The US Extremely Large Telescope Program at AAS 237

At AAS 237, on Thursday 14 January 2021 at 4:10-5:40 pm EST, the US Extremely Large Telescope Program will host a session featuring an overview of the US-ELTP and updates on the status of the construction planning for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). We will describe NOIRLab’s plans to provide user support services and tools for all stages of research using TMT and GMT, from proposal preparation to observation planning to data reduction, data analysis, and archival research. NOIRLab will develop these services with particular emphasis on enabling research by a broad, diverse scientific community, including scientists and students at under-resourced undergraduate institutions. This session will be an early opportunity to give your input on these plans for US-ELTP user support.

Please also visit the US ELT Program booth in the AAS virtual exhibit hall. There you can meet staff members from NOIRLab, GMT, and TMT to learn more about the observatories and about our plans for US-ELTP user support.

The US ELT Program is a joint endeavor of NSF’s NOIRLab, the TMT International Observatory, and the GMTO Corporation. Our goal is to complete both observatories and to ensure that all US scientists may use them to carry out transformational research enabled by the unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution that GMT and TMT will provide. We seek to secure 25% or greater shares of open access observing time on both telescopes for US astronomers regardless of their institutional affiliations. The bi-hemispheric US ELT Program will uniquely enable US investigators to observe objects anywhere on the sky, using a broader suite of instruments than a single ELT could likely provide.