OPTICON questionaire 1. Name of facility 2. Relevant web address 3. Location 4. Main OPTICON contact person (incl. email address) 5. Operating agencies/countries 6. Telescopes relevant to OPTICON 7. Instruments 8. Development plans 9. Perceived strengths and weaknesses -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Anglo-Australian Observatory Relevant web address: http://www.aao.gov.au/ Location: Siding Spring Observatory, Coonababran, NSW, Australia (AAT & UKST) Anglo-Australian Observatory, Epping, Sydney, NSW, Australia (AAO) Main OPTICON contact person: Chris Tinney, cgt@aaoepp.aao.gov.au Operating agencies/countries: UK- PPARC, Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council AUSTRALIA- Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs Telescopes relevant to OPTICON: 3.92m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) 48" UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST, now operated by the AAO) Instruments: AAT - 2dF : 400 fibre multi-object spectrograph and positioner with a 2 degree field of view. IRIS2 : an infrared imager and spectrograph, based on a HAWAII IR detector providing near-IR imaging (8'x8') and R<2500 spectrscopy. LDSS++ - a multi-slit spectrograph, including a VPH grism and an implementation of 'microslit' nod-and-shuffle operation allowing up to 300-400 very faint objects to be observed simultaneously. RGO Spectrograph (RGO) - an optical grating spectrograph. SPIRAL - 512-element (11"x22") optical integral field unit and spectrograph (R~1100-11000). TaurusII - a Fabry-Perot interferometer for imaging or polarimetry. Taurus Tunable Filter (TTF) - tunable narrow-band imaging with Taurus II UCLES - a cross-dispersed R=50-80,000 echelle spectrograph (0.3-1.0um). UHRF - an ultra-high (R=3e5-1e6) resolution spectrograph. WFI - an 8Kx8K imaging CCD mosaic (33'x33'). LDSS++,RGO,TaurusII/TTF,Spiral, UCLES and UHRF all serviced by 1K TEK thinned CCD, or 2Kx4K MITLL thinned CCDs or 2Kx4K thinned EEV CCD. UKST - Imaging : photography in IIIaF, IIIaJ and Tech Pan 4415 emulsions. A Halpha inteference filter covering a 5.5deg diameter field is available for Tech Pan 4415 imaging. 6df - 150 fibre multi-object spectrograph and positioner, serving a 6 degree field of view. 1-4A/pixel on 2Kx4K EEV detector. Development plans: Future development plans at the AAO focus on its strength in wide-field astronomy and innovative and world leading instrumentation. Instruments planned to take over the majority of observing in the next 5 years are o AAOmega - a major upgrade to the 2dF system, providing a stable bench-mounted high-throughput spectrograph, and new high throughput fibres. The AAOmega spectrographs will be specifically designed with "nod-and-shuffle" mode observing in mind, removing current limitations on sky subtraction and permitting observations of very deep single fields over many nights. o CYCLOPS - and image slicing fibre feed for the UCLES spectrograph providing improved throughput and doubled resolution in ALL seeing conditions. o IRIS2+MACRO - MACRO will be a multi-slit upgrade to IRIS2 poviding multi-slit infrared spectrscopy over the full 8'x8' IRIS2 field. o WFI+Lyot - The current WFI will be provided with a Lyot tunable filter to provide similar tunable cpabilities to TTF, but over a 30' diameter field of view. In parallel to these 'in house' instrumentation programs, the AAO plans to pursue a vigorous 'External Instruments' program, where the Observatory's recognised skills in instrumentation are used to provide design and construction facilities for the 8-m generation of telescopes. Perceived strengths (+) and weaknesses (-): + Excellent in-house technical, scientific and innovative skills. + Established world-class instruments - in particular 2dF and UCLES/UHRF. + A developed observatory infrastructure in a developed nation and and at a location technical staff WANT to live. + A focussed strategic plan for the future development of the Observatory in the 8m epoch. + High scientific output of the Observatory's staff and telescopes. + A truly dark site. - Only average site from seeing and weather statistics viewpoint. - Site not suited to high resolution science. