Top End

Andy Adamson

Head of UKIRT Operations/Director of Science

The Joint Astronomy Centre and Subaru telescope, in conjunction with five other Mauna Kea observatories, sponsored a conference on polarimetry in the optical, infrared and submillimetre in Waikoloa in March 2004. This meeting brought together more than 120 astronomers from a wide range of fields, to share their interests in analyzing the light from astronomical sources just that little bit further than everyone else. Historically UKIRT has, with assistance from the Hertfordshire group in particular, offered polarimetric options with almost all of its observing modes, and UKIRT data were well represented in the meeting. The meeting was a successful one, and its proceedings, to be published shortly, will represent a useful snapshot of where astronomical polarimetry is now, and a pointer to future developments.

Combining new and advanced instruments and flexible scheduling has had beneficial effects over and above the obvious improvement in completion of priority science. UKIRT now has quite a well-developed capacity for taking in proposals, some with tough conditions requirements, and efficiently converting them to science results with or without the direct involvement of the PI. That said, it is sobering to note that after more than a year of flexing there remain ways in which we could and should optimize the processes involved. There is more, and better, to come.

The Michelle semester referred to in the previous Newsletter was seriously affected by weather once the cryogenic problems referred to then were worked through. However, a good number of programmes were attempted, and all modes of the instrument were exercised. This includes spectropolarimetry, which was tested at the discretion of Richard Bower and Mark Swinbank (summit observers from Durham), to whom we are grateful. The net outcome of this relatively short, and possibly last, run was some great science, a convincing demonstration of the excellence of Michelle as a multi-mode thermal-IR instrument, and a confirmation of the power of combining it with a powerful, flexible observing system. The bar has been set, and it is high.

WFCAM has had a very interesting few months. Some aspects of the acceptance tests held in June were rendered moot by manufacturing errors in the corrector plate, which resulted in large low and high-order spherical aberration (there is an unwelcome but fairly apposite comparison with the Hubble Space Telescope). This optical element was returned to the manufacturer for rework on completion of an interferometric test which verified it as the source of the problem. The decision was taken to deliver the rest of the camera to UKIRT and to commission in two stages. First the essential operation of the camera would be verified on the telescope, and then (in Spring 2005) the corrector would be installed and the various alignments would be completed. Recent news (see Paul Hirst's article in this issue) suggests that we may exceed this schedule in some important respects; if so, we will be ahead of our expectations in the first phase of commissioning and can expect a significant amount of science observing within the first half of 2005. We will keep the community informed as this project develops.