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Joint Astronomy Centre Annual Report 2005/6 660 North A`ohoku Place Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA Tel: +1 808 961 3756 Fax: +1 808 961 6516 Web: http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/ Introduction by the Director Welcome to the JAC Annual Report for modern times. Over its eight-year lifetime, it accounted 2005/06. It follows the same format as for roughly 75% of all publications based on JCMT data, last year’s. The reporting period, how- and was, at one stage, ranked second only to the HST ever, has been adjusted to match the in terms of its impact on astronomy. One of its most financial year, rather than the calendar notable successes was the discovery of a large popula- year, to bring this report into synchronic- tion of massive, dust-enshrouded galaxies in the early ity with our programme reports to the Universe, a class of objects now known universally as two telescope Boards. The period has certainly been “SCUBA galaxies”. The retirement of SCUBA clearly eventful, with the JCMT in the midst of a transforma- marks the end of an era. tion to third-generation instrumentation, whilst at UKIRT, observations have commenced on a major and much- The JCMT is undergoing an extremely ambitious pro- anticipated science campaign. gramme of development in which the entire instrumenta- tion suite is being replaced. The integration of ACSIS The UKIRT highlight of 2005/06 was undoubtedly the ob- into the JCMT’s new Observatory Control System contin- servation of the impact of the NASA Deep Impact probe ued throughout the reporting period. HARP, the world’s on comet Tempel-1. UKIRT was the first large telescope first array receiver for the 345-GHz band, was delivered to observe the direct light from the impact, and CGS4 to the telescope in November 2005, and commissioning echelle spectra obtained after impact show both fluores- is in progress. Development work also continued on our cent water lines and emission from icy dust grains. In collaboration with the SMA and the CSO to conduct a the longer term, however, UKIRT’s major achievement joint programme of submillimetre interferometry in the during the reporting period was the commissioning of its years before ALMA becomes operational; first fringes new wide-field camera, WFCAM, and the commence- were obtained in July, and first spectra in September. ment of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). This seven-year programme will go three orders of The flagship of the development programme is clearly magnitude deeper than the 2MASS survey and will pro- SCUBA-2. The project was re-approved by PPARC vide the definitive near-infrared counterpart to the Sloan Council in February 2005 and is now fully funded. As Digital Sky Survey in the visible. The UKIDSS Early Data part of the JAC’s contribution towards the resourcing Release, a “taster” based on a very small fraction of the of SCUBA-2, the observing night was reduced in Janu- full survey, took place in February 2006 and is already a ary 2006 from 16 hours to 12. The instrument is being unique astronomical resource; the first full data release, developed at the UK ATC and it is currently scheduled scheduled for July 2006, will be a major and much-an- for delivery to the JCMT in late 2006. Because the size ticipated event. and weight of this novel instrument requires a com- pletely new support infrastructure, the JCMT was closed The major event of the year at the JCMT was, undoubt- on 13 February 2006 for six months of engineering work. edly, the retirement, through ill health, of the SCUBA The observatory is currently a construction site, and the instrument. SCUBA was one of the most successful and scale of the work being undertaken is staggering; it is productive ground-based astronomical instruments of scheduled to come back on line in August 2006. ii In recognition of the potential of HARP and SCUBA-2 for large-area mapping, the JCMT Board approved, in July 2005, an ambitious set of legacy surveys for the JCMT. The survey programme was allocated 55% of the telescope time over Semesters 07A through 08B. In order to handle the high data rates of HARP and SCU- BA-2 and to ensure the legacy value of the surveys by providing uniform data processing, a new project called the JCMT Science Archive was approved and initiated in 2005. This is a collaboration between the JAC and the Canadian Astronomical Data Centre and is resourced from the JAC, by PPARC and from Canadian sources. Finally, both JAC telescopes underwent strategic reviews during 2005. A panel led by Richard Ellis (CalTech) visited UKIRT in June, and a similar panel chaired by Martin Harwit (Cornell) visited the JCMT in September. Both panels were provided with compre- hensive documentation describing telescope manage- ment, community demand, scientific productivity and future plans; they also visited the observatories