OBSERVERTHE AUSTRALIAN ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY NEWSLETTER NUMBER 124 AUGUST 2013 HERMES shipped New AAO Director | Wambelong Fire: Before and After | Growth of BCGs DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Director’s message Warrick Couch Having been associated with the AAO where there are many areas the AAO Director’s cottage adjacent to the AAT. for more than 30 years as both one of its and ANU can both benefit by working The Warrumbungles seem to have taken employees and a user of its telescopes, closely together (e.g. on instrumentation on a whole new character and appearance, I feel very honoured to now being projects and SSO operations). with rocky outcrops and other geological making this appearance on page 3 of features that had never been seen before As readers will be well aware from the the newsletter, with the responsibility now rendered visible, and the ghostly last issue of the AAO Observer, the of providing the Director’s message. appearance of hectare upon hectare of time between this most recent change Moreover, I realize I have a very hard act gum trees stripped bare of their leaves, but of directors was a very eventful and to follow, given the outstanding calibre their pale bark left intact. That none of the challenging period for the AAO. Just days of my immediate predecessor, Matthew telescopes on Siding Spring Mountain were after I had accepted the job, I wondered Colless, as well as his predecessors (Brian seriously damaged would seem a miracle, if there would be any telescopes left for Boyle, Russell Cannon, Don Morton, and and the fact that the AAT was back in me to direct, with a massive bushfire Joe Wampler). I feel very fortunate to full operation just a month after the fires overrunning SSO on 13 January. Anyone have worked closely with Matthew during speaks volumes for the dedication and who knows SSO and the surrounding his time as AAO Director, in my roles as massive recovery effort put in by all the Warrumbungle National Park area well, Chair of the AAT Board and then Chair AAO and ANU staff at SSO. Furthermore, and has visited it since the fires, cannot of the AAO Advisory Committee, and I in coming into the job 3 months later, I help but be overawed by the massive look forward to continuing to do so in have been struck by what an outstanding and widespread loss of vegetation and his new role as RSAA Director at ANU, job Andrew Hopkins did as Acting Director, property, including the ANU Lodge and Contents SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS HERMES goes to the AAT: Results of the pre-shipment tests 4 The middle age growth spurts of brightest cluster galaxies 8 Compact Galaxy Groups, their Star Clusters and Dwarf Galaxies 10 Ten Years of RAVE 13 OBSERVATORY NEWS AAO Welcomes New Director 17 Gemini School Astronomy Contest 18 Improving 2dfdr 19 AusGO Corner 20 A mountain of fire 22 Before and After 23 Distinguished Visitors to the AAO 24 LOCAL NEWS News from North Ryde 25 Letter from Coona 26 The major galaxies of Lyon Galaxy Group #455 were captured in the winning image from the 2012 Gemini School Astronomy Contest. Ryan Soares, a Year 11 student from Perth's Trinity College, suggested obtaining a mosaic of LGG 455 in his winning contest entry. Gemini South's GMOS instrument obtained the data for the three spiral galaxies: NGC 7232 (lower right), NGC 7232B (top), and NGC 7233 (centre). The colour-composite was created from images in three filters: g (blue), r (green), and i (red). Credit: Ryan Soares (Trinity College), Travis Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage), and the Australian Gemini Office. DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE both in skillfully negotiating the bushfire supporting this use, which is one of its have been here for most of their working crisis and returning the AAO to ‘business primary functions. Hence my intention is lifetimes. Just this week we have been as usual’ mode in a very short period. to bring the AAO’s 8m support activities reminded of this with the retirement (AusGO, Magellan, plus other 8m facilities of Helen Davies and Mick Kanonczuk. In looking to the future in my new job, of the future) under a single International Helen, for example, has been at the AAO there are many challenges as well as Telescope Support Office that will be almost since its beginning, and indeed many exciting opportunities to look appropriately resourced to continue retires after 34 years of excellent service. forward to. At a personal level, there is a providing a very high standard of support, Such retirements highlight the need for massive adjustment that I need to make no matter what Australia’s 8m future is. succession planning within the AAO, in moving from the university sector into and this is something I plan to address. the Australian public service. This will One of the great attractions in being continue to be a work in progress for Director of