MPIA Currently Employs a Staff of Approximately 160, Including 43 Scientists, 37 Junior and Visiting Scientists, Together with 80 Technical and Administrative Staff
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Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie Heidelberg-Königstuhl Annual Report 1998 Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie Heidelberg-Königstuhl Annual Report Das Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie Managing Directors: Prof. Steven Beckwith (until 31. 8. 1998), Prof. Immo Appenzeller (as of 1.8.1998) Academic Members, Governing Body, Directors: Prof. Immo Appenzeller (as of 1.8.1998, temporary), Prof. Steven Beckwith, (on sabbatical leave as from 1. 9. 1998), Prof. Hans-Walter Rix (as of 1. 1. 1999). Emeritus Academic Members: Prof. Hans Elsässer, Prof. Guido Münch External Academic Members: Prof. Immo Appenzeller, Prof. Karl-Heinz Böhm, Prof. George H. Herbig Scientific Oversight Committee: Prof. R. Bender, Munich; Prof. R.-J. Dettmar, Bochum; Prof. G. Hasinger, Potsdam; Prof. P. Léna, Meudon; Prof. M. Moles Villamante, Madrid; Prof. F. Pacini, Florence; Prof. K.-H. Schmidt, Potsdam; Prof. P.A. Strittmatter, Tucson; Prof. S.D.M. White, Garching; Prof. L. Woltjer, St. Michel l’Observatoire. The MPIA currently employs a staff of approximately 160, including 43 scientists, 37 junior and visiting scientists, together with 80 technical and administrative staff. Students of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Heidelberg work on dissertations at degree and doctorate level in the Institute. Apprentices are con- stantly undergoing training in the Institute’s workshops. Anschrift: MPI für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg. Telephone: 0049-6221-5280, Fax: 0049-6221-528246. E-mail: Name@mpia-hd.mpg.de, Anonymous ftp: ftp.mpia-hd.mpg.de Isophot Datacenter: phthelp@mpia-hd.mpg.de. Internet: http://www.mpia-hd.mpg.de Calar Alto Observatory Address: Centro Astronomico Hispano Aleman, Calle Jesus Durbán Remón 2/2, E-04004 Almería, Spain Telephone: 0034-50-230988, -632500, Fax: 0034-50-632504, E-mail: name@caha.es Publication Information © 2000 Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg All rights reserved Printed in Germany Editors: Dr. Jakob Staude, Prof. Dr. Immo Appenzeller Text: Dr. Thomas Bührke Illustrations: MPIA and others Graphics and picture editing: Dipl. Phys. Axel M. Quetz Layout: Josef Hegele, Dossenheim Printing and Production: Colordruck, Leimen ISSN 1437-2924 Contents I General . 5 IV Scientific Work . 47 The MPIA’s Research Goals . 5 Scientific Questions . 8 IV.1 Galactic Astronomy. 47 Galactic Research . 8 Young Double and Multiple Stars. 47 Extragalactic Research . 9 Speckle holography in the Orion nebula . 47 The Solar System . 9 An example of star formation: the Trapezium Cluster. 50 Brown Dwarfs . 51 II Highlights . 11 From a molecular cloud to a star. 51 Kinematics of bipolar jets from young stars . 54 II.1 Disks around young and old stars . 11 Bipolar outflows and equatorial disks . 54 The Vega phenomenon . 11 Movement of jet knots . 54 The rule or the exception? . 13 Jets in the case of »old« T-Tauri stars as well . 59 The precedence case of Beta Pictoris . 14 Eta Carinae and the Homunculus nebula. 59 Dusty disks in double stars . 16 The eventful phase of Luminous Blue Variables . 60 Speckle polarimetry in the infrared. 16 Three-phase model for Eta Carinae . 60 The young system Haro 6-37 . 18 IV.2 Extragalactic Astronomy . 64 Galaxies in the young universe . 64 II.2 Quasars and radio galaxies . 20 Star birth in young galaxies . 64 The unified scheme on the test bench . 20 EROs in the infrared sky. 66 The unified scheme for active galaxies . 20 Cold dust in galaxies . 68 Observations with ISOPHOT in the far infrared . 21 Are spiral galaxies transparent? . 68 Polarimetry of quasar 3C 279 . 22 The Andromeda galaxy in the far infrared. 68 The unusual dwarf galaxy NGC 205 . 71 II.3 Evolution of Dwarf Galaxies . 24 The »Cloud Liquid« model. 24 IV.3. The Solar System . 73 Results from the simulations. 25 Asteroids as infrared standards . 73 Hot supernova bubbles . 28 Standard light sources for the infrared. 73 The thermal asteroid model and ISOPHOT data . 74 Polarisation measurements on asteroids . 76 III Development of Instruments . 33 Variations in the solar wind . 77 The Wide-Field Imager on the 2 m telescope Coronal holes and mass eruptions . 77 on La Silla . 33 Old HELIOS data newly analysed . 78 ALFA, adaptive optics with an artificial Star . 38 MOSCA – Multi-Object Spectrograph for Calar Alto 41 OMEGA-Prime – a near Infrared Camera Staff . 83 for Calar Alto . 42 Working Groups and scientifc Cooperation. 84 OMEGA-Cass – Spectrometer and camera for the infrared for Calar Alto . 43 Cooperation with industrial Firms. 86 CONICA – High resolution near-infrared camera Teaching activities . 88 for the VLT. 44 Public Lectures . 88 MIDI – Infrared Interferometer for the VLT . 44 Conferences. 89 PACS – Infrared Camera for FIRST Service in Committees. 90 (Far Infrared Space Telescope) . 