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November 12, 2003

Not-Yet-Turned-On Star Is Forming Jupiter-Like Planet:
UA astronomers have used a unique system that blocks starlight to probe a dust disk around a young nearby star and discovered the disk likely is forming a planet.

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November 3, 2003

World's Largest Telescope Mirror Moves up Mountain: UA Steward Observatory made astronomy history late last week when scientists, engineers, police, and heavy-haul specialists safely delivered the world's largest monolithic telescope mirror to its mountaintop.

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August 2003

Hinz Selected for 2 TPF Development Grants...
Assistant Professor Phil Hinz has been selected by JPL under the Development Technologies For TPF solicitation. Hinz and team will be developing a Common-Path Nulling Testbed for TPF and Beamsplitter Development for TPF.

In the proceedings on the workshop on The Next Generation Space Telescope, 1990, Roger Angel proposed using a Earth-orbiting 16-m telescope capable of detecting Earth-like planets around nearby stars (Use of a 16-M Telescope to Detect Earthlike Planets). Since this publication Angel and other co-authors have presented several alternative methods of detecting and imaging extra-solar planets using ground-based and space-based telescopes.

A few examples of salient publications are:

· A Space Telescope For Infrared Spectroscopy of Earthlike Planets, Nature 1986 (pdf)
· Use of a 16 M Telescope to Detect Earthlike Planets, NGST Workshop, 1990 (pdf)
· An Imaging Nulling Interferometer to Study Extrasolar Planets, ApJ 475, 1997 (pdf)

In 1999, Neville Woolf co-authored the effort to develop a TPF Book: Origins of Stars, Planets, and Life. This book laid out a preliminary interferometric mission architecture that would be capable of studying planets systems as far away as 15 parsecs (nearly 50 light years). The efforts of over 60 academic and industry participants formulated the Free Flyer mission from TPF that consisted of four, 3.5 meter telescopes in baseline configurations between 75 and 1000 meters. The mission would leverage technology developed under other NASA programs such as SIRTF, SIM, and JWST (formally known as NGST).

In 2001, UA, MIT, and Lockheed Martin teamed up to develop a TPF Pre-Formulation Phase architecture study. The UA team included Neville Woolf (lead), Roger Angel, Philip Hinz, Tom Connors, and Tom McMahon. The first phase of the 18 month study generated 5 different TPF architecture designs in the first phase of the project. The various designs included Free Flyers, visible coronagraphs, tethered spacecrafts, and structurally connected interferometers. In Phase 2 of the program, the 2 most capable architectures were selected for further evaluation. One issue that was emphasized in the final report was the need for a TPF Precursor Mission. The Precursor Mission would be a stepping stone to a full-scale TPF mission. The Precursor would reduce technology risks and reduce overall costs for a full-scale TPF mission. The concept for a structurally connected interferometer is the basis of current JPL work.

Neville Woolf and his team at UA and Lockheed Martin were selected for a follow-on TPF Architecture study to evaluate the a possible TPF Precursor Mission. SPF main objective is science while at the same time tests the suite of essential technologies needed for a Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission operating in the infrared. The science is the search for giant planets in Jupiter/Saturn like orbits. Jupiter and Saturn are in the infrared mainly self-luminous. Younger or more massive planets will be overwhelmingly self-luminous when in Jupiter/Saturn like orbits, and they will be bright at a wavelengths of 5 microns, where neither local nor solar system zodiacal glow will limit observations. The mission would provide a technology and science stepping stone for a full-scale TPF mission. The first phase of the study investigated interferometric missions of 9 and 18 meter baselines. Phase II of the study will be complete in late 2003.

George Rieke, Erick Young, Phil Hinz, Jim Burge, and Tom McMahon were contributing authors of the Origin Roadmap, 2003. "The roadmap sets out a plan for a twenty-year period at the beginning of the millennium, with particular emphasis on activities advocated for new mission starts in the near-term (2005-2010) or mid-term (2010-2015) time frame." -Origins Roadmap, 2003

The Origins Roadmap, 2003 can be found at http://origins.jpl.nasa.gov/library/roadmap03/index.html

UA will develop a laboratory testbed to test common-path null techniques and demonstrate the ability to sense and correct phase errors to the level needed for TPF. This technique is also being developed for the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI) which is part of the Navigator program. Thus a laboratory testbed would allow testing of this technique for both the LBTI and TPF. This project, sponsored by JPL and led by Phil Hinz is due to start in Fall 2003.

This project, also sponsored by JPL and led by Phil Hinz, will explore areas of interest beamsplitter development for the TPF project. Specifically, we will look at improved efficiency and alternative beam combination techniques. A beamsplitter is the critical optical device that separates light into discrete bands measured in wavelength. The UA team will develop the detailed design for single pass concepts as well as the standard Modified Mach- Zender beamcombiner design to understand whether one beamsplitter can be used to interfere light across the whole 7-20 µm wavelength region or whether a dual channel design will be preferential. The work will be carried out in a collaboration with Lockheed Martin.

The UA and NOAO will become members of NASA's Institute for Astrobiology (NIA). Starting in November of 2003, UA and NOAO researchers and staff will conduct research on the prebiotic compounds and complex organic molecules in the interstellar medium, studying environments and conditions under which habitable worlds form and evolve, and directly detect and characterize extra-solar giant planets. They will also lead theoretical studies that aim to learn about giant planet atmospheres that contain water, and even whether these atmospheres support some kind of microbial life.