The Return of NEWFIRM to CTIO!

NEWFIRM, a wide-field near-IR imager, was a facility instrument on the Mayall Telescope on Kitt Peak from 2006-2010 and 2012-2016, and at the Blanco Telescope on Cerro Tololo from 2010-2011. Despite its long history, NEWFIRM remains a very competitive instrument; it will be unique in the southern hemisphere with the retirement of ESO’s VIRCAM in 2021.

Encouraged by our users and the AAAC subcommittee on the futures of the Gemini, Blanco, and SOAR telescopes, we applied to NSF for supplementary funding to return NEWFIRM to Chile and refurbish it; the funding opportunity targeted instrumentation that would benefit Multi-Messenger Astronomy (MMA). The wide field of NEWFIRM and the large aperture of the Blanco 4m makes for a powerful combination that will enable an efficient direct search for near-infrared counterparts of gravitational wave events, in particular as localization regions diminish in size with the addition of KAGRA and LIGO-India to the Gravitational Wave detection network. NEWFIRM also enables a broad range of other science, including exploiting and supporting the science of the Rubin Observatory’s LSST.

Our proposal was successful, and NSF has awarded funds for the two-year project. As a result, we will shortly be packing up NEWFIRM and sending it to Chile, where it will undergo some mechanism repairs. Guide cameras, computers, and controller interface cards will be replaced, and some software will be rewritten. Following recommissioning, the intent is to install NEWFIRM permanently at the Blanco F/8 RC focus, where it is expected to be scheduled for approximately 10 nights of bright time each month. Stay tuned for further developments!