Investigators planning to propose for observing time at CTIO or KPNO for the first semester (A) of 1998 should note the following changes in the instrumentation available at both observatories. Further details can be found in the CTIO and KPNO sections of this Newsletter and on the Web.
The Argus fiber positioner will be removed from the CTIO Blanco 4-m telescope late in the first semester of 1998 to allow work to begin on the installation of the new Hydra II fiber system in the second half of 1998. The date of the Argus decommissioning has been tentatively set for May 1998.
The agreement to operate the Big Throughput Camera (BTC) at CTIO will continue through semesters 1 and 2 of 1998. New filters on order include 5007 Å, 6563 Å, and 6728 Å.
The CTIO IR Spectrometer has been modified to work with the new 4-m tip-tilt secondary at f/14.
The KPNO Mosaic Imager will continue to be offered for shared-risk observing
during the first semester of 1998. Available filters include B, V, R, and
the new I and H (6563/75) filters. Three other redshifted H
filters are
expected soon, as well as [O III] off and on band filters and a [S II]
filter.
DensePak, a fiber optic bundle that forms an array of 91 fibers in a 7 X 13 rectangle will be available for suitable bright time projects during the first semester of 1998. Each fiber is 300 µm in diameter, corresponding to 3" on the sky, with a fiber-to-fiber spacing of 400 µm. The overall dimension of the array is 30" X 45". DensePak's fiber bundle feeds the WIYN Bench Spectrograph.
Thanks to an agreement between CTIO and a group at the University of Florida, we are offering 8-25 µm imaging and spectroscopic capabilities on the Blanco Telescope beginning in February 1998. The imager/spectrometer OSCIR provides imaging at K through Q (20 µm) and low resolution spectroscopy at 8-14 µm.
Caty Pilachowski