A new 4-m telescope, SOAR is being built in Chile. It is being funded by a consortium consisting of CNPq (Brazil, 33%), Michigan State University (MSU, 17%), NOAO (33%), and the University of North Carolina (UNC, 17%). It will be located on Cerro Pachón at a site that we expect to provide oustanding seeing, about 400m from Gemini South, and will be operated by CTIO.
After a year-long study of alternative concepts, we now are moving ahead with the design and construction of a 4-m Alt-Az telescope optimized for the highest-possible core image quality. The design goal is 0.18" FWHM image degradation from the telescope and dome (but not counting the free atmosphere) at a wavelength of 1 mm; this will rival Gemini in FWHM performance. The target date for first light on SOAR is 2002, one year after Gemini South.
The initial instrument complement is not yet decided, but it is clear that SOAR will open major new scientific opportunities to NOAO users over the optical and near-infrared wavelength bands. The major instruments will be at a pair of Nasmyth ports, with the design goals including further positions for smaller instruments. Science discussions to date have emphasized the importance of queue scheduling and of being able to rapidly switch between instruments.
The SOAR consortium members will be able to trade time on SOAR for time on the Blanco telescope, so that SOAR's instrument set can be made complementary to the wider-field (40'), lower angular resolution (0.9" median FWHM) capabilities of the Blanco. Thus the two 4-m telescopes will be operated as a complementary pair, and both in turn will complement the capabilities of Gemini South.
An important milestone was the hiring of Thomas Sebring as Project Manager. Tom was previously the manager of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope project, noted for its innovative and cost-effective design. We feel fortunate to have someone of Tom's caliber leading the SOAR effort. Also important to the project's success is the appointment of Gerald Cecil as Project Scientist. Gerald was seconded to the project by UNC and has moved to Tucson, where the project headquarters are located. Other personnel currently on the SOAR payroll are Dan Blanco (Project Engineer, drawn from the successful WIYN design team), Gilberto Moretto (Optical Scientist), and Kitty Wawzinski (Administrative Coordinator).
The project is overseen by an interim board of directors made up of Sidney Wolff (NOAO, Chair), Joao Steiner (Brazil), Paul Hunt (MSU) and Bruce Carney (UNC). Cecil chairs a Scientific Advisory Committee consisting of Jack Baldwin (NOAO), Richard Elston (Florida), Marcos Diaz (LNA, Brazil), Horacio Dottori (UFRGS, Brazil), Robert McMahon (UNC), and Sue Simkin (MSU).
The Scientific Advisory Committee is presently finalizing a set of top-level scientific requirements for the telescope, while the project team moves into a preliminary design period that will establish how to meet those requirements.
Jack Baldwin (jbaldwin@noao.edu)
SOAR SAC Member for CTIO