CaltechAUTHORS
Published July 22, 2024 | Version Published
Conference Paper Open

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

Creators

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

Contributors

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.

Copyright and License

© (2024) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

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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Additional details

Related works

Continues
Book Section - Chapter: 10.1117/12.2312316 (DOI)
Book Section - Chapter: 10.1117/12.3016181 (DOI)

Funding

National Science Foundation
2034278
Heising-Simons Foundation
2016-042
Heising-Simons Foundation
2018-0905
Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation
National Science Foundation
AST-1429890
National Science Foundation
AST-2308190
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Dates

Available
2024-07-22
Published online

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Astronomy Department, Palomar Observatory, Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA)
Series Name
Proceedings of SPIE
Series Volume or Issue Number
13096
Publication Status
Published