the isaac Newton Group in the next decade 2012 March 22

1. the isaac Newton Group in the next decade2012 March 22 Marc Balcells Director, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING) RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

2. Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes • ING operates three telescopes for UK, NL, ES • Oldest, largest ORM user institution • At ORM since 1982 • ~40 staff, 25 years operating telescopes • Leading scientific production • Currently planning for next 10 years IoA Cambridge

3. http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/instruments.html Instrumentation WHT developed as versatile telescope with easy switching between focal stations RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

4. Program of Visiting Instruments Successful program of easy deployment of private instruments • SAURON • PNS • PlanetPol • ExPo • INTEGRAL • ULTRACAM • FastCam • GHaFaS • SPIFS Future • PAUCam • AOLI Lucky Imager RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

5. Test-bed for E-ELT technologies CANARY system for multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) for EAGLE (E-ELT) Durham, UKATC, Paris-LESIA, Marseille, ING Phase A (NGS) successful Now preparing Phase B, 4 LGS, open loop. RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

6. Training • ING resident student programme • 4 PhD students spend 1 yr at ING • Manage and support all INT observations • Many PhD students learn to be astronomers at ING • 2012-13 student selection open • Deadline 2012 April 6 • http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/science/studentship.html RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

7. Collaboration with GTC • An ING-GTC alliance at ORM: the T&Inet MoU • ING-GTC Telescope and Instrumentation Network • Signed 2011 • Collaboration projects • OSIRIS cryostat (2011 Jan – June) • Alignment of GTC primary mirror segments(ongoing) • Potential for growth RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

8. WHT usage, oversubscription • Spain: increasing demand • Spain oversubscr: 2.5-3 • Remains high after accession to ESO • VLT oversubscr: 3.2 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

9. High-impact scientific productivity Forthcoming paper: Benn & Jiménez-Luján, Scientific impact of large telescopes 1991-2010, in prep. RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

10. Plans for next decade RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

11. Thinking ING’s future Simon Berry Ramón García López Paul Hewett Matt Jarvis ChristophKeller (Chair) Alfonso López Aguerri Ronald Stark • ING Board • ING SAC • ING Manag. • STFC-NWO-IAC-GTC working group Paul Groot Amina Helmi HenkHoekstra Mike Irwin (Chair) Ross McLure Francisco Najarro Will Percival Ismael Pérez-Fournon Don C. Abrams Marc Balcells Chris Benn Juan Martínez Ian Skillen Pedro Alvarez Marc Balcells Ramón García-López James Hough Rafael Rebolo Ronald Stark Colin Vincent John Womersley RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

12. 4m in 10m era • Do what you do better than the 10m • Wide field astronomy RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

13. Strategic planning 2013-2022 http://www.ing.iac.es/about-ING/strategy/ • 2013-2016 • Maintain current model of general purpose telescope • Build, commission WEAVE • 2017-2022 • WEAVE surveys • Retain some access to other instruments? RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

14. 2013-2016 • General-purpose telescope model • Introduce long-term programmes • Upgrade survey instruments • Maintain • Students, technology programmes, visitor instruments • Future visitor instruments PAUCam (2013); AOLI (2014) • Build, commission WEAVE • Talk Friday by Gavin Dalton, WEAVE PI RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

15. Long-term programmes • Expect increase telescope productivity • ONLY IF demmanded by the community • Requires changes in TAC processes • Common UK, NL, ES TAC for long programmes • Upgrade ‘survey’ instruments • AF2/WYFFOS • 4k Red+CCD. Throughput/operational issues • ISIS, LIRIS, … RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

16. Why continue 2013-2016 • Northern sky access • Complementarity to GTC • For Spain, WHT is still ‘the’ general purpose telescope • Science • All kinds! You need to tell us • Multi-wavelength coverage of important missions • Gaia; Herschel; LOFAR; UKIDSS; … RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

17. 2017-2022 Surveys in the WEAVE epoch • Scott Trager’s talk, this Friday • 50%? 70%? 100%? time to WEAVE surveys? • Spain: scientific complementarity WHT – GTC • Classical : WHT – imaging, GTC – Spectroscopy?? • Alternative: • Spectroscopy, WHT: V=17=20 // GTC: V=20-23 • WHT/WEAVE combined with GTC/MEGARA • Powerful opportunities for Spanish astronomy Santillana - 2a Reunión REG

18. Summary: we’d like your needs/plans for • 2013-2016 • Would you use WHT long-term programmes • Would you tolerate long-term programmes • Instrument upgrade requests • Coordination with other facilities • ING role in training astronomers. • 2017-2022 • Interest in retaining (some) current instruments • Interest in retaining INT • Cost impact! RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

19. THANKS RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade