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A partnership in discovery
Michigan
State
University
is one of four main partners in the
Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR)
Telescope consortium. The others are
the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill; the National Optical Ast
ron omy Observatories (NOAO), the organization
responsible for running telescopes in
Arizona and in Chile for the general
access of U.S. ast ron omers; and the
nation of Brazil . The nation of Chile
is a de facto partner.
Total
cost of the project is $43 million,
including $32 million for the initial
construction and 18 years of operations
costs. Observing time on the SOAR Telescope
will be apportioned according to the
financial commitments each partner has
made to the project. MSU has committed
$6 million and will be granted roughly
12 percent of the observing time. The
University of North Carolina will be
granted approximately 17 percent of
the available observing time per year;
the nation of Brazil will be granted
31 percent of the observing time; and
NOAO will have access to 30 percent
of the observing time.
Ten
percent of the viewing time will be
granted to Chilean ast ron omers as
part of the agreement for use of the
Cerro
Pachón
site.
Below
are short descriptions of each partner
and what each brings to the project
Michigan
State
University
The
Ast ron omy Group at MSU at present
consists of 10 full-time faculty members.
During the past decade, MSU ast ron
omers have garnered worldwide attention
with their studies of solar and stellar
activity; searches for the oldest, most
metal-poor stars in the galaxy; and
work in stellar pulsation, active galactic
nuclei and quasars, and cosmology. MSU
ast ron omers are co-investigators in
the newly funded Physics F ron tier
Center JINA: Joint Institute for Nuclear
Astrophysics. Faculty within the Ast
ron omy Group already has constructed
advanced detectors and spectrographs
for conducting observations at other
telescopes. Their technical expertise
puts MSU in a leadership role within
the SOAR consortium for the design and
construction of new instruments for
the SOAR Telescope. The MSU SOAR Web
site: www.pa.msu.edu/soarmsu/
The
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
The
University of North Carolina , which
has been involved in the SOAR project
from the beginning, brings a st ron
g background of research in southern
hemisphere skies, along with experience
in optical and infrared imaging and
spectroscopy. UNC included the project
in its bicentennial President's Fund-Raising
Campaign on the premise that the SOAR
project will re-establish UNC as one
of the premier research universities
in the south. www.physics.unc.edu/research/astro/index.php
National
Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO)
NOAO
is operated by the Association of Universities
for Research in Ast ron omy under a
cooperative agreement with the National
Science Foundation. NOAO operates optical
observatories in Arizona and Chile and
has a 30-year record of harmonious working
relations with a wide variety of governments
in Chile . www.noao.edu/
Nation
of Brazil
During
the past few decades, Brazilian ast
ron omy has become competitive on an
international level and Brazilian ast
ron omers are now recognized among the
leaders of Latin American ast ron omy.
The SOAR project is the cornerstone
of Brazilian plans for optical and infrared
ast ron omy for the first half of this
century. www.lna.br/soar/soar_e.html
Nation
of Chile
Chilean
astronomers have established a vigorous
program of research in modern astronomy
and are poised for a significant expansion
with access to new generations of telescopes
presently being built in their country.
The SOAR Telescope will add a unique
tool to the array of instrumentation
available to Chilean astronomers.
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