[phas-dept] Physics & Astronomy Department Joins SARA Telescope Consortium

[Matt Wood]

Hi, All:

I wanted to tell you all the good news that our Department has officially joined the SARA Telescope Consortium.  SARA is the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy, a consortium founded to promote astronomical research and education in the southeast, but has since spread geographically.  We are full partners in the consortium, which gives us access to two 1-meter-class telescopes, for use by our faculty and students!  The northern-hemisphere telescope is located at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) outside Tucson, Arizona - it is a 1-m telescope that has an excellent imaging camera with a full suite of filters, as well as a spectrograph for use on brighter stars.  The southern-hemisphere telescope is a 24" located at Cerro Tololo International Observatory (CTIO), also with a CCD and spectrograph.

Students may use the telescope if working with a faculty mentor on research.  Of course training is required.  See the website www.saraobservatory.org for details.  The telescopes are both remotely operable, so we can observe without leaving campus.  

The SARA Consortium also hosts an REU program, and students in that program have a 4-night observing run at KPNO on the SARA Telescope.  I encourage you to apply to that program at www.astro.fit.edu/sara-reu.  The application deadline will be around Feb 1, 2013, so you have plenty of time.  

If you'd like to know more about the SARA telescopes or consortium, of if you'd like to talk with me about research projects I'm involved in, please come talk with me.

Best regards,

Matt A. Wood, Ph.D. 
Professor and Department Head Office:  903.886.5487
Physics & Astronomy Department Mobile:  903.269.6682
Texas A&M University-Commerce Email: Matt.Wood at tamuc.edu
Commerce, TX 75429 Skype: matt.a.wood

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