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, "Cassini" Telescope Relevant web address: http://www.bo.astro.it Location: Loiano, Bologna, Italy Main OPTICON contact person: dr.Valentina Zitelli, Zitelli@bo.astro.it phone: 0039 051 209 5739 fax: 0039 051 209 5700 Operating agencies/countries: INAF: Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy CNAA: Consorzio Nazionale di Astronomia e Astrofisica Telescopes relevant to OPTICON: 152 cm Ritchey-Chretien "G.Cassini" Telescope. Instruments: BFOSC: Bologna Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera, equipped with an EEV CCD 1.3x1.3K, 12 arcmin FOV. Spectral res. ranging from 300 to 3500. Perceived strengths (+) and weaknesses (-): + Well developed and maintained observatory infrastructure. + Permanent night assistance. + Flexibility towards accepting visiting instruments. + Easy road access and simple logistic + - Wide field camera (1x1 sq.deg.) available but not equipped with modern instruments/detectors. - not so excellent weather: useful nights around 40-50 % with large fluctuations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope Corporation Relevant web address: http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/ Location: Base Facility: PO Box 1597, Kamuela, Hawaii Observatory: Summit of Mauna Kea Main OPTICON contact person: Gregory G. Fahlman, fahlman@cfht.hawaii.edu Operating agencies/countries: NRC: National Research Council of Canada CNRS: Centre National de la Researche Scientifique (France) UH: University of Hawaii Telescopes relevant to OPTICON: 3.6m CFHT Instruments: Imaging: CFHT12k: a close packed array of 12 CCDS offering a 42'x28' fov at prime focus, 12kx8k pixels. Available filters include broad-band B,V,R,I,z' and narrow band filiters for H-alpha on and off, TiO and CN. AOB: (Pueo)The CFHT Adaptive Optics Bonnette features a 19 element bimorph mirror and curvature sensor. Under median seeing conditions and on a bright guide star, the Strehl ratios of J, H and K images are 0.27, 0.41 and 0.56 respectively. The instrument has been designed for ease of use (one-button operation). AOB/KIR: KIR is a high resolution 1024 x 1024 near-infrared camera based on the Rockwell-HAWAII (HgCdTe) focal plane array. This array is sensitive to radiation from 0.7 to 2.5 microns. KIR has been designed to be used at the F/20 output focus of Pueo. The standard I, J, H, K and K' broad-band filters are available, as well as several narrow-band filters AOB/FOCAM: Two visible imaging systems are available for use behind Pueo, each offering two different plate scales via an optional focal-reducer. CFHT-IR: The new CFHT-IR camera is based on the 1Kx1K Rockwell-HAWAII (HgCdTe) focal plane array and includes a cryostat with two 8-position filter wheels and a pupil mask. The same pixel scale of 0.211''/pixel is used for both direct imaging and multi-object spectroscopy (to be implemented 2001A with OSIS-IR), leading to a fov of 3.6' x 3.6'. Spectroscopy: MOS: Imaging spectrograph capable of taking custom masks cut with a laser (LAMA) from an image in semi-real time. Fov (arcminutes), imaging: 9.4x9.5, spectroscopy: 9.3x8.3 OSIS: Optionally stabilized Imager and Spectrograph: Uses fast tip-tilt guiding to provide a 3.6x3.6 arcminute fov with good sampling. OSIS operates in the visible (CCD detectors) and in the near IR up to 2µm.(OSIS-IR mode with the CFHT-IR camera) It accepts laser cut masks. Fabry-Perot: moderate resolution (~5000 to 10000) 2-D spectroscopy available for use with MOS, OSIS and the CFHT AOB. Gecko: F/4 coude spectrograph provides a spectral resolving power R up to 120,000 from the atmospheric cutoff near 3000Å to 1µm. Gecko has been optimized for use with a single spectral order (between 5 and 18) from the 316 groove/mm echellette mosaic. Image slicers are used to optimize the throughput. GECKO is fiber-fed from f/8 in the visible and red. A mirror-train may be used in the uv-blue. OASIS: (to Spring 2002): OASIS is a multi-mode spectro-imager, working in the 0.43 µm to 1 µm range It is operated as a CFHT "guest" instrument. OASIS normally makes use of the corrected 90 arcsec diameter F/20 field given by the CFHT Adaptative Optics Bonnette. It can also be used at the direct F/8 Cassegrain focus. Development Plans: o CFHT is initiating a queued and service (QSO) mode for CFHT12k operations in 2001, to be extended to MegaCam operations (see below). The new observing process will include QSO, a new observing envirnment (NEO), real-time data processing support for QSO and pipe-lined processing of data (Elixir) that is to be distributed to PIs with instrumental signatures removed. o The CFHT12k array is to be replaced by MegaCam, an array of 36-40 EEV CCDs (4.5kx2k pixels) that will give a one square-degree field of view. MegaCam is mounted on a new prime-focus upper end, that includes a wide-field corrector and integrated tip-tilt plate designed to produce 0.5 arcsec images across the entire field of view. This will be the leading instrument of its type in the world. First light: Summer 2002. o ESPADonS: This fiber-fed, bench-mounted echelle spectro-polarimeter is being built by a French-Canadian consortium based in Toulouse and Laval. It will produce