Marc Balcells
Director, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING)2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade
Isaac Newton Group of Isaac Newton Group of TelescopesTelescopes ING operates three telescopes for
UK, NL, ES
Oldest, largest ORM user institution
At ORM since 1982
~40 staff, 25 years operating telescopes
Leading scientific production
Currently planning for next 10 years
WHT 4.2m
INT 2.5m
JKT 1.0m (not offered)
2011-08-31 2IoA Cambridge
Instrumentation
WHT developed as versatile telescope with easyswitching between focal stations
2012 March 22 3RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade
http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/instruments.html
Program of Visiting Program of Visiting InstrumentsInstrumentsSuccessful program of easy
deployment of private instruments
SAURON PNS PlanetPol ExPo INTEGRAL ULTRACAM FastCam GHaFaS SPIFS
•Future• PAUCam
• AOLI Lucky Imager2012 March 224RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade
Test-bed for E-ELT Test-bed for E-ELT technologiestechnologies
• CANARY system for multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) for EAGLE (E-ELT)
• Durham, UKATC, Paris-LESIA, Marseille, ING
• Phase A (NGS) successful
• Now preparing Phase B, 4 LGS, open loop.
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 5
TrainingTraining ING resident student programme
4 PhD students spend 1 yr at ING Manage and support all INT observations Many PhD students learn to be astronomers at
ING2012-13 student selection open
Deadline 2012 April 6 http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/science/studentship.html
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 6
Collaboration with GTCCollaboration with GTC An ING-GTC alliance at ORM: the T&Inet
MoU ING-GTC Telescope and Instrumentation Network
Signed 2011
Collaboration projects OSIRIS cryostat (2011 Jan – June)
Alignment of GTC primary mirror segments(ongoing)
Potential for growth
2012 March 22 7RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade
WHT usage, oversubscriptionWHT usage, oversubscription
Spain oversubscr: 2.5-3 Remains high after
accession to ESO
VLT oversubscr: 3.22012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 8
Spain: increasing demand
High-impact scientific High-impact scientific productivityproductivity
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 9
Forthcoming paper:
Benn & Jiménez-Luján, Scientific impact of large telescopes 1991-2010, in prep.
Plans for next decadePlans for next decade
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 10
Thinking ING’s futureThinking ING’s future ING Board
ING SAC
ING Manag.
STFC-NWO-IAC-GTC working group
2012 March 22 11RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade
4m in 10m era4m in 10m era Do what you do better than the 10m
Wide field astronomy
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 12
Strategic planning 2013-2022Strategic planning 2013-2022http://www.ing.iac.es/about-ING/strategy/
2013-20161. Maintain current model of general
purpose telescope
2. Build, commission WEAVE
2017-2022 WEAVE surveys
Retain some access to other instruments?
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 13
2013-20162013-2016
General-purpose telescope model Introduce long-term programmes
Upgrade survey instruments
Maintain Students, technology programmes, visitor
instruments Future visitor instruments PAUCam (2013);
AOLI (2014)
Build, commission WEAVE Talk Friday by Gavin Dalton, WEAVE PI
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 14
Long-term programmesLong-term programmes
Expect increase telescope productivity
ONLY IF demmanded by the community
Requires changes in TAC processes Common UK, NL, ES TAC for long
programmes
Upgrade ‘survey’ instruments AF2/WYFFOS
4k Red+CCD. Throughput/operational issues
ISIS, LIRIS, … 2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 15
Why continue 2013-2016Why continue 2013-2016
1. Northern sky access
2. Complementarity to GTC
For Spain, WHT is still ‘the’ general purpose telescope
Science All kinds! You need to tell us
Multi-wavelength coverage of important missions Gaia; Herschel; LOFAR; UKIDSS; …
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 16
2017-2022 Surveys in the 2017-2022 Surveys in the WEAVE epochWEAVE epoch Scott Trager’s talk, this Friday
50%? 70%? 100%? time to WEAVE surveys?
Spain: scientific complementarity WHT – GTC Classical : WHT – imaging, GTC – Spectroscopy??
Alternative: Spectroscopy, WHT: V=17=20 // GTC: V=20-23
WHT/WEAVE combined with GTC/MEGARA
Powerful opportunities for Spanish astronomy
2011-09-20 Santillana - 2a Reunión REG 17
Summary: we’d like your Summary: we’d like your needs/plans forneeds/plans for 2013-2016
Would you use WHT long-term programmes Would you tolerate long-term programmes
Instrument upgrade requests
Coordination with other facilities
ING role in training astronomers.
2017-2022 Interest in retaining (some) current instruments
Interest in retaining INT Cost impact!
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 18
THANKTHANKSS
2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 19