The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes and ESO ============================================ In view of the discussion that is taking place to look at the impact of the UK joining ESO, I summarize the strategic development of the ING relevant to this. The potential benefits for the UK astronomy programme in joining ESO are very substantial, and the prospect of increased funding for astronomy centered around an ESO membership can only be welcomed. The changes that have been taking place at ING in recent years and the role in particular that is forseen for the WHT fit very well into the future UK astronomy programme that embraces ESO. The key aspects of this are briefly presented below. Current status of ING and its development strategy -------------------------------------------------- The ING comprises three telescopes that are operated at a cost to PPARC of 2.9 M pounds per annum (this figure covers the full cost of running the observatory, excluding small enhancements and instrument development projects). In recent years very substantial cost savings have been delivered, culminating in the closure of the RGO which has meant that ING now exists as an independent PPARC organization. ING now is a lean, cost-effective and well organized observatory which delivers good value for money to the community. Science output of the telescopes, in particular that of the WHT, is high by international standards. Both the quantity of papers based on data from ING, and their resulting science impact (measured by the number of papers published in Nature or as citation index) is very high. The WHT is simply the most productive 4-m class ground based telescope in the world ! (for details see http://vela.ing.iac.es/About-ING/Strategy/strategic_issues.html) The current rationalized suit of instruments provides a powerful and balanced range of capability to the astronomical community. In particular the WHT is well equipped with relevant instrumentation to enable topical research. It satisfies the need for a versatile 4-m class optical/IR telescope as identified in PPARC's strategy for ground-based astronomy. Important for the future of the WHT is its complementary and supporting role for 8-m class telescopes and other new facilities such as VISTA. The current development programme for the WHT focuses on Adaptive Optics and associated instrumentation, and exploitation of the wide field in the prime focus. The WHT will shortly have one of the world's most powerful AO systems, delivering excellent image quality at optical and IR wavelengths. Importantly, instrumentation optimized for AO exploitation will be available (near IR imaging, integral field spectroscopy, and coronographic capability). In this way the WHT will remain competitive next to the 8-m telescopes for several years on a world-class site. Strategically the importance of developing Adaptive Optics techniques and gaining experience in this area can not be overstated. It has become clear that the 8-m class telescopes and future generations of even larger telescopes will heavily rely on Adaptive Optics. Through the exploitation of Adaptive Optics and laser guide star technology on the WHT the UK has the opportunity to assume a leading role in this field and capitalize on past investments. Future potential of ING and the La Palma site --------------------------------------------- The strategy for the UK to join ESO aligns perfectly with the prospect of developing the La Palma site into a truly European Northern Observatory. Currently the Canarian observatories (La Palma and Teide) host a large number of European countries, combining various solar and night-time telescopes. The advent of the 10-m GranTeCan and the 17-m MAGIC Cherenkov telescope projects positions La Palma as one of the few world-class observatory sites in the world. La Palma is proven to be an excellent observing site and recognized to be amongst the best in the world. The WHT instrument development strategy is now focussing on exploiting the excellent natural seeing through Adaptive Optics, to reach diffraction limited images in the IR at high Strehl ratios and 0.2 arcsec images at 0.6 micron. The La Palma site is particularly well placed for this, not only for the known excellent seeing conditions, but also for its principally low-altitude atmospheric turbulence which is favorable for adaptive optics exploitation. Therefore the WHT would be the ideal testing ground for AO systems for larger telescopes. In the short to medium term, the Spanish 10-m GranTeCan, a Keck-type telescope currently under construction, offers the potential for collaboration and ultimately for the UK community to gain more access to large telescopes in the northern hemisphere. The ING will play an enabling role in this through setting up formal and informal collaborations for the science exploitation and operation of this facility. Although no firm commitments have been established to date, the potential for important scientific gains through participation in GranTeCan remains. Participation in GranTeCan would also allow the UK astronomers and engineers to gain valuable hands-on experience in segmented mirror technology and position the UK well for future development of any Extremely Large Telescope. The development of the La Palma observatory in a European context is currently being discussed at various levels: - A joint European operation of medium sized telescopes may well emerge as the future umbrella required to retain the INT and JKT. A reduced share for the UK in these smaller telescopes would imply a cost saving to PPARC. - A common approach to develop a European Northern Observatory centered on La Palma is actively being pursued. A common approach in the scientific exploitation and operation of the various facilities would provide better possibilities to bid for European Community funds. - La Palma is a very serious competitor as site for a future ELT in the north, as it is the only viable site in Europe. To win political support for large new investments to build such a telescope as a European project on European soil may well become a key argument. Apart from the strategic future potential of the La Palma site, the fundamental capability of the WHT as a versatile facility on an excellent site must not be overlooked. Even in the era of 8-m class telescopes the need for the WHT is clear: Complementary and preparatory observations for large telescopes, for VISTA, and for space missions will be in increasing demand. Furthermore, there are important areas of research that do not require the very largest available collecting area, or require large amounts of observing time that will not easily become available on the largest facilities. Without access to a high-quality facility like the WHT these science areas would be seriously compromised, and the exploitation of Gemini, VLT and VISTA would be undermined. Epilogue -------- There are important opportunities ahead on La Palma and the need for a well-equipped 4-m class telescopes on a world-class northern site like La Palma must be obvious. If the UK were to join ESO the case to retain a strong interest in ING would only strengthen. In this respect it is worth learning from the direction being taken by other European countries that have had a very clear focus on ESO for many years: they continue to strongly support their northern hemisphere medium sized optical/IR telescopes. The UK finds itself in a fortunate position of owning the very best telescopes of this class located on the very best observing site in Europe ! La Palma - 16 June 2000 Rene Rutten Director, ING ============================================================= * To unsubscribe from [INGNEWS] send to majordomo@ing.iac.es the command "unsubscribe ingnews" in the body of the message. Please don't type in the quotation marks and leave the subject field and the rest of the body empty. * You can subscribe to this mailing list by sending an email to majordomo@ing.iac.es with the message "subscribe ingnews
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