From the Press Office: New Missions for Kitt Peak Telescopes

Aerial view of Kitt Peak showing the WIYN 3.5-m on the far left, the 2.1-m third from left, and the Mayall 4-m telescope on the far right.

2.1-m Telescope: A team led by the California Institute of Technology has been selected to transform the 2.1-m telescope into the first dedicated adaptive optics (AO) observatory for astronomy. This system, Robo-AO KP, will allow astronomers to study, at high angular resolution, large numbers of astronomical objects, spanning science from planetary to stellar, and exoplanetary to extragalactic. Two months of observing time each year will be available to the US astronomical community. Read More in NOAO Press Release 15-07.

3.5-m WIYN Telescope: NSF and NASA have partnered to advance exoplanet science through the use of the NOAO share of the WIYN telescope. As its cornerstone, the partnership is funding the development and deployment of an extreme precision radial velocity spectrometer to measure the subtle motion of stars produced by their orbiting planets. The partnership has also established this year an exoplanet-related Guest Observer research program on WIYN using existing instrumentation. The new spectrometer will be included in the Guest Observer program beginning in 2018. Read More in NOAO Press Release 15-02

4-m Mayall Telescope: The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), destined for the Mayall, will chart out the role of dark energy in the expansion history of the universe. The US Department of Energy recently announced its approval of Critical Decision 2 (CD-2) for the DESI project, authorizing its scientific scope, schedule, and funding profile. To carry out its mission, DESI will use its 8 square degree field of view, 5000-fiber multi-object spectrograph to measure the redshifts of more than 30 million galaxies and quasars and study how dark energy and gravity have competed over time to shape the structure of the universe. Read More in NOAO Press Release 15-06.