a complete optical spectrum (from 370 to 1,000 nm) in a single exposure with a resolving power of about 50,000. Available in the fall of 2002. o WIRCAM: Wide-field Infrared Imaging camera. The current design is based on four Rockwell-Hawaii-2 (2kx2k pixels) focal plane arrrays, giving an active sky-coverage of 17'x17'. This instrument is in the conceptual design phase and is to be deployed in 2004. Perceived Strengths(+) and Weaknesses(-) + Superb site + Versatile telescope, with innovative, reliable instrumentation. + experienced and dedicated staff + corporate structure with a highly functional system of governing/advisory boards. + emphasis on sustained scientific programs directed toward major issues in Astrophysics. - with the retirement of our f/35 upper-end, CFHT will no longer be capable of supporting mid-IR instrumentation. - with the departure of OASIS (in 2002) to the WHT, we will not have an integral-field spectroscopic capabilty in the visible. - the CFHT AO system requires upgrading to remain fully competitive with newer systems. - increasing emphasis on wide-field imaging is squeezing other intruments (e.g., OASIS) off the telescope, diminishing the broad appeal of CFHT to our community. This issue could be addressed by putting time-sharing agrrements in place among complimentarily equipped telescopes. Long Term Future: The long term future of CFHT is the subject of an active discussion in the CFHT community. The CFHT Board of Directors passed the following resolution at its December 2000 meeting: ___________________________________________ The Board strongly encourages the Corporation to continue its efforts to develop concepts for a new telescope facility that would be consistent with the Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan and that would have an effective aperture much larger than 10m. The goal for first light of for such a facility would be approximately 2010-2015. The Board is pleased to note the success of the studies for a new telescope that were presented at the CFHT21 meeting and encourages groups in the member communities to continue to develop these concepts. Since it is possible that an expansion of the existing partnership would be required to undertake such a project, the Corporation is encouraged to explore possibilities for new partnerships and to receive expressions of interest from potential partners. ______________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1. Name of facility Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman, Calar Alto Observatory > 2. Relevant web address www.mpia-hd.mpg.de, www.caha.es > 3. Location Sierra de los Filabres, Andalucia, Spain > 4. Main OPTICON contact person (incl. email address) Roland Gredel, gredel@mpia-hd.mpg.de, gredel@caha.es > 5. Operating agencies/countries MPG, Max-Planck Society, Germany > 6. Telescopes relevant to OPTICON 3.5m 2.2m 1.23m > 7. Instruments 3.5m ALFA, adaptive optics system, fully operational and offered to general user community, provides diffraction limited imaging down to 0.''13 in K OmegaPrime 1k HAWAII NIR detector, FOV 6.8 arcmin. To be replaced in summer 01 by Omega2000, 2k HAWAII NIR detector, offering FOV 13.2 arcmin in the 3.5m prime focus. OmegaCass 1k HAWAII NIR detector, JHK imaging, polarimetry, grism spectroscopy up to R=10.000. MOSCA focal reducer f/2.7, with 2x4k SITe 15 mu detector, to allow for direct imaging, low-resolution spectroscopy, and MOS. TWIN intermediate resolution spectrograph with simultaneous observations in blue and red wavelength region. 2.2m CAFOS, focal reducer f/4.4, similar to MOSCA FOCES, fibre fed coude spectrograph, R=50.000, covering the full optical range in one integration MAGIC (256k) JHK imaging and grism spectroscopy 1.23m CCD, MAGIC (as 2.2m) > 8. Development plans 3.5m ALFA: near infrared wavefront sensor, to replace LGS LAICA, 8x8k (4 4x4k mosaic) wide field imager in prime focus, operational in summer 2001, to provide a 1 square degree field OMEGA2000, 2x2K NIR HAWAII detectors, 15' FOV in prime focus, JHK imaging, operationality expected in 2001 2.2m CAFOS4000, upgrade of Cafos with 4k array > 9. Perceived strengths and weaknesses strengths: - state of the art near infrared instrumentation, active development of prime focus wide field imagers in the optical and near-infrared wavelength regions - improved natural ventilation of 3.5m dome via vents to be installed in 2001, -service observations of 20% presently, to be increased up to 2/3 in total, to guarantee successful completion of highly rated scientific proposals at the expense of the number of proposals carried out in total. Instrument calibration plans to monitor efficiencies and to guarantee