THE UNITED KINGDOM INFRARED TELESCOPE
ANNUAL REPORT
1997

1. The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope

The world's largest telescope dedicated solely to infrared astronomy, the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) is sited in Hawaii near the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 4194m above sea level. UKIRT is owned by the United Kingdom Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and operated along with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope by the staff of the Joint Astronomy Centre, located in Hilo. In 1997 the operation and development of UKIRT were overseen by the UKIRT Board.

The mission of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is ``to support high quality, fundamental research in astronomy by operating, maintaining, and developing the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and its facilities in Hawai'i.'' In fulfilling this mission UKIRT provides wide-ranging opportunities for state-of-the-art astronomical observations at ground-based infrared wavelengths (roughly 1-25 microns), both by arranging that new observing instruments are built in the U.K. for use at the telescope and by enhancing the capabilities of existing instruments wherever possible. In addition, the UKIRT Upgrades Programme, a comprehensive project to improve the image quality of the telescope, involving contributions by the Royal Observatories in the U.K., the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, and the Joint Astronomy Centre, was nearing completion in 1997.

During 1997 the UKIRT operation had a staff equivalent to approximately 30 full-time employees in Hawaii and one in the U.K. Awards of U.K.-controlled observing time on UKIRT, 85% of the total available observing time, are decided by the Panel for the Allocation of Telescope Time (PATT). The University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy allocates 15% of the time to its scientists. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany have used roughly four weeks of PPARC time during Semesters 97A and 97B in exchange for some of the Institute's effort and expenditure in the UKIRT Upgrades Programme.