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Executive Summary of Cooperative Agreement...(1Sep93)
Renewal Proposal to NSF
(from the Director's Office, NOAO Newsletter No. 35, 1 September 1993)

"Let there be a place where every US astronomer may observe and learn
about the universe..."

That is the vision of the national observatories as Leo Goldberg saw
it: access to world-class instrumentation, granted based on merit, not
institutional affiliation. Does this democratic vision still make
sense? Or should the field be left exclusively to researchers at
institutions that have facilities of their own? In solar physics and
radio astronomy, this is not a serious question because the national
observatories play a dominant role and privately funded facilities are
few and far between.  In optical astronomy, however, it is an issue
because outstanding privately-funded telescopes exist and are being
built with apertures of up to 10-m.

The debate is intense and occasionally heated. To many, the National
Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) are of central importance as the
only avenue by which they can pursue their science.  Others see NOAO as
a useful complement for the private facilities they have access to.
Still others consider NOAO as superfluous and as an unwelcome
competitor for Federal funds. Fortunately, most colleagues take
statesmanlike views that recognize that private and national facilities
both are essential.

AURA believes that national and private observatories are both
necessary and play important and complementary roles. Many AURA members
have direct access to superb facilities, others depend upon NOAO, and
many use both types of facilities.  As a place where both interests
meet, AURA is in a unique position. Chartered to advance astronomy,
AURA seeks to serve the whole astronomy community. As trustee and
advocate for the mission of NOAO, AURA works with the broader community
through workshops and written communication as it develops guidance for
NOAO.  As a result, NOAO today works more closely with other
institutions in the USA and abroad than ever before, it serves the
community with world-class instrumentation, it builds strength for the
future through joint projects, and it is leaner and more cost-
effective than before.

The NOAO staff takes pride in their accomplishments during the current
Cooperative Agreement period. They have maintained a vigorous
scientific research program and have brought to fruition many
innovative, versatile and reliable user instruments. They have provided
an unparalleled level of service and dedication to the users of NOAO
facilities. The availability of those facilities enables excellence in
research to be maintained by top- caliber individuals in many different
types of institutions. The top graduates of the programs training
astronomers are now widely based in universities and research labs
throughout the country, and only a minority have direct access to
research quality telescopes through private observatories. The NOAO
observatories, which represent millions of dollars of capital invested
for the general use of the community, provide the leverage that makes
the NSF grants program effective for observers and students.  The use
of pooled community resources to support the work of individual
investigators is a very economical and effective method for the
acquisition and distribution of data.

The evolution of NOAO in the mid-1990s will be managed to achieve five
basic long-term goals. The first is the integration of the night-time
program into a broader context of national facilities including the US
share of Gemini. At a mechanistic level, this process involves
achieving compatibility with and influencing the development of the
Gemini protocols for observatory, telescope and instrument control and
user interface. NOAO is prepared to take an active role in partnership
with the US community in developing instruments for Gemini. It will
develop integrated observing strategies, which will be required for
efficient use of the scarce resource of 8-m time. Accurate astrometric
positions of very faint objects can be produced from the very large
format CCD mosaic imagers being developed. The new prime focus
correctors for both 4-m telescopes will allow high-quality survey work
to be carried out in preparation for 8-m spectroscopy. Similarly,
spectroscopic discovery work on 2-m and 4-m class telescopes will
provide the necessary basis for higher dispersion studies requiring the
8-m apertures.

A second major goal is success in the initiatives for solar astronomy.
The GONG network will be collecting data and opening its archive during
the period of this Cooperative Agreement. The program to measure the
Radiative Inputs of the Sun to the Earth (RISE) will be addressing a
critical aspect of global change monitoring by measuring subtle changes
in the Sun's radiative input to the Earth.

Revitalizing the infrastructure represents a third long-term goal. The
greatest scientific impact is anticipated to come from a concerted
effort to improve the image quality and performance of the observatory
telescopes. Diagnosis and cure of optical aberrations, observatory
thermal control, adaptive optics, and modernization of the pointing and
tracking capability of the current telescopes will increase their
effective light-gathering efficiency.  Initiative funding or
collaboration might allow replacement of old, small-aperture telescopes
with modern high-performance systems. With WIYN coming on line and SOAR
in advanced planning and preparation, both night-time sites will add
significant capability to meet the pressing demand for 4-m class time.
A 4-m class solar infrared telescope for the McMath-Pierce Facility
will be pursued.

Priority will be given to a major upgrade in the instrumentation
program. Facility-class instruments based on large-format arrays
require larger cryogenic enclosures and a higher degree of complexity
to maintain versatility. The demands of the Gemini Project for
stringent engineering standards, thorough qualification and acceptance
testing, and adequate documentation for instruments provided by the
partner countries must drive the NOAO instrumentation program to a
higher level of performance and management efficiency. The close
comparison with national efforts in the Gemini partner countries shows
us that such a step is required for the US to remain competitive.
Expansion of the solar instrumentation program to address the unique
challenges of the science remains an important goal.