minimal quality of data. weakness: poor weather statistics. Up to 40% of time lost due to bad weather. Note: Weather losses to be compensated by service observations in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes Relevant web address: http://www.ing.iac.es/ Location: Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Spain Main OPTICON contact person: Rene Rutten, rgmr@ing.iac.es Operating agencies/countries: UK-PPARC Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council NL-NWO Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Telescopes relevant to OPTICON: 1-m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope (JKT) 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) Instruments: JKT - Cassegrain optical imager, thinned 2k x 2k CCD, 10 arcmin field. INT - IDS: Cassegrain Intermediate Dispersion long-slit Spectrograph. Dispersion range from 6.8 to 271 A/mm. - WFC: Prime focus Wide Field Camera with four thinned 4k x 2k pixel CCDs. Field covered approx 30 arcmin. WHT - ISIS: Cassegrain general purpose double beam long-slit spectrograph and spectropolarimeter. Range of dispersions from 8 to 120 A/mm. Operating wavelength from 0.3 to 1 micron. - INGRID: Cassegrain IR camera based on 1k x 1k Hawaii array. Field of view of 4 arcmin. - Cassegrain auxilary port CCD imaging camera covering 1.5 arcmin. - UES: Nasmyth bench-mounted echelle spectrograph for multiple- order short slit, or single-order long slit spectroscopy. Dispersion ~2 A/mm (resolution up to ~80000). Operating wavelengths from 0.3 to 1 micron. - NAOMI: Nasmyth common-user adaptive optics system capable of diffraction limited imaging at IR wavelengths at high Strehl. In conjunction with the IR camera provides imaging at 0.04 arcsec/pixel over 40 arcsec field. - PFC: Prime focus CCD imaging camera with 4k x 4k covering a 16 arcmin field. - AUTOFIB: Prime focus multi-object robotic fibre positioner and spectrograph with 150 object fibres over a 1 degree field. Range of available dispersions from 1.33 to 480 A/mm. Development plans: Future developments on the WHT focuses on two strands: Adaptive Optics and wide field spectroscopy. The AO developments for the immediate future centre on the completion of a coronagraph and the deployment of the OASIS optical integral field spectrograph. High on the wish list is the deployment of a laser beacon system which would provide nearly full sky coverage for adaptive optics. Related to the adaptive optics developments service and queue observing modes of operation will be implemented. Perceived strengths (+) and weaknesses (-): + High quality observing site with very good weather and seeing statistics. + Well developed and maintained observatory infrastructure. + Full meteorology recording and (shortly) robottic DIMM operation. + Flexibility towards accepting visiting instruments. + Well developed data archive, and focus on development of pipeline data reduction infrastructure for optical/ir imaging. + High scientific output of in particular the WHT. + Running a popular service observing programme, and extention of service and queue observing modes. - Lack of IR spectroscopy and general mid-IR instrumentation. - No wide field imager on the WHT. - Stability of echelle spectrograph could be improved. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Name of facility Joint Astronomy Centre 2. Relevant web address http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/ 3. Location Mauna Kea, Hawaii USA 4. Main OPTICON contact person (incl. email address) Ian Robson, eir@jach.hawaii.edu 5. Operating agencies/countries Operated by PPARC: solely for UKIRT, and on behalf of the UK (55%), Canada (25%) and the Netherlands (20%) for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope 6. Telescopes relevant to OPTICON United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) - 3.8m infrared telescope with fast tip-tilt secondary giving almost diffraction limited images at K-band. ORAC control system provides seamless interaction for the observer's control of the instrument, observing queue and on-line data reduction. Instrumentation currently provides imaging and spectroscopy between 0.8 and 5 microns, shortly to be extended to 28 microns. 