Announcement: US Extremely Large Telescope Program

14 May 2024: For many astronomy enthusiasts, few things instill as much excitement as visiting the U.S. National Science Foundation's world-class telescopes and research centers that are part of NSF NOIRLab. From the remote and rugged mountains of Chile to the towering slopes of Maunakea, from the rocky terrain of Kitt Peak to NOIRLab Headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, NOIRLab facilities span continents and hemispheres to bring the wonders of the Universe to the public. Getting to these remote locations, however, can be difficult, even for the most adventurous travelers. That is why NOIRLab has brought the experience to you! NOIRLab is proud to announce the launch of Version 2 of its comprehensive virtual tours, loaded with interactive elements that give special behind-the-scenes access to the facilities and diverse communities that make astronomy research possible. The entire suite consists of eight different locations, featuring panoramic images from various areas near the summit and base …

19 October 2023: Following a workshop organized by NSF’s NOIRLab at Vandenberg Space Force Base, a new report has been released describing the complex relationship between astronomical observatories, constellation satellite operators, NASA, the US Space Command and the US Air Force. With the proliferation of commercial satellites, the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce is also likely to be taking an increasingly important role. The report calls for US astronomical lasers, including those operated by NOIRLab, to be considered for reclassification at a lower risk level under the Laser Deconfliction policy that protects satellites from being ‘blinded’ by lasers. The proposal is supported by the International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference (CPS). Plans from several companies around the world will potentially grow the number of constellation satellites to several hundred thousand if all internationally notified systems [1] are brought …

2 October 2023: The United States Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) today announced it has received $15.3 million from the National Science Foundation to support further design and development of advanced optical technologies and user services. The funding consists of one-year awards of $2.3 million to NSF’s NOIRLab managed by AURA, and $6.5 million each to the organizations building the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope. The NSF awards come after the US-ELTP was ranked as the highest ground-based priority in the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The survey emphasized that the US-ELTP “capabilities can be brought to bear on nearly all of the important science questions laid out by this decadal survey, across all three of our key science themes.” The US-ELTP would enable unmatched observations from ultraviolet to mid-infrared wavelengths with up to 200 times the sensitivity …

27 January 2023: NOIRLab is pleased to announce the appointment of Lucas Macri as the new Project Director of NOIRLab’s part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP). The US-ELTP is a joint initiative of NSF’s NOIRLab and the organizations building the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope. It aims to complete the construction of both telescopes, guarantee US astronomers observing time on both, and produce a suite of inclusive software services enabling all astronomers to fully leverage the scientific promise of the two observatories. Macri will start in his new role on or about 1 May 2023 and will be working from Tucson. "I'm thrilled to return to NOIRLab and work with the astronomical community to broaden participation in the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Thirty Meter Telescope — revolutionary and challenging projects that will benefit astronomy for decades to come," said Macri. "We are delighted to have Lucas …

5 January 2023: The more we learn about the Universe, the more questions we uncover. To help astronomers continue this journal of discovery, NOIRLab provides some of the most advanced tools, facilities, and instruments to the international research community. These resources enable the astronomy community to advance humanity’s understanding of the Universe by exploring significant areas of astrophysics, including dark energy and dark matter, galaxies and quasars, the Milky Way, exoplanets, and small bodies in our own Solar System. To promote these unparalleled capabilities, NOIRLab has released a new Capabilities brochure and a series of informative lithograph-style handouts. The most comprehensive of these publications is the NOIRLab Capabilities Brochure 2023, which spells out the full resources of NOIRLab’s five Programs: the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the International Gemini Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), and Vera C. Rubin Observatory Operations. NOIRLab is also helping to pave …

26 September 2022: Richard Green, the Assistant Director for Government Relations, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, has been appointed the interim Project Director of NOIRLab’s part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), a joint endeavor of NSF’s NOIRLab and the organizations building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). Green succeeds Beth Willman, effective 1 September 2022, who was appointed (Login required) the LSST Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer and Director of Science. Green continues his distinguished career in astronomy, which includes serving as the NOAO Deputy Director and as Director of the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory. He also served as the National Science Foundation's Division Director for the Division of Astronomical Sciences. Green is based in Tucson, Arizona, where he most recently has been working at the University of Arizona and with NOIRLab on special projects. His …

19 November 2021: The Project Director of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), Sidney Wolff, has announced her retirement, leaving behind a legacy of nearly fifty years leading the United States’s top ground-based observatories. Stepping up as the new Project Director of the US-ELTP is NOIRLab’s Deputy Director, Beth Willman. The US-ELTP is a collaboration between NOIRLab, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), coordinating efforts to build the next-generation of 25–30-meter aperture ground-based telescopes, one in each hemisphere. The US-ELTP recently came top in the list of priorities for ground-based observatories in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Astro2020 Decadal Survey, which recommends the direction of US astronomy over the next ten years. Wolff has shepherded the fledgling US-ELTP through its critical formative years, preparing it for the Astro2020 report and establishing a firm foundation for working with the National Science Foundation (NSF), both of …

5 November 2021: The decadal survey for astronomy and astrophysics is a powerful study that our community uses to drive strategy and vision for the next decade of federally funded transformative science. The 2020 report, Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s (Astro2020), was published by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine on 4 November 2021. We are honored that the community, via the decadal survey, has ranked the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) as the highest ground-based priority in Pathways to Discovery. The US-ELTP’s vision is to provide US-based astronomers with nationally funded all-sky observing access, facilitated by NSF NOIRLab, to two of the world’s most powerful telescopes now under construction: the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The US-ELTP is committed to our goal of realizing both telescopes as a coordinated bi-hemispheric frontier effort. The report stated that “Participation in the U.S. …

4 November 2021: For more than sixty years the Decadal Surveys have embodied a consensus vision for our field. As the US national organization for open-access nighttime optical astronomy, NOIRLab stands ready, along with our managing organization the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), to join our community in advocating for and contributing to the implementation of the Survey’s recommendations. As a partner in the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), we are issuing the following statement: The US Extremely Large Telescope Program is grateful for the Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s Decadal Survey process and is now reviewing the recommendations in detail. The Decadal Survey has a rich history of driving technological innovation and expanding scientific boundaries, and we are proud to be part of that story. Our visionary program aims to provide US astronomers with nationally-funded observing access to the entire sky. The program …

12 August 2020: In collaboration with its US-ELTP partners, NSF’s NOIRLab has successfully submitted a Planning and Design Proposal to the NSF, see joint statement below. The US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) is a joint endeavor of NOIRLab and the organizations building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). Its mission is to strengthen scientific leadership by the US community-at-large through access to extremely large telescopes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres with coverage of 100 percent of the night sky. The two-hemisphere system would provide the US science community with greater and more diverse research opportunities than could be achieved with a single telescope. Joint statement from NSF’s NOIRLab, Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation and Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory: At the end of May 2020, the partners of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) jointly submitted three Planning and Design proposals to the National Science Foundation …