Marc Balcells

Director, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING)2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

Isaac Newton Group of Isaac Newton Group of TelescopesTelescopes 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

WHT 4.2m

INT 2.5m

JKT 1.0m (not offered)

2011-08-31 2IoA Cambridge

Instrumentation

WHT developed as versatile telescope with easyswitching between focal stations

2012 March 22 3RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/observing/instruments.html

Program of Visiting Program of Visiting InstrumentsInstrumentsSuccessful program of easy

deployment of private instruments

SAURON PNS PlanetPol ExPo INTEGRAL ULTRACAM FastCam GHaFaS SPIFS

•Future• PAUCam

• AOLI Lucky Imager2012 March 224RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

Test-bed for E-ELT Test-bed for E-ELT technologiestechnologies

• 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.

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 5

TrainingTraining 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

ING2012-13 student selection open

Deadline 2012 April 6 http://www.ing.iac.es/astronomy/science/studentship.html

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 6

Collaboration with GTCCollaboration 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

2012 March 22 7RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

WHT usage, oversubscriptionWHT usage, oversubscription

Spain oversubscr: 2.5-3 Remains high after

accession to ESO

VLT oversubscr: 3.22012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 8

Spain: increasing demand

High-impact scientific High-impact scientific productivityproductivity

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 9

Forthcoming paper:

Benn & Jiménez-Luján, Scientific impact of large telescopes 1991-2010, in prep.

Plans for next decadePlans for next decade

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 10

Thinking ING’s futureThinking ING’s future ING Board

ING SAC

ING Manag.

STFC-NWO-IAC-GTC working group

2012 March 22 11RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade

4m in 10m era4m in 10m era Do what you do better than the 10m

Wide field astronomy

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 12

Strategic planning 2013-2022Strategic planning 2013-2022http://www.ing.iac.es/about-ING/strategy/

2013-20161. Maintain current model of general

purpose telescope

2. Build, commission WEAVE

2017-2022 WEAVE surveys

Retain some access to other instruments?

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 13

2013-20162013-2016

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

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 14

Long-term programmesLong-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, … 2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 15

Why continue 2013-2016Why continue 2013-2016

1. Northern sky access

2. 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; …

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 16

2017-2022 Surveys in the 2017-2022 Surveys in the WEAVE epochWEAVE 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

2011-09-20 Santillana - 2a Reunión REG 17

Summary: we’d like your Summary: we’d like your needs/plans forneeds/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!

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 18

THANKTHANKSS

2012 March 22 RIA Workshop - Science with ORM and CAHA in the next decade 19