct determination of physical characteristics of stars (eclipsing binary stars). This project is jointly funded by the AST ATI Program, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and OD/OIA/MRI.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.