2013 Meeting: CHARA/NPOI Collaboration

This year, CHARA joined forces with astronomers from the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer to discuss scientific and technical issues of common interest. Participants included representatives from the University of Arizona, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, University of Denver, European Southern Observatory, Georgia State University, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Limoges, Lowell Observatory, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, University of Michigan, NASA Ames Research Center, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Naval Research Laboratory, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Paris Observatory, University of Sydney, Tennessee State University, U.S. Naval Observatory and Yale University.

This meeting was particularly meaningful for the undersigned, since it was 30 years ago this year that CHARA was established as a research center at Georgia State. Looking back at those early days, the seemingly very exciting science we then envisioned has turned out to be far less imaginitive in terms of breadth and depth compared with what has actually resulted from the efforts of the many wonderful users of the CHARA Array during the decade it has been scientifically operational. Getting together this year with our interferometry colleagues from other facilities, existing and planned, in the U.S. and Europe has been an inspirational experience. While interferometry is still emerging as a widely practiced field in astronomy, it seems inevitable that, once sensitivity is routinely extended a few magnitudes to encompass more of the Universe, very high resolution astronomy will find its rightful role in the arsenal of astronomical research tools.

Immediately prior to this meeting, an "Interferometry Forum" was held on March 14 & 15 with representatives of the various interferometry groups discussing issues of common concern internationally regarding immediate funding situations, future directions for the field, and manners by which we can cooperate to advance high-spatial resolution astronomy. Steve Ridgway gave a report on the Forum to the larger group on March 20.

We are all grateful to Lowell Astronomer Gerard van Belle who so expertly organized the meeting, to CHARA Associate Director Theo ten Brummelaar for putting together the science program and organizing the speakers, and to Lowell Observatory Director Jeff Hall for his hospitality in welcoming us to Flagstaff.

Meeting participants are shown in the photograph below taken in front of the Slipher Building at Lowell. Following that are the individual presentations in PDF format. Click on each title to view the full presentation. Some files are quite large, so be patient as they download.

H.A. McAlister 1 April 2013

Group photo

Talks