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NOAO/NSO Newsletter NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY/NATIONAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY Issue 89 — March 2007

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NOAO/NSO Newsletter NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY/NATIONAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY Issue 89 — March 2007 NOAO/NSO Newsletter NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY/NATIONAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY ISSUE 89 — MARCH 2007 Science Highlights Data Products Programs The Evershed Flow: From the Chromosphere to The NOAO Data Products Program (DPP) .................. 19 the Photosphere ........................................................3 NOAO DPP at ADASS XVI ........................................20 High Spectral Resolution in the Mid-IR with TEXES Developing the NOAO End-to-End Data on Gemini ................................................................4 Management System .............................................. 21 Director’s Office Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Implementing the Senior Review Recommendations – SOAR Science Operations Ramping Up ......................22 a Progress Report ....................................................5 Knut Olsen & Dara Norman Move to NOAO North ....22 Users Committee Report Available ...............................5 Report from the Third System Workshop .......................6 Kitt Peak National Observatory NEWFIRM Achieves First Light! ..................................23 NOAO Gemini Science Center New Senior Electrical Engineer Joins Kitt Peak Gemini Observing Opportunities for Semester 2007B ...7 National Observatory ............................................24 Avoid Fear and Loathing in January: Prepare your FLAMINGOS Imaging Update ...................................25 Gemini Phase II Plan at the AAS Meeting ..................8 GEMINI SCIENCE 2007..............................................9 NGSC Instrumentation Program Update .....................10 National Solar Observatory From the NSO Director’s Office .................................26 NGSC Booth at the 2007 AAS Meeting in Seattle ....... 11 ATST Passes Preliminary Design Review ......................27 First Spectra from the NSO Array Camera Observational Programs 1000-2000 nm Polarimeter .....................................29 2007B Observing Proposals Due 2 April 2007 ........... 12 GONG++. .................................................................29 Community Access Time Available in 2007B with Keck, HET, Magellan, and MMT ............................. 13 Observing Request Statistics for 2007A Public Affairs and Educational Outreach NOAO Brings Family ASTRO Back Standard Proposals ................................................. 14 to South America ...................................................32 CTIO Instruments Available for 2007B ........................ 15 Tucson Teacher Connects Students with Gemini Instruments Expected to be Available the National Observatory ......................................33 for 2007B ............................................................. 16 Calling Dr. Frankenstein! Interactive Binaries Show KPNO Instruments Available for 2007B ...................... 17 Signs of Induced Hyperactivty .................................34 HET Instruments Available for 2007B .......................... 18 The 2007 REU/PIA Program at CTIO..........................35 MMT Instruments Available for 2007B........................ 18 The Intersection of Arts & Sciences .............................36 Magellan Instruments Available for 2007B ................. 18 Keck Instruments Available for 2007B ........................ 18 inside... High Spectral SOAR Science The Evershed Resolution in the Observations Flow: From The Mid-IR with TEXES Ramping Up Chromosphere to (Page 4) (Page 22) the Photoshpere (Page 3) The NOAO-NSO Newsletter is published quarterly by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726 [email protected] The highly successful first-light observations of the NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager (NEWFIRM) in early Douglas Isbell, Editor February were the result of many weeks and months of hard work by numerous NOAO staff members in the Major In- Section Editors strumentation group, Kitt Peak engineering and facilities, the Data Products Program, and our partners at the University of Abhijit Saha Science Highlights Maryland (see page 23). Dave Bell Observational Programs Mia Hartman Observational Programs But one person who deserves some special accolades is Christopher J. Miller Data Products Program NEWFIRM Project Scientist Ron Probst (see photo). Ron rec- Nicole S. van der Bliek CTIO ognized the scientific need for a wide-field infrared camera Buell T. Jannuzi KPNO years ago, and has been gently but firmly guiding the project Ken Hinkle NGSC since the beginning. He has shown great skill at converting Sally