AAS Issues Statement on OIR System Study Report
Richard Fienberg Running Hare Observatory
On 12 September 2015 the AAS Executive Committee voted to adopt the following statement:
The American Astronomical Society* strongly endorses the recommendations of the recently published National Research Council (NRC) report Optimizing the U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System.
Specifically, the AAS agrees with the report’s statement that our nation’s top priority in this domain should be a “system that is well coordinated and facilitates broad access to achieve the best science.” The AAS further endorses the report’s key recommendations on optimizing instrumentation for, and offering broad access to, the full suite of public and private telescopes; on developing the capacity to further investigate Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) discoveries; on identifying the facilities needed to realize other decadal survey priorities; and on continuing technology development and astronomer training needed for the future.
We are on the threshold of a new era of discovery in U.S. ground-based optical and infrared astronomy, given the incredible capabilities of LSST and the planned 30-meter telescopes. The scientific opportunities provide a compelling case for optimizing and advancing the country’s system of observatories, even if the National Science Foundation’s Astronomical Sciences Division (NSF/AST) does not yet have the resources to implement all of the report’s key recommendations without severely impacting program balance — the long-standing priority of the NRC’s decadal surveys.
NSF/AST has just released a public response to this NRC report, identifying the next steps to be taken in consultation with the broader astronomical community. Notwithstanding the constrained funding environment today, we encourage AST to use the report to advocate for additional resources and to partner with non-federal U.S. observatories to vigorously pursue this compelling ground-based optical/infrared astronomy program. The AAS is committed to helping achieve the important goals presented in the report.
This statement is archived on the AAS Council Resolutions page.
*Because of their involvement with the NRC’s U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared (OIR) Astronomy System study, Debra Elmegreen (Chair of the OIR study committee and Chair of the AAS Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy), Lynne Hillenbrand (member of the OIR study committee and of the AAS Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy), and Joel Parriott (consultant to the OIR study committee and AAS Director of Public Policy) all recused themselves from the issuance of this statement.