7. Instruments Facility instruments in operation. All are Cass mounted and fed via tertiary dichroic and switching between instruments takes between 5 and 10 minutes, allowing flexible observing to match conditions. UFTI: A 1-2.5um camera with a 1024x1024 HgCdTe array; the pixel size is 0.09" to make use of the excellent imaging quality giving a field-of-view of 92 arcsec. Standard filters plus a narrow-band set available. A K-band 400 km/s Fabry-Perot is available along with imaging polarimetric capability (with IRPOL). IRCAM: 1-5um Camera with a 256x256 InSb array; the pixel size is 0.08" giving a field-of-view of 20.8 arcsec. Standard filter set available and supports L-band imaging polarimetry. CGS4: 1-5um Long Slit Grating Spectrometer with a 256x256 InSb array supporting spectral resolutions of R ~ 400-40,000 via four gratings. With the 150mm focal length camera normally used this gives in a one-pixel-wide slit a scale of 0.61 arcsec/pixel for the two moderate resolution gratings and 1.0x1.5 for the echelle (the 1.0 in the direction of the dispersion). The slit lengths are 80-90 arcsecs and can be oriented to any position angle on the sky. IRPOL: Facility polarimetry module for CGS4, UFTI and IRCAM/TUFTI. Uses an externally mounted polarising module with internal analysers in the individual instruments. Supports visiting instruments at Cassegrain port. 8. Development plans - new instruments - all being constructed at the UKATC Michelle: mid-IR (8-28 um) imaging spectrometer to be delivered in spring 2001 and will be shared 50-50 with Gemini N on a 9-month rotating basis. Michelle uses a 320x240 SiAs SBRC BIB array with a pixel size of 0.21 arcsec and field-of-view of 1 arcmin and in spectroscopy mode has resolution of 100- 30,000 with 0.38 arcsec pixels. Standard and narrow-band filter sets available for imaging along with polarimetry. UIST: near IR (0.9-5 um) imaging spectrometer to be delivered in late 2001. UIST has a 1024x1024 InSb array and will provide high angular resolution (0.06" pixels) and wide-field (120") imaging capabilities, as well as grism spectroscopy at spectral resolutions ranging from low (R~600), covering the JHK windows all at once with a long slit, through medium (R = 1500-2000) covering single complete windows in long-slit mode and JH, HK or KL band combinations with short slits and cross-dispersed spectra, and a medium-high (R = 3000 - 5000) resolution optimised for work between the OH lines in the J, H and K windows. An integral field unit will allow spectroscopy of a contigous set of high-spatial-resolution (0.36") pixels covering a 5"x6" FOV at medium and high resolutions. WFCAM: wide-field camera to be in operation in 2003. WFCAM employs four 2048x2048 HgCdTe arrays (Rockwell Hawaii-2) giving a 0.2 sq. deg field-of-view in a single exposure with a pixel size of 0.4 arcsec. Tip-tilt will be employed to give the best possible image quality and the psf will be properly sampled by use of microstepping. WFCAM will operate with J,H and K filters plus one or more narrow-band filters. WFCAM will achieve depths of K=20 mag over one square degree to 3 sigma in one hour. UKIRT is expected to be operated mainly in a wide-field survey and follow-up mode from 2006. 9. Perceived strengths and weaknesses Very strong scientific output and impact. Very strong and enthusiastic user support. Very high quality of support for visiting observers. Extremely low fault rate. ORAC control and on-line data reduction system. Strong support from the UKATC. Strong and funded development programme. Stable dual-beam polarimetry for all observing modes. Delayed arrival of thermal capability. Pressure to reduce operations costs. Emissivity 10% but clear path to obtaining 5% ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LA SILLA OBSERVATORY -------------------- Web: www.ls.eso.org Location: Cerro La Silla, IV Region, Chile Operating Agencies: ESO + National institutes as indicated below. Telescopes Relevant to OPTICON: 15m Swedish-ESO Sub-mm telescope (SEST): ESO/OSO 50%/50%. 3.6m Telescope: ESO 3.5m New Technology Telescope: ESO 2.2m MPI telescope: ESO/MPIA 75%/25% 1.5m ESO telescope: ESO (50% of the time sold to IAG Brazil) 1.5m Danish telescope: ESO/Copenhagen 66%/33%. Instrumentation: SEST: 1.0, 1.15, 1.5, 2.3 and 3.5mm receivers. High resolution and low resolution spectrometers. 3.6m: EFOSC: ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera. Imaging low resolution spectrograph. Imaging and spectro-polarimeter; Coronograph and Multi object spectroscopy. The field of view is 5.4'x5.4' with 0.157''/pixel (15 microns). CES: Coude Echelle Spectrometer. Fibre-fed from Cass focus. 2''fibers. 