Introduction
[
JPEG
| TIFF ] This year work at the Isaac Newton
Group of Telescopes was greatly affected by the closure of the Royal Greenwich
Observatory in Cambridge. The design, construction and development of the
telescopes and their instruments would have been inconceivable without
the creativity, enthusiasm, and devotion of many staff at the RGO. Workers
at ING have had to adapt to the many changes and complications as a result
of this restructuring, and it is to their credit that the telescopes have
been performing well and that development work did not stop. The development
of major new instruments has now been concentrated in Edinburgh, Scotland,
at the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre. The ING is looking forward
to a long and fruitful collaboration with the UK-ATC.
Various instrument
developments took place and are reported in these pages. Most notable
has been the success of the wide field multi-object fiber positioner and
spectrograph for the William Herschel Telescope. Full deployment of the
Wide Field Camera on the Isaac Newton Telescope and the large scale survey
work that was initiated has re-defined the role of that telescope. This
camera has been perfectly matched by the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy's
panoramic infra-red camera that was used in the prime focus of both the
INT and the WHT.
One very exciting highlight at the Observatory was the definite announcement
of the development of the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). This telescope
of 10 meter aperture based on the segmented mirror design is currently
funded by Spain and will have a major impact on the future of the observatory
as a whole. ING is looking forward to this development with anticipation.
Dr René Rutten, Director
of ING
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1 - Scientific Highlights
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