In the coming years, the entire community will be grappling with the
difficulty of the inadequacy of support for all the active programs and
talented individuals pursuing research in astronomy. NOAO will form
closer partnerships with the astronomy community to share the benefits
of technology developments. If it becomes increasingly difficult to
maintain stand-alone capability in a wide range of specialties, an
emphasis on complementarity maintained by agreement among private and
public observatories and a sharing of expertise would add strength to
the entire astronomy enterprise in the US.

Specific technical goals will move the nighttime program toward
integration with Gemini and advance the solar physics initiatives. NOAO
plans to participate in both IR and optical detector development
programs that will lead to the procurement of detector arrays and
controllers for Gemini. It is also developing innovative observing
techniques and new approaches to scheduling and archiving. Combined
with the intention to exercise Gemini telescope control protocols on
the NOAO nighttime telescopes, NOAO will work with Gemini to guide and
develop the operations model for the Gemini Observatories.

The plans for the next five years include implementing the adaptive
optics system and further developing all-reflecting coronagraphs for
Sacramento Peak, implementing near and mid- infrared cameras for the
McMath-Pierce Facility on Kitt Peak and initiating technology
developments and facility improvements that would lead to a 4-m solar
telescope to fully exploit an IR potential, rebuilding the fiber
positioner and bench spectrograph to move from the Mayall to the WIYN
telescope on Kitt Peak and replacing the bench spectrograph capability
at the 4-m, developing the 8000 x 8000 pixel CCD mosaic system at Kitt
Peak, completing the cryogenic echelle spectrometer (PHOENIX),
developing a moderate resolution IR spectrometer for KPNO and CTIO, and
driving the development of 1024 x 1024 indium antimonide IR array
detectors.

The high level of productivity from, and demand for time on, NOAO
telescopes is driven by a vigorous and innovative program of
modernization and instrument development. The degree to which the
management sets realistic long-term goals and the technical staff is
able to carry them out can be assessed from examining the plan set out
in the last Cooperative Agreement proposal. Six major initiatives were
proposed.

The first was for NOAO to move forward in proposing a pair of national
8-m telescopes. NOAO did submit a proposal, which resulted ultimately
in the initiation of the Gemini Project, in which the US community has
a 50% share of two 8-m telescopes, one in each hemisphere, with
outstanding image quality and control of thermal background. That
project now has fully committed funding and is proceeding rapidly with
engineering design.

The second initiative was for LEST, the Large Earth-Based Solar
Telescope. The full concept was not ultimately supported in the US, but
the Adaptive Optics program at Sacramento Peak carries the legacy of
the thrust toward high resolution solar imaging.

Access to 4-m class telescopes was to be expanded through cooperative
ventures with university consortia. The WIYN 3.5-m telescope, developed
by Wisconsin, Indiana, Yale and NOAO, is headed for first light near
the end of 1993. The SOAR consortium of North Carolina, Columbia and
NOAO/CTIO is planning for a 4-m telescope to be placed on Cerro Pachon
near the southern Gemini 8-m site.

A synoptic monitoring program with dedicated instrumentation was
proposed to study stellar activity cycles. The instrument itself was
not developed, but a synoptic program continues actively at the
McMath-Pierce facility, and would be part of the proposed "Big Mc."

A distributed interferometric array of modest aperture telescopes was
proposed. The Advanced Development Program could not support that
program, but Steve Ridgway is a collaborator with the IOTA consortium
of university scientists building such an array on Mt. Hopkins. NOAO is
hosting part of the group as visitors currently.

Finally, the GONG network development was highlighted as a major
priority; deployment will begin soon.

Instrumentation goals were met and exceeded. The infrared (IR) group
proposed to obtain 256 square arrays and to deploy them in a Cryogenic
Optical Bench (COB) and other cameras. The simultaneous four-color
infrared array imager, SQIID, was implemented with 256 square PtSi
arrays, and the IR imager (IRIM) was fitted with a HgCdTe array, while
COB is being deployed with an InSb array.  NOAO is collaborating with
the USNO and Hughes Santa Barbara Research Corporation to develop 1024
square InSb arrays for the next generation of instruments.

A cryogenic echelle was proposed, and is now in fabrication. That
capability is critical to determination of chemical abundances in the
extended atmospheres of red giant stars and in probing the interstellar
medium in dusty regions.

Mid-infrared array development and deployment was outlined, but was not
accomplished.

Both CTIO and KPNO proposed and built multi-fiber coupled
spectrographs, with the second-generation Hydra positioner in regular
use and about to be rebuilt for the WIYN telescope.

The Optical/UV group proposed deploying 2048 square CCDs if they could
be produced and expanding to mosaics for larger formats. Large- format
arrays from Tektronix and Loral are in routine use on the mountains,
and mosaics are under development. New generation controllers have been
developed as outlined, and will replace the existing systems this
year.

Sun/IRAF workstations were to go to the mountain, and have indeed fully
replaced the FORTH systems for data acquisition and reduction. Despite
the enormous increase in the rate of data accumulation, the upgrade of
the data systems still allows astronomers to go home with reduced data.