2kx4k x-CCD resolution up to 235,000 with image slicers. TIMMI2: Thermal Infrared Multi Mode Instrument. Imaging spectrograph in the 10 and 20 micron atmospheric windows. Uses a 240x320 SBRC array with a range of magnifications (pixel resolution), and different grisms for spectroscopy. NTT: EMMI: ESO multi Mode Instrument. Double spectrograph for grating intermediate and high resolution spectroscopy and grism low resolution spectroscopy. The field of view for Imaging is 9x9 minutes in the red arm (0.27'' pixels) and 6.2x6.2' in the blue arm (0.37'' pixels). A range of grisms, gratings and Echelle gratings are available. SUSI2: Superb Seeing Imager. Double camera for very high resolution imaging. Only the blue side is currently available with a $4k\times4k$ mosaic. Pixel size is 15 microns corresponding to 0.08''/pix. The total field of view if 5.5'x5.5'. A wide range of filters is available. SOFI: Son OF Isaac. Near IR imaging spectrograph similar to the low wavelength arm of ISAAC on the VLT. Allows imaging, imaging polarimetry, and low resolution (600 and 1500) grism spectroscopy. Field of view 4.9'x4.9' with Hawaii 1024 array. Different pixel scales available starting at 0.144''/pix. 2.2m WFI: Wide Field Imager. 8kx8k CCD mosaic with a pixel scale of 0.238''/pix. The total field of view is 33x34 minutes Two grisms are available for slitless spectroscopy and a wide range of broad band, intermediate band, and narrow band filters are available. E1.5m Boller and Chivens spectrograph. Standard B&C spectrograph with long slit equipped with a special high efficiency dioptric camera and a Loral/Lesser 2688x512 CCD. The pixel scale is 0.8''/pixel and the maximum slit length is 4.5'. A wide range of gratings are available including holographic ones. The instrument allows a resolution of 1 angstrom with a 2'' slit. FEROS: Fibre Extend Range Optical Spectrograph. Bench mounted Echelle spectrograph fibre fed from the B&C adapter. It has a fixed format covering the wavelength range from 360nm to 920nm at a resolution of 48,000 with an EEV 2048x4096 CCD. D1.5m DFOSC: Danish Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera. Imaging spectrograph similar to EFOSC2 on the 3.6m. A wide range of filters and grisms is available. DFOSC uses an EEV 2048x4096 CCD with 0.39''/pixel. A MOS mode exists in DFOSC but it is not supported by ESO. Development plans: HARPS: High Accuracy Planet Searcher. 1m/s radial velocity machine based on fixed format Echelle spectrograph. Fiber fed. 2002. SIMBA: SEST Imaging mm Bolometer Array. 37 element AC biased bolometer array. 2001. SUSI2 Red arm: Install an orthogonal transfer CCD on the red arm of SUSI2 to allow on-chip tip-tilt corrections. Date depends on availability of chip. High dispersion spectro-polarimeter to be used either on CES or FEROS. 2002 New generation instrument for NTT. 2004 New generation instrument for 3.6m. 2004. Perceived strengths: Excellent staff, modern organizational structure. Excellent site. Meteo data incl. seeing available on-line on real time. Excellent infrastructure. Very productive observatory in terms of papers per year. All ESO operated telescopes recently upgraded in software and hardware. Very high operating efficiency. Fully computerized operations and maintenance procedures. Documentation and visitor information available on-line. International organization. Many private telescopes and experiments running on La Silla. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Name of facility : National Observatory of Athens 2. Relevant web address : http:/www.astro.noa.gr 3. Location 2.3m ARISTARCHOS telescope (Carl Zeiss Jena, first light end of 2001), Kalavryta Astronomical Station, 2.3 km Chelmos mountain, Latitude : +37 59 04, Longitude : +22 11 46 Kalavryta Achaias, Peloponese, (3 hours car-drive west from Athens) 1.23m telescope (Grabb Parsons, 1975), Kryonerion Astronomical Station, 0.905 km, Kyllini mountain, Latitude : + 37 58 18, Longitude : +22 37 06 Kryonerion Korinthias, Peloponese (2 hours car-drive west from Athens) 4. Main OPTICON contact person (incl. email address) Emilios Harlaftis, ehh@astro.noa.gr 5. Operating agencies/countries General Secreteriat of Research and Technology, Greece 6. Telescopes relevant to OPTICON 2.3m ARISTARCHOS 1.23m telescope 7. Instruments 1.2-m telescope Cassegrain optical imager, 512x512 Tektronics CCD, 2.5 arcmin fov 2.3-m ARISTARCHOS 1kx1k UV-coated CCD, cassegrain side-port, 4.5 acrmin 3-CCD ULTRACAM (Visiting instrument), " , " 8. Development plans -DIMM monitoring campaign, -International agreements with other Institutes either for partnership, or for instrumentation -Spectrograph development -Flexible observing runs addressing time requirements (sub-second time resolution per night, more than 10 weeks time intervals for monitoring, long overrides for transient events) -Service and upgrade of 1.2m telescope 9. Perceived strengths and weaknesses + Modern design based on new-generation large telescopes (5 cass ports for instruments, control room 30m or 130 km away from telescope building,mirror and oil cooling systems, heat extractor, advanced ventilation of building, advanced shielding and insulation of building) + Remote-control