THE UNITED KINGDOM INFRARED TELESCOPE
ANNUAL REPORT
2001-2002

Introduction

S.L. Lumsden, Chairman, UKIRT Board

2001 and 2002 have seen many changes at UKIRT, with the commissioning of two new instruments and the changes necessary to move towards full flexible scheduling. MICHELLE was commissioned late in 2001, and UIST almost exactly a year later in 2002. The commissioning teams from the JAC and the ATC in Edinburgh are to be congratulated at the speed with which the major modes of these instruments were made available. MICHELLE in particular has proved popular with the community. The value of these instruments has already been shown by observations as diverse as the measurement of the black hole mass in the most distant known quasar with UIST to the detection of faint asteroids at 10µm in order to determine their surface properties. Finally the Observation Management Project, a key component to full flexible scheduling, was also rolled out during 2002. These additions have resulted in UKIRT remaining at the front rank of international facilities despite access to 8-metre telescope time becoming commonplace. As a sign of this, competition for time on UKIRT remains healthily oversubscribed.

In other scientific highlights the older instruments continue to see use. The successful programme to study the characteristics of the coolest brown dwarfs detected by Sloan has continued using CGS4 for example.

Progress was also substantial on the new Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) over this period. The Board looks forward to its arrival which will complete the upgrading of the UKIRT instrumentation suite to complement the upgraded telescope. We are sure that these new instruments, and the changes to the observing system, will ensure a bright future for UKIRT.

Finally, 2002 saw the departure of Ian Robson as the director of JAC. The Board would all like to take the opportunity to thank Ian for his efforts to promote the work of JAC and the facilties in Hawaii during his tenure, and in particular for his contribution to UKIRT's new instrument projects.