the AAO is the organization’s The AAO also takes on significant financial sometime! In terms of the AAO, I have world-class and well-resourced risk with its various instrumentation an excellent platform to start from by instrumentation construction and R&D projects, particularly given many of them way of a well-oiled organization with groups. At this point in time I see them are funded externally. With better long- excellent staff, and a clear plan in place having two key roles: to provide innovative range resource planning and forecasting – the AAO Forward Look, which sets out new instruments for the AAT and UKST processes in place so that the AAO can the AAO’s key priorities through until to keep them competitive into the next more quantitatively assess its capacity to 2015/16. Importantly, it was developed by decade, and to exploit the cutting-edge take on new instrumentation opportunities my predecessor in consultation with the capabilities they have developed (e.g. fibre as they arise, this risk can be mitigated, and Australian astronomy community, and positioner systems) to leverage scientific this is something I also want to implement. is aligned with its Decadal Plan. The full and instrument-building opportunities on Finally, this message would be incomplete implementation of this Forward Look is current and future international telescopes. without mentioning the following two therefore one of my highest priorities. The latter is clearly an important ‘playing ‘people’ matters. Firstly, the AAO last week card’ in providing Australia further access One of the biggest challenges currently was announced winner of the Australian options to 8m telescopes. Consistent facing Australian optical astronomy (and Human Resources Institute’s “Gender with the great importance I place on fully hence the AAO) on the 2015/16 time-scale Equity in the Workplace” Award. This is a implementing the AAO Forward Look, the is the future of its national 8m access. At great testament to the strong commitment highest priorities right now for the AAT are the moment, the current arrangements of the AAO management to embracing the successful commissioning of the new involving membership of Gemini and and implementing gender equity policies high-resolution HERMES spectrograph the purchase of nights on the Magellan within the organization. Secondly, as and the KOALA IFU for AAOmega by telescopes are funded only through part of my plan to better resource and the end of this year, and for the UKST until the end of 2015. Furthermore, in coordinate the AAO’s outreach activities, a complete upgrade of its drive and the mid-term review of its Decadal Plan, I am very pleased to announce that Dr control systems, as well as construction the Australian astronomy community Amanda Bauer will be the AAO’s new of a completely new fibre positioner identified membership of ESO as its Outreach Coordinator. Amanda has and spectrograph, in preparation for the highest priority for, amongst other things, already contributed enormously to raising TAIPAN Survey. On the international front, providing 8m access in the longer term. the AAO’s profile within the social media construction of the GHOS spectrograph Since becoming Director, it has been – her blog covering the SSO bushfire for Gemini, continued development of the gratifying for me to learn that this 8m being one outstanding example – and multi-fibre MANIFEST system for GMT access issue is well recognized within our we all look forward to her continuing (the ‘starbug’ positioner system which Department, and to have the opportunity to further develop such activities as will be prototyped on the UKST), and to work with colleagues there (as well as well as coordinate all the other forms of participation in ESO’s 4MOST and LBNL’s fellow members of the AAL Board) on outreach the AAO is involved in. Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument identifying the best pathway forward. (DESI) projects, will be the AAO’s front- Whatever that pathway turns out to be, line projects in the immediate term. there is bound to be change in the ways and means by which our community While the AAO is a very well-run accesses and uses 8m telescopes – for organization, it is not immune from risks. example, the move to remote classical One of these is the loss of key personnel observing and eavesdropping, the use through retirement, and here the AAO of ‘visitor’ instruments – and as such has been very fortunate to have had so the AAO has to diversify and adapt in many talented and dedicated staff who SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS HERMES goes to the AAT: Results of the pre-shipment tests Gayandhi de Silva, Jeroen Heijmans, Keith Shortridge and the HERMES team (AAO) In April 2013, after five truck loads and many car+minibus trips with sensitive equipment, the High Efficiency and Resolution Multi-Element Spectrograph (HERMES) was safely shipped from the AAO Epping labs to the AAT.