<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi, All:<div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Students may use the telescope if working with a faculty mentor on research. Of course training is required. See the website <a href="http://www.saraobservatory.org">www.saraobservatory.org</a> for details. The telescopes are both remotely operable, so we can observe without leaving campus. </div><div><br></div><div>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 <a href="http://www.astro.fit.edu/sara-reu">www.astro.fit.edu/sara-reu</a>. The application deadline will be around Feb 1, 2013, so you have plenty of time. </div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Best regards,</div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<div><b><font color="#0042aa">Matt A. Wood, Ph.D.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span><br></font></b><font color="#444444" style="font-size: 11px; ">Professor and Department Head<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Office: <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>903.886.5487<br>Physics & Astronomy Department<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Mobile: <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>903.269.6682<br>Texas A&M University-Commerce<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Email:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span><a href="mailto:Matt.Wood@tamuc.edu">Matt.Wood@tamuc.edu</a><br>Commerce, TX 75429<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>Skype:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>matt.a.wood</font></div>
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