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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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