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Astronomical Facilities of the University of Tasmania

Astronomical Facilities of the University of Tasmania. Decadal Review – Facilities Meeting 17 December 2004. Simon Ellingsen and John Dickey. Mt Pleasant 26 m. Ceduna 30 m. Mt Canopus 1m. Overview. The University of Tasmania operates three major astronomical research facilities :

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Astronomical Facilities of the University of Tasmania

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  1. Astronomical Facilities ofthe University of Tasmania Decadal Review – Facilities Meeting 17 December 2004 Simon Ellingsen and John Dickey

  2. Mt Pleasant 26 m Ceduna 30 m University of Tasmania Facilities Mt Canopus 1m

  3. Overview • The University of Tasmania operates three major astronomical research facilities : • The Mt Pleasant 26 m radio telescope. • The Ceduna 30 m radio telescope. • The Mt Canopus 1 m optical telescope. • All of these are used in undergraduate and postgraduate student training. • The radio telescopes also operate as part of a national facility instrument - the Australian Long Baseline Array. University of Tasmania Facilities

  4. Mt Pleasant • Southern-most radio telescope in the world, provides all long north-south baselines in LBA • Only Australian telescope to regularly participate (~40 per year) in geodetic VLBI. • Other major projects : • Monitoring Vela pulsar for glitches. • Monitoring of IntraDay Variable sources (IDV’s). • Searching and monitoring of molecular masers. University of Tasmania Facilities

  5. Ceduna • Provides all the east-west baselines in the LBA, significantly improving image quality. • When not involved in VLBI is used for the COSMIC project (since March 2003) which continuously monitors a small sample of IDV sources. University of Tasmania Facilities

  6. Mt Canopus • Member of the PLANET collaboration since 1996. • Equipped with a ccd camera and a high-speed photometer, with a multi-fibre spectrograph under construction • Other projects include observations of low-mass x-ray binaries and optical monitoring of radio IDV sources. University of Tasmania Facilities

  7. The Future (1-3 years) • 10 Gbps fibre optic link to Mt Pleasant funded through ARC LIEF for 2005, to tie in with eLBA developments at ATNF/Swinburne. • Complementary fibre link for Ceduna is being sought, but logistically more difficult (unfunded). • Wide band feed upgrade for Mt Pleasant/Ceduna (unfunded). • Single baseline interferometer for IDV monitoring being investigated for Mt Pleasant (unfunded). • Involved in DIVA discussions/planning. University of Tasmania Facilities

  8. The Future (3-5 years) • DIVA telescope (phase 1 - one baseline, and phase 2 - dedicated array) • eVLB array (wideband, real time correlation) • upgraded optical telescope for PLANET (gravitational lensing) U Tas is a minor partner in: • PILOT 2m Antarctic telescope (UNSW et al.) • MWA (Search for 21-cm line from the Epoch of Reionization - MIT/Melbourne Uni/Harvard CfA) • NTD (l20-50cm survey array - ATNF) University of Tasmania Facilities

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