Astronomers from around the world will visit Cornell June 15-17 for a workshop to discuss the design concept for a new large-aperture telescope planned for the high Atacama desert in northern Chile.
The purpose of the workshop, being sponsored by Cornell and the University of Texas, is to discuss the scientific purposes of the new instrument and to plan a cost-effective design. One day will be devoted to science sessions, one to engineering and one to operations and management of the telescope.
The telescope would seek to answer fundamental questions regarding cosmic origins, including:
The Cornell Atacama Project Committee is chaired by Riccardo Giovanelli, professor of astronomy, and includes nine other members of the Cornell astronomy department. The proposed instrument, the world's largest optical/infrared telescope, would be on the bleak, windswept high Andes. Giovanelli, graduate student Jeremy Darling and several other Cornell scientists have been surveying a possible site on Chile's Chajnantor plateau at 16,500 feet.
While funding sources for the telescope construction are still uncertain, it is believed that support will come from private rather than public sources.
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