and met with JAC staff at all levels. In both cases, the records of innovative instrumentation, novel observing modes and profound scientific impact over many years were very highly praised. The development plans for the two telescopes were also reviewed and the panels declared that JCMT and UKIRT would, consistent with the JAC’s mission statement, maintain their positions as the most advanced of their kind in the world. Professor Gary Davis Director JCMT (top) and UKIRT (bottom) on Mauna Kea in Hawai’i. Photos by Nik Szymanek. iii Foreword by the UKIRT Board Chair One important event for UKIRT this began its first large scale “campaign mode” science year was the international review of the project, the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey, UKIDSS. telescope and its operations by a panel Over the next two years UKIDSS will use 50% of the chaired by Prof. R. Ellis of CalTech. The observing time on UKIRT to carry out a set of five large panel reviewed a range of documenta- scale public survey projects. In February 2005, the first tion supplied by UKIRT, the Board and small subset of UKIDSS data was released to give the others, and visited the telescope in June community a sample of things to come. The first major 2005. Prof. Ellis delivered his panel’s report to the Board data release is scheduled for July 2006 and is eagerly in September. This report highlighted UKIRT’s achieve- anticipated. ments, its current status and operations and its overall science productivity. Perhaps most importantly, the To summarise this past year of UKIRT operations, as review panel recognised that UKIRT has an important described in this annual report, I add the UKIRT Board’s future role and recommended that a plan be developed wholehearted support, as expressed in the first line of for the telescope’s projected use and development. The the executive summary of the Ellis Panel report: “The Board would like to publicly thank Prof. Ellis and the panel considers UKIRT to be a remarkably efficient and members of his panel, Prof. S. Lilly, Prof. J. Graham, well-run observatory whose recent scientific output is Prof. J. Dunlop, Prof. H. Richer and Dr. P. Roche, for commendable.” their hard work in producing their review. Dr Gary Fuller The first step in developing a plan for UKIRT’s future University of Manchester direction was an open meeting in April 2005 in conjunc- UKIRT Board Chair tion with the National Astronomy Meeting in Birmingham. At this well-attended meeting, a wide range of exciting ideas about new scientific projects and new instruments were presented, demonstrating a very high level of inter- est in continued exploitation of UKIRT to produce world- leading science. As a result of this meeting and the recommendations of the Ellis panel, the Board is now setting up a process to solicit and review formal propos- als for new observational and instrumental projects. This annual report covers a period when the science operation of UKIRT has undergone a significant change. After its delivery and initial commissioning late last year, WFCAM started routine science observations, produc- ing panoramic images with typically 0.6’’ seeing. With the start of science observations with WFCAM, UKIRT iv Foreword by the JCMT Board Chair On behalf of the JCMT Board, I am very During the year, the Board re-emphasised the impor- pleased to welcome this annual report of tance of SCUBA-2 and identified it as the highest priority the JAC. The past year has been a peri- of the observatory. We are pleased that it is now fully od of great challenge and change for the resourced and look forward to its arrival at the telescope JCMT and its staff, culminating in the re- and to the acquisition of astronomical data. The sea- tirement of SCUBA and the DAS, and the change in observing capabilities that the new instru- receipt of HARP, a 16-pixel heterodyne ments will deliver led the Board to call for legacy survey array receiver for use at 345 GHz, and the new digital proposals in 2005. Seven proposals were received and correlator, ACSIS, together with the first fringes obtained externally refereed, with the result that all seven were with the eSMA. In addition, the JCMT was closed in approved by the Board and some 55% of observing time February 2006 to allow the necessary engineering work over four semesters was allocated to them. to be undertaken in readiness for the arrival of SCUBA-2 and to enable the observatory to move to 12-hour nights Overall, the Board is confident that, with the dedication, as part of its contribution to SCUBA-2 funding. experience and motivation of the JCMT staff, the talents of instrument builders and software engineers, coupled The new instruments will each improve the efficiency with the innate curiosity of visiting astronomers, the ‘new’ of previous instruments by one to three orders of JCMT will thrive.

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