AMPATH Astronomy Working Group

Chair: Eduardo Vera, esvera@accessnova.cl

Mailing list: astronomy-wg@ampath.net

Most recent meeting: January 31, 2003 at the AMPATH Conference in Miami, FL.  Click here for the Meeting agenda

Astronomy projects in the AMPATH service area:

GEMINI: The Gemini Project has just connected its two telescopes in Mauna Kea (Hawaii) and Cerro Pachon (Chile) via Internet2. The Gemini Project is an international partnership with two 8.1-meter telescopes (each telescope has a main mirror over 26 feet across.) One telescope is located on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, and the other on Chile's Cerro Pachón. The name Gemini comes from the mythological twins, whose stars will be visible to both telescopes. See http://www.gemini.edu for more information.

ESO: Other important optical telescopes facilities are Cerro Tololo (Interamerican Observatory) and Las Campanas. Also the two ESO (European Southern Observatory) facilites La Silla and Paranal. These are all candidates for future high-speed network access. The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental, European organization for astronomical research. It has ten member countries. ESO operates astronomical observatories in Chile and has its headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. See http://www.eso.org/ for more information.

ALMA: The ALMA radio observatory is a combined effort of the USA (NRAO) and Europe (ESO), with the likely addition of Japan (NAOJ). Construction is scheduled to start in the 2004-2006 timeframe with full completion towards the end of the decade, in the 2010-2011 timeframe. See http://www.alma.nrao.edu/ for more information.

Environmental monitoring in South America could be another area of great potential interest to US science. For instance, being an earthquake country, Chile is a good candidate for geophysics research as well. At AccessNova-UChile, we are presently involved in research work to connect earthquake sensors to IP data networks, with web-based access.  See http://www.accessnova.cl/ for more information on the AccessNova project.

The Arecibo Observatory is part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), a national research center operated by Cornell University under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Additional support is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Observatory operates on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day every day, providing observing time, electronics, computer, travel and logistic support to scientists from all over the world. All results of research are published in the scientific literature which is publicly available. As the site of the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, the Observatory is recognized as one of the most important national centers for research in radio astronomy, planetary radar and terrestrial aeronomy. Use of the Arecibo Observatory is available on an equal, competitive basis to all scientists from throughout the world.  See http://www.naic.edu/open.htm for more information.