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A new Advanced Instruments and Engineering Facility will be
established on Mt Stromlo, establishing new capability for precision
optics manufacture and an expanded research and development program.
While the Facility is being developed, Mt Stromlo Observatory's
internationally-renowned technical and research staff will focus their
attention on the $6 million rebuild of an astronomy instrument that
was destroyed in January's fires.
ANU has signed an agreement with commercial aerospace partner Auspace
to rebuild the Near-infrared Integral-Field Spectrograph, (NIFS) for
the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.
ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb said the agreement was an
important milestone in the recovery of Mt Stromlo.
"We have taken a very important commercial, practical and symbolic
step by signing the contract to rebuild the NIFS," Professor Chubb
said.
The NIFS is an infra-red device which will allow researchers to probe
areas of the Universe which are shielded from view by cosmic
dust. Work packages will be shared between ANU and Auspace to save
time and the instrument is expected to be completed by 2005.
The Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
Professor Penny Sackett, said the contract was an uplifting triumph
after the destruction of the fires.
"This first Australian instrument for the Gemini telescopes is of
enormous importance to Australian science and Stromlo staff.
"By combining the superb image quality of the telescope and its
adaptive optics system with the resolution achievable with NIFS,
astronomers will be able to view the Universe more clearly than if
they were looking through the Hubble Space Telescope."
Mr Roger Franzen, the Managing Director of Auspace Limited said he was
delighted to be again working with the Research School on the project.
"In order to meet the challenging schedule requirements needed to
bring the replacement instrument online and exploit its scientific
potential, we will make maximum use of our combined resources. The
delivery of NIFS is a key priority for both our organisations."
The Stromlo Facility is also on track to build a $6.3 million Adaptive
Optics Imager for the Gemini South Observatory in Chile. ANU won the
contract to build the imager in December last year and as development
was in the planning stage when the fires hit, progress was not
substantially disrupted. The Adaptive Optics Imager will be the
second of Australia's instruments for the international Gemini
telescopes.
The Facility's research program will focus on equipment to help
construct and use the Extremely Large Telescopes planned around the
world for the coming decade. Telescopes with mirror diameters as large
as 100m and as tall as the Eiffel Tower are already on the drawing
board, providing unprecedented observational capabilities and
requiring equipment from specialised production facilities.
"Extremely Large Telescopes promise an exciting new future for
astronomy and the focus of the Advanced Instruments and Engineering
Facility in researching and developing equipment for these new
telescopes will ensure Mt Stromlo retains a very strong position at
the heart of international astronomy," Professor Sackett said.
NIFS Background
The Near-infrared Integral-Field Spectrograph, (NIFS) is bigger than
an oil drum, yet must be built with more precision than the finest
Swiss watch.
All interior components are cooled to -208 degrees Celsius during
operation, to allow them to pick up the faint radiation from stars in
the far reaches of the universe. Simply making machinery and
electronics that works at these temperatures is a daunting challenge -
most equipment simply freezes shut.
All optical components are manufactured with a precision more than 100
times finer than the thickness of a human hair. The whole device must
work perfectly despite being swung around on the bottom of a
telescope, on a distant mountain in the middle of the night.
NIFS will search for giant black holes in the middle of galaxies, and
will map the formation of galaxies such as our own Milky Way. It will
watch as new stars and planets form.
ANU MEDIA OFFICE CONTACT: Tim Winkler (02) 6125 5001/0416 249 231
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