operation + 1.05 degrees field of view at main cassegrain port + Access to a supercomputer at preferential rates for pipeline image processing, especially relevant for CCD mosaic (300th ranked supercomputer, HP V-class of 48 processors, each running at 550 MHz,30 Gb memory, 3Tb disk) + Spectroscopic runs can have CCD photometry support from nearby 1.2m telescope + Large amounts of observing time available on high-quality scientific programmes through a peer review system + Increased use of target of opportunity programmes - Stand-alone facility in South-East Europe + proximity to European Astronomers (farthest flight is London-Athens, 3.5 h, + 3-hour car drive) - international-standards site characterization incomplete - Observatory infrastructure under development - Instrumentation programme under development + Open to specialised visiting instrumentation either for on-sky demonstration/commissioning or general use -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Name of facility Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) 2. Relevant web address http://www.not.iac.es 3. Location Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma 4. Main OPTICON contact person (incl. email address) Dr. Vilppu Piirola (piirola@astro.utu.fi) 5. Operating agencies/countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden 6. Telescopes relevant to OPTICON 2.5 m Nordic Optical Telescope 7. Instruments ALFOSC focal reducer/low resolution spectrograph - 2kx2k thinned Loral-Lesser CCD, 6.5x6.5 arcmin field - grisms provide a wide range of dispersions - polarimetric capabilities SOFIN high resolution spectrograph - three cameras: R=170.000, R=80.000, R=35.000, two mounted simultaneously, selected by rotating the cross-dispersion prism TURPOL simultaneous five-colour (UBVRI) polarimeter - Simultaneous circular and linear polarimetry with high S/N and time resolution HiRAC tip-tilt correction direct imaging camera STANCAM standby CCD camera (1kx1k Tektronix) 8. Development plans NOTCam near-IR camera/spectrograph -Rockwell Hawaii array (1-2.5 um), to be commissioned in 2001 MOSCA mosaic of four 2kx2k thinned Loral-Lesser CCDs, to be commissioned in 2001 FRED focal reducer (f/11 to f/5), full unvignetted field of the NOT imaged with MOSCA (17x17 arcmin) FIES fiber-fed standby spectrograph (R=60.000), to be commissioned in 2001 New large-format CCDs will be purchased in 2001, additional funding received 9. Perceived strengths and weaknesses Strengths: Good image quality (excellent optics, minimal dome seeing) Good site (atmospheric seeing, weather statistics) Flexible scheduling (including long runs) Optimising instruments for the particular type of research: SOFIN/Doppler imaging ALFOSC/Gamma-ray bursts Turpol/highly magnetic stars etc. Weaknesses: Moderate resources (funding, staff, etc.) and consequently limited set of instrumentation available ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Observatoire Haute Province Telescope Relevant web address: http://www.obs-hp.fr/ Location: Haute Province, France Main OPTICON contact person: Jean-Pierre Sivan Sivan@obs-hp.fr Operating agencies/countries CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Telescopes relevant to OPTICON 1.92, 1.52, 1.2, 0.8m Telescopes Instruments: (details see spreadsheet) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Telescope Bernard Lyot (TBL) Relevant web address: http://www.obs-mip.fr/omp/usr5026 Location: Observatoire du Pic du Midi, Pyrenees, France Main OPTICON contact person: Michel Auriere, auriere@obs-mip.fr Operating agencies/countries CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UPS Universite Paul Sabatier Observatoire du Pic du Midi is part of Observatoire Midi Pyrenees (OMP) Telescopes relevant to OPTICON 2m Telescope Bernard Lyot (TBL) Instruments: MUSICOS: fiber fed echelle spectrograph/spectropolarimeter (R=38000, spectral domain 380-880 nm) MOICAM: NICMOSIII (256x256 pixels) F/8 and F/20 infrared camera ISARD: F/8 CCD focal reducer (field 4.5'x3.5') STERENN (team instrument): silicium chip one channel stellar polarimeter Development plans: NARVAL project: new generation spectropolarimeter (same design as ESPADONS, in construction for CFHT) which will be funded in the context of "Plan Etat Region" mainly by Region Midi Pyrenees. Fiber fed Echelle spectropolarimeter (spectral domain 370 to 1000 nm, R= 50,000, all polarisation components of the stellar light (circular and linear) with the same resolving power, 20% peak total throughput (telescope and detector included)). Expected to be in operation by end of 2003. Perceived strengths and weaknesses: +Long periods (weeks scale) of clear sky and good seeing +Upgrade of