By Linda Copman
Based on an interview with Dr. Taft Armandroff, Keck Observatory
Director
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| Image: Map showing the geographic distribution
of the world’s largest optical telescopes, prepared by
Makana Parker, student intern at the Keck Observatory
Office of Advancement. Visit astro.nineplanets.org/bigeyes.html for
a list of the observatories shown and their Web links. |
The national ground-based astronomical "system" treats individual
telescopes as a sort of national capability, and then finds
ways for U.S. astronomers to gain access to all U.S. telescopes
and instrumentation -- regardless of who pays the bills. All
the observatories across the country, including the three main
U.S. observatories — Keck and Gemini at Mauna Kea, and the
National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson --
have been encouraged by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
to become distinct “centers of excellence,” with specialized
instrumentation located at each facility.
The NSF Telescope System Instrumentation Program (TSIP) is
a prime example of how this transformation and specialization
of facilities has been implemented. TSIP provides funding to
build new instrumentation at each facility in exchange for
a set number of observing nights for NSF-sponsored researchers
who are competitively selected from a pool of all U.S. astronomers.
The NSF
Senior Review Committee Report is very supportive of TSIP
and urges NSF to increase the funding stream for this innovative
instrumentation program.
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| Image: Rendering of MOSFIRE or the Multi-Object
Spectrometer for Infrared Exploration, which is scheduled
for first light in late 2009. |
“There is now more money available for the scale of instruments we need,” says
Keck Observatory Director Taft Armandroff. “In the past, most NSF programs were
too small in scale to provide the millions of dollars which we need to build
an instrument like MOSFIRE.”
Keck instruments, especially MOSFIRE and OSIRIS (an infrared
spectrograph useful for observing merging galaxies and other
areas where the field of view is filled with objects), have
benefited greatly from TSIP funding, and Keck administrators
expect to continue tapping TSIP funds for future instrumentation.
Keck Observatory is building on its leadership position in
the field of adaptive optics to truly become a “center of excellence” in
this area with its proposed Next Generation Adaptive Optics
(NGAO) capabilities. The price tag for the NGAO technology
is high: estimated costs top $45 million.
“There is simply no way Keck’s operating budget can cover an expense of this
magnitude,” explains Armandroff. “We will need a combination of future TSIP funding,
private and foundation funding, and NASA funding.” The NGAO system will greatly
enhance the capabilities of Keck’s telescopes to observe the universe with increased
power and precision.
Armandroff recently attended the Third
Community Workshop on the Ground-Based Optical/Infrared System,
where he openly broadcast Keck Observatory’s priorities for
new instrumentation, including NGAO. “This is a new paradigm.
Observatory Directors are not like spies working for competing
governments. We are telegraphing our plans openly to federal
funders and positioning our observatories to receive future
grant funding based on our strategic plans,” he explains.
Armandroff is pleased to report that Keck Observatory is pushing
forward on a number of fronts that the other observatories
are not pursuing. In fact, U.S. observatories are increasingly
coordinating their funding requests at the federal level to
capitalize on and expand their existing areas of strength.
An added benefit of the new “systems” approach is that observatories
are able to leverage their individual investments in one area
to trade observing time with observatories that have differing
specialized capabilities. For example, Keck and Gemini Observatories
typically trade five nights of observing time with each other
bi-annually: this trade allows Keck astronomers to utilize
Gemini’s mid-infrared capabilities, while Gemini astronomers
gain access to Keck’s high resolution spectrograph (HIRES).
Since taking the helm at Keck Observatory last year, Armandroff
has also negotiated a similar trade with the neighboring Subaru
telescope. Though Subaru is not part of the U.S. ground-based
system, this new arrangement will enable Keck astronomers to
take advantage of Subaru’s wide-field camera for optical wavelength
observations of the cosmos.
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| Image: This slide shows some of the groundbreaking
discoveries that have been made using Keck Observatory’s
Laser Guide Star/Adaptive Optics system. |
Another big advantage to a more systematic approach to allocating
and receiving federal funding is that it opens up possibilities
for private observatories like Keck to attract private philanthropy
from individuals and foundations to match public resources.
Keck Observatory’s new $10 million multi-object spectrograph
MOSFIRE is a good example of a costly instrument which is being
supported by “self-leveraging, mutually reinforcing” funding
streams, explains Armandroff. Funded 50% from TSIP and 50%
from a private donation by Gordon and Betty Moore, it is an
ideal model for future projects of such a large scale.
The tradeoff for receiving federal funding through TSIP is
not a bad one. The underlying idea at the federal level is
that U.S. astronomers who have a world-class research proposal
should be able to secure observing time at world-class facilities,
like Keck Observatory. In exchange for federal funding, Keck
is therefore required to make available a small percentage
of its observing time to U.S. astronomers whose proposals have
been selected by NSF. “This is the equivalent of venture capitalism
with astronomical ideas,” says Armandroff.
In exchange for a $5 million grant to build MOSFIRE from TSIP,
Keck agreed to make available 16 observing nights per year
for three years to the U.S. astronomical community. Prior to
participating in the TSIP system in 2003, it was very difficult,
if not impossible, for the broader U.S. astronomy community
to reserve time on Keck’s telescopes. Keck’s primary mandate
is to serve its patrons: the University of California, Caltech,
and NASA; and the University of Hawai‘i as landowner. As a
result of its membership in the TSIP system, observing nights
at Keck are now being made available to NSF-sponsored astronomers.
Keck administrators do not participate in the selection of
these astronomers; this process is handled entirely by NSF. “The
process is fair, and our NSF clients have been extremely satisfied
with Keck’s performance and the support provided by our Keck
team,” reports Armandroff.
Plans call for Keck Observatory’s continued collaboration within
the ground-based system. “We are communicating to NSF our highest
aspirations for the next several years, and building on a solid
base as the world’s most scientifically productive observatory,” Armandroff
concludes. 
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