The announcement in the previous Newsletter of the availability on Kitt Peak telescopes of a near-infrared imaging spectrograph developed by Ohio State University has generated a significant response from the community. A total of 13 proposals requesting 81 nights was received for the shared-risk observing time that will be scheduled for the spring 1997 semester.
The initial engineering run of this instrument took place 18-20 September on the 2.1-m telescope. Thanks to the efforts of numerous people from both Ohio State and NOAO, the complex logistics of interfacing the instrument mechanically and electronically were worked out well in advance of the run so that the actual installation and setup went quite smoothly. A summary of the results of the engineering run can be found at the Web site http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~isl/tifkam.html . The instrument is presently (late October) being used for an engineering run at MDM, and will have another such run at the KPNO 2.1-m in late November. The Web site noted above will be updated as more information on the instrument performance is obtained.
As we noted in the last Newsletter article, the original name of this instrument (MOSAIC) is the same as that of the NOAO large-format CCD imager. The alternative designation suggested in the article (OSU-IRIS) is unfortunately close to that of the existing Ohio State instrument OSIRIS. The Web page therefore utilizes the unambiguous name TIFKAM; the four-letter acronym which will appear on the KPNO schedule is yet to be determined.
Dick Joyce