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Session 30 - Radio Astronomy, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - I.
Oral session, Tuesday, June 11
Union Theater,
The Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona and the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie have collaborated on the construction and operation of the Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO). The 10 m, high precision radio telescope, located on Mt. Graham, began limited astronomical observations this past winter season. Astronomical observations at frequencies up to 810 GHz have been made with both coherent and bolometric detector systems. These first observations confirm the high surface accuracy and excellent pointing characteristics of this new submillimeter wavelength telescope. A brief overview of the surface setting by radio holography on LES-8 will be presented. The current quality of the reflector surface and pointing will be presented, along with instrumentation available. The highlights of astronomical observations this year will be summarized. The potential and plans for future astronomical observations will be discussed.
