I am delighted to report that the SOLIS (Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun) proposal has been funded by the National Science Foundation. This proposal was part of a larger proposal submitted two years ago for the renewal of facilities at NOAO, which included, in addition to SOLIS, funding for participation in a 4-meter southern hemisphere telescope (SOAR) and two 2.4-meter telescopes. SOLIS came out on top of the heap after review of the renewal proposal. After successfully leaping over some additional hurdles, it is now funded jointly by the NSF Office of Multidisciplinary Activities and the Astronomy Division. Many solar astronomers inside and outside NSO have contributed to the success of this initiative. However, I want to especially recognize the outstanding efforts of Jack Harvey, now Project Scientist for SOLIS, who, with never-ending energy, worked constructively with the NSF Astronomy Division staff and responded professionally to issues which came up in the review process. Jeremy Wagner will be the SOLIS Project Manager.
In the process of matching the funding made available at NSF for the support of SOLIS with the actual costs of the four instruments, it was necessary, unfortunately, to decrease significantly the scope of the Solar Coronal Imager. We are hopeful that we can attract funding from other sources to make up for this critical loss.
As this Newsletter is published, NSO scientists are participating in a few experiments at the 26 February 1998 Caribbean solar eclipse. The primary experiments are aimed at exploring the unknown spectrum of the infrared corona above 1.5 µm. Our hopes are high for the discovery of coronal emission lines in that region strong enough to allow measurement of the coronal magnetic field with reflecting coronagraphs.
Two activities are progressing in the wings that are of utmost importance for the future of NSO and for all of ground-based solar astronomy: First, Jack Thomas is chairing the search committee for my successor; please contact him with your suggestions and views concerning this appointment. Second, the NRC Task Group on Ground-Based Solar Research (TGGSR) is in the process of finalizing its report. There is still time to express your views on the TGGSR public discussion database (http://www.nas.edu/ssb/tggsr1.html). The outcome of this "Parker Committee" study will affect all of solar physics.
Jacques Beckers