Australia

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Australias Path to a Giant Telescope

• Matthew Colless
• MNRF Symposium
• 7 June 2003

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International ELT projects

• Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
• GMT (20m) US private consortium
• Carnegie, Harvard, SAO, Arizona, MIT, Michigan,
  Texas
• Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT)
• TMT (30m) CELT (US priv.) GSMT (US pub.)
  VLOT (Can.)
• Caltech, U.California, NOAO, AURA, ACURA
• European Large Telescope (OWL)
• OWL (100m) OverWhelmingly Large telescope
• ESO, Opticon (most European countries)

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Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)
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Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)
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The European Large Telescope (OWL)
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ELT science scope most of astronomy

• Dark matter and dark energy
• First light and reionization
• Galaxy assembly at high-redshift
• Growth of black holes
• Chemical evolution of stars galaxies
• Origin of stellar masses
• Uniqueness of our solar system
• Formation of habitable worlds

• SERENDIPITY!

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Mapping science goals to telescope design
Stellar Populations in Galaxies
Characterizing Exoplanets
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The Birth of Planetary Systems
The Birth of Galaxies
The Birth of Large Scale Structure
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Essential capabilities for ELT science
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ELT technical capabilities ? science gains
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Technology developments needed
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Australias ELT Roadmap

• The Australian ELT Working Group has produced an
  ELT Roadmap with three main strands
• Smart buyers
• Which ELT? Science, technology, share, access,
  etc.
• Technology leaders
• Developing Australian technology for ELTs
• Antarctic advantage
• The best telescope on earth should be at the
  best site on earth
• The Roadmap is available on the web at
• http//www.aao.gov.au/instrum/ELT/

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GMT - a focus for Australian ELT effort

• Australias goal is 10-20 of an ELT
• Open to participating in any of the ELT projects
• Keeping in close contact with all three
• However, to provide a real focus for Australian
  ELT effort, the ELT WG is opening collaboration
  with the GMT project
• This is not yet partnership (Australia has
  observer status)

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Ten reasons Australia should join GMT

1. World-leading science (mostly common to other
   ELTs)
2. Balance between technical risk and science
   opportunity
3. Low cost for large share (second to none)
4. Early entry leads to more influence and greater
   benefits
5. Technology development leading to knowledge
   transfer
6. Education training - links to leading US
   institutions
7. Flexible funding model - some choice in how,
   when, what
8. Southern location offers synergy with AU
   facilities SKA
9. Interest in 2nd-generation Antarctic ELT
10. Genuine partnership based on mutual interests
    regard

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GMT cost estimates

• The estimated costs for the 20m GMT are
• Design US50M
• Construction US450M
• Operation US20M/year
• For comparison
• TMT is estimated to be 50 higher (US750M)
• OWL is estimated to cost 1200M to construct

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GMT schedule ? first light 2018
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Initial Australian collaborations with GMT

• Currently joint involvement by ANU/AAO/UNSW
  staff in concept design of visible multi-object
  spectrograph for GMT
• Proposed for 2006 (funding sought via LIEF)
• Further design study of VISMOS (OCIW/AAO/ANU)
• Study of mirror phasing techniques (Arizona/ANU)
• Wind flow studies of telescope enclosure
  (commercial engineering consultants - Sinclair
  Knight Merz)
• Australian contribution valued at AU600k
• Seek to credit this contribution to future GMT
  partner share, with approval of GMT Council

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The MNRF contribution

• MNRF is funding the Australian ELT effort by
  providing funding for
• the Australian ELT Project Scientist
• Prof. Warrick Couch (UNSW, 0.3 FTE)
• a Deputy Project Scientist
• Dr Charles Jenkins (RSAA, 0.2 FTE)
• travel support for these roles
• The funding amounts to 140k p.a. for period
  2005-2007