Innovations and advances in instrumentation at the W. M. Keck Observatory, vol. III

Creators: Kassis, Marc F.¹; Alvarez, Carlos¹; Baker, Ashley D.²; Bailey, John I.²; Banyal, Ravinder K.³; Bertz, Rob²; Beichman, Charles A.⁴; Bouchez, Antonin H.¹; Brown, Aaron M.⁵; Brown, Matthew K.¹; Bundy, Kevin A.⁶; Campbell, Randall D.¹; Chun, Mark R.⁷; Cooke, Jeffrey⁸; Deich, William T.⁹; Dekany, Richard G.²; Doppmann, Greg¹; Fassnacht, Christopher¹⁰; Ferrara, Jocelyn²; Fitzgerald, Michael P.¹¹; Fremling, Christoffer²; Fucik, Jason R.²; Gibson, Steven R.²; Gillingham, Peter R.¹²; Glazebrook, Karl⁸; Greffe, Timothee²; Halverson, Samuel P.²; Hill, Grant M.¹; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.²; Hinz, Philip M.⁹; Holden, Bradford P.⁹; Howard, Andrew W.²; Huber, Daniel⁷; Jones, Tucker A.¹⁰; Jordan, Carolyn¹; Jovanovic, Nemanja J.²; Kain, Isabel J.⁶; Kasliwal, Mansi M.²; Kirby, Evan¹³; Konopacky, Quinn M.⁵; Krishnan, Shanti⁸; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.²; Kupke, Renate⁹; Lanclos, Kyle¹; Larkin, James E.¹¹; Lilley, Scott J.¹; Lingvay, Larry²; Lu, Jessica R.¹⁴; Lyke, James E.¹; MacDonald, Nicholas⁹; Martin, Christopher²; Mather, John C.¹⁵; Matuszewski, Mateusz²; Mawet, Dimitri²; McGurk, Rosalie C.¹; Marin, Eduardo¹; Meeks, Robert L.¹; Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.¹⁶; Nash, Reston B.²; Neill, James D.²; O'Meara, John M.¹; Pahuja, Rishi²; Peretz, Eliad¹⁵; Prusinski, Nikolaus²; Radovan, Matthew V.²; Rider, Kodi A.¹⁷; Roberts, Mitsuko K.²; Rockosi, Constance M.⁶; Rubenzahl, Ryan²; Sallum, Stephanie E.¹⁸; Sandford, Dale⁹; Savage, Maureen L.⁹; Skemer, Andrew J.⁶; Smith, Roger²; Steidel, Charles C.²; Steiner, Jonathan¹; Stelter, Richard D.⁹; Walawender, Josh¹; Westfall, Kyle B.⁹; Wizinowich, Peter L.¹; Wright, Shelley A.⁵; Wold, Truman¹; Zimmer, Jake²

1. W.M. Keck Observatory
2. California Institute of Technology
3. Indian Institute of Astronomy (India)
4. NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
5. University of California, San Diego
6. University of California, Santa Cruz
7. University of Hawaii System
8. Swinburne University of Technology
9. Univ. of California Observatories (United States)
10. University of California, Davis
11. University of California, Los Angeles
12. Macquarie University
13. University of Notre Dame
14. University of California, Berkeley
15. Goddard Space Flight Center
16. University of California, Santa Barbara
17. Univ. of California (United States)
18. University of California, Irvine

Editors:: Vernet, Joël R.; Bryant, Julia J.; Motohara, Kentaro

Abstract

Since the start of science operations in 1993, the twin 10-meter W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) telescopes have continued to maximize their scientific impact to produce transformative discoveries that keep the U.S. observing community on the frontiers of astronomical research. Upgraded capabilities and new instrumentation are provided though collaborative partnerships primarily with the Caltech and University of California instrument development teams and through additional collaborations with the University of Notre Dame, the University of Hawaii, Swinburne University of Technology, industry, and other organizations. This paper summarizes the status and performance of observatory infrastructure projects, technology upgrades, and new additions to the suite of observatory instrumentation. We also provide a status of instrumentation projects in early and advanced stages of development that will achieve the goals and objectives summarized in the 2023 Keck Observatory strategic plan. Developed in collaboration with the WMKO science community, the Keck strategic plan sets our sites on 2035 and meets goals identified in the Astro2020 Decadal Survey.

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Acknowledgement

KPF was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant # 2034278, by the Heising-Simons Foundation with grants 2016-042, 2018-0905, & a loan, as well as the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation. KCRM is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. AST-1429890. KAPA is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant No. AST-1836016. SCALES is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation, Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, and the National Science foundation under grant No. AST-2216481. Liger is partially supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and by the National Science Foundation under grant No. AST-2308190. HISPEC is supported by the Caltech fund for Keck instrumentation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Heising-Simon Foundation and has benefitted from in-kind contributions from NASA, the AstroBiology Center (NINS), Northwestern, and the University of Toronto. LRIS-2 is supported by the Caltech fund for Keck instrumentation.

Some of the data presented herein were obtained at Keck Observatory, which is a private 501(c)3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

This research was carried out, in part, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and funded through the President’s and Director’s Research\& Development Fund Program.

The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain.

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