AURA forced a closure of all four SMARTS telescopes,
effective at the end of FY2023. We at SMARTS were informed of the
closure on 12 SEP 2023. All 1.5m data were pipelined and delivered by
07 NOV 2023.
We have continued to work with AURA to resolve
outstanding issues to reopen SMARTS telescopes. While SMARTS
personnel have deliver three drafts of agreements in April 2023,
November 2023, and February 2024, AURA remains unable to address
issues on their side.
We remain ready and able to continue operations and
would like to see the science continue to flow from all four SMARTS
telescopes, but AURA will not allow us to secure observations for you
at this time.
Todd Henry, SMARTS Director
Wei-Chun Jao, SMARTS 1.5m Operations Manager
The photo at the top of the page was taken by
Matthias Dietrich on the night of 24 April 2003 using a Canon camera
with 15 mm lens (focal ratio 2.8), exposing for 90 minutes on Fuji ASA
200 film. Three SMARTS telescopes can be seen: the CTIO 0.9m is on the
right, the Yale 1.0m is on the left, and the CTIO 1.5m is second from
the right. The fuzzy reddish region in the upper left and center is
the light from the Milky Way Galaxy.