Adams NGSC performance goals to engineering specifications, at working John Leibacher NSO with the engineering and technical staff during the design Priscilla Piano NSO and construction phases, and at setting plans and priorities Douglas Isbell Public Affairs & for the integration and testing. Most importantly, he has kept Educational Outreach the diverse team working smoothly through good times and bad, always keeping one eye on the immediate problem at Production Staff hand and the other on the ultimate goal of a successful instrument. Sheryl Falgout Managing Editor Peter Marenfeld Design & Layout During the past several years, Ron has also made major con- Kathie Coil Production Support tributions to NOAO educational and public outreach, from conducting frequent star parties for local community groups to writing and translating very creative curriculum in com- parative Earth science for our ASTRO-Chile videoconferences between Tucson and La Serena (see article on page 33). Ron does both of these tasks, and more, for NOAO with great intelligence, dedication and a sharp sense of humor. Thanks, Ron, for all that you contribute to the national observatory! This image of the OMC 1/2 region in Orion was obtained on 3 February 2007 during the initial science verification run of the NEWFIRM infrared imager on the Kitt Peak Mayall 4-meter telescope. These data were taken in the 2.12-micron line of H2, which is excited by shocks and by fluorescence at boundaries between ionized and molecular gas. The monochrome image is color- coded by intensity. The image shows the full 28 x 28 arcmin field of view of NEWFIRM, covered by four 2K x 2K Orion InSb arrays in a closely packed mosaic. This large field is a key feature of NEWFIRM. One of the detectors is an engi- neering-grade array that will be replaced with a science-grade unit before the instrument is fully commissioned. This image is the result of the initial processing of only four dithered exposures (in eight minutes total integration time), using software developed by the NOAO Data Products Program group for the NEWFIRM data pipeline. The minimal amount of dithering did not permit removal of all detector defects in the composite image. Ron Probst with NEWFIRM at the Kitt Peak Mayall 4-meter telescope. The initial NEWFIRM science verification data were obtained by John Bally (University of Colorado) and Josh Walawender (University of Hawaii). Image credit: Ron Probst, Frank Valdes, the NEWFIRM team and NOAO/AURA/NSF >>> NOAO/NSO Newsletter | March 2007 >>> SCIENCENOAO/NSO HIGHLIGHTS The Evershed Flow: From the Chromosphere to the Photosphere Alexandra Tritschler & Han Uitenbroek t has been known for almost a century that penumbra. The fibrils carry an inward flow aid future investigations on the bewildering sunspots are the visible manifestations of toward the umbra, called the inverse Evershed nature of chromospheric penumbra. Present strong concentrations of magnetic field on flow, which is almost certainly associated with observations provide strong evidence for a Ithe solar surface. Yet despite a hundred years the larger scale organization of the magnetic significant vertical component of the chromo- of intense study, many physical details of sun- field around sunspots. spheric inflow. While the flow seems to be spot structure and dynamics remain uncertain. almost horizontal in the superpenumbra, it Among the unexplained features is the char- becomes increasingly vertical towards the acteristic outflow that occurs at photospheric penumbra. In the chromospheric Doppler- levels in sunspot penumbrae discovered by gram (figure 3), this configuration, in combi- Evershed in 1909 at almost the same time the nation with the viewing angle, causes the flow magnetic nature of spots was determined. In pattern to be visible beyond the photospheric spots observed toward the solar limb, this signature of the penumbra on the limb side, predominantly horizontal flow manifests while on the center-side penumbra it is well itself very clearly in the shifts of spectral lines observed within the visible penumbra. toward the blue in the center-side penumbra, and to the red on the limb side, as illustrated in the Dopplergram taken in the magnetically insensitive 709.04 nm line of Fe I (figure 1). Figure 2. Line-core intensity of the Ca II 854.21 nm line. As in the case of the photospheric Evershed flow, the driving force of the inverse flow remains unclear. It has been suggested that the inflow is a siphon flow, driven by the dif- ference in gas pressure between the two foot- points. In this case, the flow direction is from lower magnetic field strength to higher field strength. This is plausible if the fibrils arch Figure 3. Dopplergram derived from the line- into the chromosphere from the high field core intensity of the Ca II 854.21 nm line.v strength umbra to connect to weaker field concentrations such as pores, or magnetic The origin of these counter flows is unre- Figure 1. Dopplergram derived from
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