A new telescope control system was planned, and executed for the Kitt
Peak 2.1-m and 4-m telescopes; the other telescopes and divisions will
gradually be similarly upgraded.

Solar infrared arrays for magnetic field mapping were deployed as proposed.

A major effort was identified for improvement of image quality;
significant progress has been achieved at CTIO and the other sites will
follow.

Considering that the purchasing power of NOAO declined continuously
over the period of performance, the staff is justified in taking pride
in that level of accomplishment. Nevertheless, the management is committed
to finding new ways of increasing productivity and accountability, while
maintaining a creative environment.

NOAO exists to advance US astronomy through scientific discovery. NOAO
users, staff and facilities have played central roles in many of the
major findings of the last decade. These discoveries represent a
qualitative change in the type of problems that can be addressed
because of the use of new technologies in detectors and focal plane
instrumentation. Because of the high quantum efficiency and photometric
accuracy of optical detectors, large collaborative programs at the
National Observatories and university and other private facilities have
begun to produce a picture of the large-scale distribution of galaxies
and perturbations to the Hubble expansion. The possibility of
large-scale streaming motions and the controversies over their reality,
direction, and origin are prompting further major investigations and
redshift surveying. Infrared array detectors have allowed examination
of the stellar populations and excited nebular components of
high-redshift radio sources. The build-up of the chemical elements at
the early epochs in cosmic time can be traced through quasar
absorption-line studies. Extremely deep optical images reveal a
population of very blue galaxies at faint magnitudes, thought to be
undergoing an episode of intense star-formation activity. Many more
observations are required before the question can be answered as to
whether the old stellar population of the Milky Way represents a
universal pattern of star formation and chemical enrichment with cosmic
time.

Infrared arrays allow direct probing of the environments of individual
protostellar objects and the depths of the clouds of molecules and dust
that enshroud nascent star clusters. Direct determinations of the
initial mass functions and the physical structures of the disks and
jets of forming stars lead to fundamental advances in the understanding
of the process of star formation. The infrared also allows access to
spectral features with great sensitivity to local magnetic field
strength, which has allowed direct determination of the strength and
direction of the magnetic field on the solar surface. The true magnetic
field strength has been measured in solar plages and shows spatially
coherent and correlated variations of field strength and area filling
factor.  The causes of this phenomenon are not understood and are
leading to a deep review of models of the field production and
evolution.

A concerted observational and theoretical effort is underway to
understand the internal dynamics of the Sun and the origin of the solar
cycle. GONG will provide the most accurate determination of the
internal rotation rate of the Sun ever obtained. It is unique in
providing data to explore the solar internal thermal structure and
convection. High-degree helioseismology will map horizontal flows as
functions of depth and heliographic position in the convection zone.
The absorption of acoustic wave energy by sunspots and the possible
emission of waves by flares may elucidate the subsurface structure of
sunspots and active regions. Other techniques may be used to map the
global pattern of convection in the Sun.

Another major driver for current uses of ground-based telescopes is
synergism with space-based observations. All-sky surveys by ROSAT and
EUVE require significant programs of ground-based follow-up; imaging
and spectroscopy with the Hubble Space Telescope often are combined
with complementary observations from the ground. The microwave
background measurements of COBE have focused attention on the
observable consequences of a limited range of allowable spectra of
primordial density fluctuations. NSO's Kitt Peak Vacuum Telescope
continues to provide major support for the Yohkoh Satellite and is
preparing to support SOHO.

Scientific discovery is made possible only through a prudent management
of resources to support the community's needs for facilities. AURA not
only helps NOAO chart the course to the future but also helps NOAO deal
with budgetary and other adversities. AURA helps NOAO meet the
challenge to serve a community that is characterized by a wide variety
of interests and diversity of views that are often held with great
conviction. That challenge is especially great today, when
opportunities for advancing astronomy outstrip the resources to realize
them.

To ensure the best and most effective use of funds, AURA provides
critical but supportive oversight for NOAO through the AURA Board's
Observatories Advisory Committee and through periodic reviews by an
independent visiting committee. AURA encourages excellence in service
to the community and in science at NOAO through annual awards to its
staff. It helps build bridges between NOAO and the academic community
through an AURA Visiting Professor program.

NOAO's share of the annual cost of all of AURA's activities  amounts
to an  "overhead"  of about 1.5 percent on NSF funds for NOAO. That
very low overhead is made possible, in part, because Board members
donate time to AURA. AURA contributes significantly to NOAO by donating
the use of AURA-owned property in Chile and elsewhere.

AURA proposes to continue to operate NOAO for the National Science
Foundation under a COOPERATIVE agreement. That term symbolizes that
AURA views itself as a partner with the NSF in ensuring the best use of
NSF funds in serving the US astronomy community at NOAO.

This proposal comprises NOAO activities in ground-based IR-optical
astronomy that benefit the US astronomy community and its traditional
allies in Canada and in Chile. Also included are US activities in
support of the international Gemini project. This proposal excludes
management of Gemini. Because that project serves the science
communities of all Gemini partner countries, it will be the subject of
a separate cooperative agreement.

Richard F. Green, Sidney C. Wolff

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