telescope and environment (almost completed) +Long term support of infrastructures at Pic du Midi and new scientific dynamics at Tarbes/Pic du Midi/TBL on the subject of solar and stellar magnetisms +TBL with MUSICOS then NARVAL has a unique potential in Europe for making spectropolarimetry - Capricious meteorological conditions - Global efficiency and quantitative scientific output to improve -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Asiago-Ekar Telescope. Relevant web address: http://pd.astro.it/ Location: Asiago, ITALY. Main OPTICON contact person (incl. email address): Daniela Fantinel, fantinel@pd.astro.it Operating agencies/countries: OAPD - Astronomical Observatory of Padova Telescopes relevant to OPTICON: 1.82-m Copernico Telescope. Instruments: A-FOSC: Asiago Faint Objects Spectragraph and Camera. camera mode: 1kx1k SITE (24 micron pixel size); FOV 8'x8'. grisms with R=200 up to 3600 and Polarimetry in both broad-band spectroscopic mode (up to R=1880). ECHELLE: a REOSC Echelle with R up to 20000. Development plans: Echelle instrument upgraded with a CCD LORAL 2kx2k (15 micron pixel size). Perceived strengths (+) and weaknesses (-): + Well maintained infrastructure. + Flexibility towards accepting visiting instruments. - Poor site both for seeing (median 1.5-2 arcsec) and weather statistic. - Currently night assistance is guaranteed until 2 a.m. (4 a.m. in good weather conditions). Astronomical Observatory Vicolo Osservatorio 5 35122 PADOVA Italy Phone: (049) 8293431 Fax: (049) 8759840 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name of facility: Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) Relevant web address: http://www.tng.iac.es/ Location: Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Spain Main OPTICON contact person: Ernesto Oliva, oliva@tng.iac.es Operating agencies/countries: INAF Italian Institute for Astrophysical Researches Telescopes relevant to OPTICON: 3.6-m TNG Instruments: Dolores : Multimode optical (0.3-1micron) imager and spectrometer, 2k x 2k CCD 9.4 arcmin field of view, low and moderate dispersion spectroscopy with RS from 500 to 4000. Multi object spectroscopy with masks manufactured using an in-house punching machine, up to about 60 objects can be accomodated into a single spectrum. SARG : High resolution optical (0.36-0.90 micron) thermostatized spectrometer, 4k x 4k CCD, resolving power RS from 43,000 to 146,000 high spectral stability <5 m/s with the iodine cell. NICS : Near Infrared (0.9-2.5 micron) multimode instrument, 1k x 1k Hawaii array, field of view 4.3 arcmin, low and moderate resolution spectroscopy with RS from 50 to 1500. Imaging polarimetry and spectropolarimetry with all-cryogenic optics. OIG : Optical direct imager, 4k x 4k CCD field of view 5 arcmin with 0.072"/pix sampling AdOpt : Adaptive optics module with tip-tilt and higher order corrections using natural guide stars. It can be used in combination with either the optical camera (OIG) or the infrared instrument (NICS). It also includes a small optical CCD camera optimized for speckle observations. Development plans: The instrumental developements are limited to the completion of the polarimetric modes for optical imaging and spectroscopy (Dolores + SARG) and to the developement of a medium resolution (RS about 10,000) fiber-fed near infrared spectrometer operating between 0.9 and 1.6 microns. In the next few years most of the effort will be concentrated into optimizing the use and the scientific return of the available instruments by means of flexible scheduling in service mode as well as of an efficient pipeline reduction and archiving system. These operations will also be used for training young astronomers and, in this context, we plan to ask European financial support through OPTICON. Perceived strengths (+) and weaknesses (-): + All instruments permanently mounted and always available, maximum flexibility for cued service observing operations. + High quality observing site with very good weather and seeing statistics. + Telescope with extremely good optics which can be best exploited with adaptive optics. + Well developed and maintained observatory infrastructure. + Spectroscopic capabilities in IR with a unique, ultra-high efficiency mode for low resolution spectra. + Polarimetric modes in all the optical and IR spectrometers. + Exceptional quality and stability of the high resolution optical spectrometer. + Multi object spectroscopy. - No wide field imaging available, especially in the IR. - Lack of mid-IR instruments. - No possibility of accepting visiting instruments. - Optical spectrometers not optimized for working in U. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------