The SARA Consortium: Providing Undergraduate Access to a 0.9-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory

Details The SARA Consortium: Providing Undergraduate Access to a 0.9-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory The SARA Consortium: Providing Undergraduate Access to a 0.9-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory

Dec 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003aas...20310001w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society Meeting 203, #100.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 35, p.1369

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The Southeastern Research for Astronomy (SARA) operates a 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). The member institutions are Florida Institute of Technology, East Tennessee State University, Florida International University, The University of Georgia at Athens, Valdosta State University, and Clemson University. The NSF awarded the KPNO #1 0.9-m telescope to the SARA Consortium in 1990. We built a new facility and began routine on-site observations in 1995. We began routine remote observations in 1999 using VNC to export the telescope and CCD control screens, and a web-cam in the dome to provide critical visual feedback on the status of the telescope and dome.
The mission of the SARA Consortium is to foster astronomical research and education in the Southeastern United States. Although only two of the member institutions have no graduate programs, all six have a strong emphasis on undergraduate research and education. By pooling our resources, we are able to operate a research-grade facility that none of the individual schools could manage by itself, and in the process we can offer our undergraduate students the opportunity to assist in our research projects as well as to complete their own independent research projects using a facility at a premier site.
The SARA Consortium also hosts a NSF REU Summer Intern Program in Astronomy, in which we support 11-12 students that work one-on-one with a SARA faculty mentor. Most of these interns are selected from primarily undergraduate institutions, and have not had significant previous research experience. As part of the program, interns and mentors travel to KPNO for a 4-5 night observing run at the telescope. The SARA NSF REU Program is funded through NSF grant AST-0097616.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The SARA Consortium: Providing Undergraduate Access to a 0.9-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The SARA Consortium: Providing Undergraduate Access to a 0.9-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The SARA Consortium: Providing Undergraduate Access to a 0.9-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1422188