Kitt Peak Observatory Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory NOAO System Science Center
Image credits: T. Eglin/NOAO/AURA/NSF; P. Marenfeld/NOAO/AURA/NSF; NOAO/AURA/NSF
April 2018 NOAO Newsletter
The April 2018 NOAO Newsletter is online and ready to download. It contains sections on Science Highlights, Community Science & Data, System Observing, and NOAO Operations & Staff.
On the Cover
Clockwise from upper right: a) Nicholas Mayall at the guiding eyepiece at the prime focus during commissioning of the KPNO 4-meter telescope that now bears his name; b) the Mayall 4-meter under moonlight during the MzLS imaging survey, which was completed in February 2018; c) the Mayall’s primary mirror being lifted out of its cell during an early stage of the work to prepare the telescope for installation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instru- ment (DESI). By mid-June the entire top end of the telescope will have been removed, and installation of the new prime focus system for DESI will begin. Initial commissioning with the new DESI hardware should begin in November 2018.
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DECam Community Science Workshop 2018: Science Highlights, Coming Opportunities, LSST Synergies.
May 21-22, 2018
Tucson, Arizona -
A Runaway Star in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The discovery was made using the CTIO 4-m Blanco telescope. Read more in Lowell Observatory press release. -
New Chapter Begins for Kitt Peak Telescope: Over the next 15 months, the telescope will prepare for the installation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. -
New Stellar Streams Confirm ‘Melting Pot’ History of the Galaxy: View & Share the Trailer Video. Read more in NOAO Press Release 18-01. -
Rivers in the Sky: Some of the new stellar streams discovered by the Dark Energy Survey have been named by Chilean children for bodies of water close to home (Lea en español). -
Peering back in time, to when the Universe was only 5% of its current age, astronomers have spotted the most distant supermassive black hole discovered yet. Read more in NOAO Press Release 17-07. -
Interstellar interloper 1I/2017 U1, recently spotted streaking through the Solar System, provides an up close look at an object from another planetary system.
NOAO is the national center for ground-based nighttime astronomy in the United States and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. If you would like information about solar astronomy, visit the National Solar Observatory. If you would like information about radio astronomy, visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.