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By Lori Stiles - University of Arizona
The National
Science Foundation (NSF) has decided not to provide to the University
of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts funds they requested
to continue operations at the 12-meter radio telescope on Kitt
Peak, Ariz.
The decision
was officially communicated to Peter Strittmatter, director of
Steward Observatory and leader of a grant proposal to fund telescope
operations for the next three years.
It was with
the 12-meter telescope that Nobel Prize-winning scientists Arno
Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered emission from the carbon
monoxide molecule in 1970, leading to a revolution in astronomers'
understanding of how stars form and how our galaxy evolves with
time.
" We
are simply dumbfounded, " Strittmatter said. "The importance
of the telescope to the U.S. astronomy community was clearly recognized
by all the reviewers. In fact the review panel was '...unanimous
in its opinion that a way must be found to continue scientific
research at the Kitt Peak 12m telescope'. Yet the proposal was
declined."
The Kitt Peak
12-meter (KP12m) radio telescope is owned by the NSF and has been
used since 1967 as the sole national facility supporting millimeter-wavelength
radio astronomy research by scientists and students around the
country. Its instrumentation is unique. The previous operator,
the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), announced February
2000 that, due to budget constraints, it would shut down the KP12m
on July 31, 2000.
Concerned
astronomers - including graduate students - reacted quickly by
forming the Action Committee for Millimeter Astronomy (ACMA) which
now has over 100 members. Since July 31 the University of Arizona
has been running the telescope with emergency funding provided
by the Tucson-based Research Corporation.
Many graduate
students protested last year's telescope closure, noting that
it would discourage U.S. students from going into this important
field, just when major new facilities are being planned. These
new facilities, which include the $200 million-plus NRAO Atacama
Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and the 50-meter Large Millimeter
Telescope, are several years from completion.
"With
assistance from the Research Corporation and overwhelming support
from ACMA, we were able to give it a very good shot, " Strittmatter
said. "The reviews confirm the strength of our case. The
12-meter telescope is very valuable to U.S. astronomy and is likely
to remain so for many years to come. We will continue our efforts
to keep it going."
Contact: Peter
A. Strittmatter 520-621-6524, pstrittmatter@as.arizona.edu
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