45 Publications . 85 5 I General The MPIA’s Research Goals optimisation of the telescopes’ capabilities: now that the ALFAadaptive optical system has become operational, the In 1967, the Senate of the Max Planck Society decided 3.5 metre telescope is once again at the forefront of tech- to establish the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in nological development (Chapter III). Other aspects inclu- Heidelberg with the aim of restoring astronomical research de the development of new measuring instruments in in Germany to a leading global position after the major set- Heidelberg, the preparation of observation programmes backs it had suffered due to two World Wars. Two years and the subsequent data analysis. A substantial part of the later, the Institute commenced its work in temporary Institute’s work is devoted to building new instruments for accommodation on the Königstuhl, under the direction of the telescopes (Chapter III). The MPIA is equipped with Hans Elsässer. The Institute moved into its new building in 1975 (Figure I.1). A long-term goal of the newly establis- hed MPIA was to build up and operate two high-perfor- mance observatories, one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere. In 1970, after an intensive search for a location, the choice for the northern hemisphe- re was made in favour of Calar Alto Mountain (height: 2168 metres) in the province of Almería, southern Spain. This European location offers good climatic and meteoro- logical conditions for astronomical observations. 1972 saw the establishment of the »Deutsch-Spanisches Astro- nomisches Zentrum / German-Spanish Astronomical Centre« (DSAZ), known in short as the Calar Alto Observatory. The complex technological problems associated with the planning and construction of the telescopes were sol- Figure I.1: The Max Planck Institute of Astronomy on the ved in cooperation with Carl Zeiss of Oberkochen and Königstuhl in Heidelberg. other companies. In this way, a large number of firms have acquired know-how which has helped them to secure lea- ding positions on the world market. Between 1975 and 1984, the 1.2 metre reflector finan- ced by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft as well as the 2.2 metre and 3.5 metre telescopes started operation on Calar Alto. The 80 centimetre Schmidt reflector was trans- ferred from the Hamburg Observatory. There is also a Spanish 1.5 metre telescope on the site, operated by the Observatorio Nacional de Madrid. Figure I.2 shows a view of the telescope domes on Calar Alto. The original plans to construct a southern observatory on the Gamsberg in Namibia could not be implemented for political reasons. The 2.2 metre telescope which was intended for this pur- pose has been loaned to the European Southern Observatory for 25 years. Since 1984, it has been in opera- Figure I.2: View from the south of the Calar Alto Observatory tion on La Silla Mountain in Chile, with 25 % of its obser- in southern Spain, with its five telescope domes. From left ving time available to the astronomers of the Max-Planck to right: the building for the Spanish 1.5 metre telescope, Society. the Schmidt reflector, the 1.23 metre telescope, the 2.2 metre At present the operation of the Calar Alto Observatory telescope, and the 43 metre high dome of the 3.5 metre tele- is a central task for the MPIA. This includes the constant scope. 6 I General high-tech precision mechanics and electronics workshops for this purpose. With the Calar Alto Observatory, the MPIA has one of the two European observatories with the highest performance. Research concentrates on the »clas- sical« visible region of the spectrum and on the infrared region. In addition, the MPIA has been engaged in space-based research ever since it was established. This was associated with an early start on infrared astronomy which has played a particularly important part in the Institute’s later deve- lopment as a whole. In the 1970's, two photometers were developed and built at the MPIA, which flew on board the two solar probes Helios 1 and Helios 2, where they worked faultlessly. The fact that the measurements obtained at that time contain information that is still valuable today is shown by a recent data analysis which led to the detection of fluctuations in the solar wind (Chapter IV.3). A more or less parallel development to the Helios mission involved the THISBE balloon gondola (Telescope of Heidelberg for Infrared Studies by Balloon-borne Experiments). This alti- tude research balloon was designed to carry telescopes and equipment weighing as much as 400 kilograms up to a height of 40 kilometres, where long wavelength infrared observations are possible. Four telescopes with apertures of 6 to 20 centimetres were built in the workshops of the MPIA and were deployed on THISBE. Scientific aspects deserving particular emphasis here include the first obser- vation of the central region of the Milky Way at a wave- length of 2.4 mm wavelength, and the measurement of the airglow, due to the emission of the OH-radical in the atmosphere.