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Session 46 - Radio Astronomy, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - II.
Oral session, Tuesday, June 11
Union Theater,
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electonica (INAOE) of Puebla, Mexico, are involved in a joint project for the design and construction of the Large Millimeter Telescope, or Gran Telescopio Milimetrico. The LMT/GTM is a 50-meter diameter radio telescope with active control systems to maintain high aperture efficiency and pointing accuracy. The observatory will be located at a high altitude site in Mexico with excellent atmospheric transparency at wavelengths near 1mm.
By virtue of its nearly 2000 square meter collecting area, the LMT/GTM will be a powerful instrument for many types of observations. Continuum observations from very distant astronomical objects and wide field spectral line mapping from 1 to 3 mm are among the prime scientific goals. LMT/GTM will be capable of operation either as a sensitive receive-only radio astronomical instrument or, when properly equipped, as an interplanetary radar capable of transmitting high power levels at short millimeter wavelengths.
Observational scheduling will include a strong commitment of large ``key'' projects, and a substantial fraction of observing time will be open to the U.S. and international communities. The telescope is currently in its major design phase, with construction scheduled to begin in approximately two years and first light in the year 2000.
