The Thirty Meter Telescope: The Next Generation Ground Based Optical/InfraRed Observatory
Dr. Warren Skidmore, Thirty Meter Telescope Corp.
Abstract: After a construction status update, I will describe how the telescope design was developed to support a broad range of observing capabilities and how the observatory is being engineered. I’ll discuss some of the observational capabilities that the Thirty Meter Telescope will provide and some of the areas of study that will benefit from the TMT’s capabilities, specifically synergistic areas with new and future proposed astronomical facilities. Finally I will describe the avenues through which astronomers can have some input in the planning of the project and potential NSF partnership, prioritizing the development of 2nd generation instruments and directing the scientific aims for the observatory.
Red Giants in Eclipsing Binary Systems
Jean McKeever
Preparing to Explore the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope
Dr. Jane Rigby (NASA Goddard, Deputy Project Scientist for JWST)
Abstract: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scheduled to be launched in 2019, will revolutionize our view of the Universe. As the scientific successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST will rewrite the textbooks and return gorgeous images and spectra of our universe. In my talk, I will show how JWST will revolutionize our understanding of how galaxies and supermassive black holes formed in the first billion years after the Big Bang, and how they evolved over cosmic time. I’ll describe how our international team is preparing for launch, how we decide what targets to observe, and how we are testing the telescope to be sure it will work in space.
More information about the telescope can be found at https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/.
Life at Apache Point Observatory
