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National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Fiscal Year Annual Report for FY 2014
(1 October 2013 – 30 September 2014)
Submitted to the National Science Foundation
Pursuant to Cooperative Support Agreement No. AST-0950945
21 November 2014
Contents
NOAO MISSION PROFILE ................................................................................................... 1
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... 2
2
NOAO ACCOMPLISHMENTS ....................................................................................... 4
2.1 Achievements .................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Status of Vision and Goals ................................................................................ 5
2.2.1
Status of FY14 High-Level Deliverables ............................................ 5
2.2.2
FY14 Planned vs. Actual Spending and Revenues ............................. 7
2.3 Challenges and Their Impacts ......................................................................... 10
3
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND FINDINGS.............................................................. 11
3.1 Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory ...................................................... 11
3.2 Kitt Peak National Observatory....................................................................... 16
3.3 Gemini Observatory ........................................................................................ 17
3.4 Community Access Facilities .......................................................................... 18
4
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS ............................ 20
4.1 NOAO South ................................................................................................... 20
4.1.1
CTIO ................................................................................................. 20
4.1.2
NOAO South Engineering & Technical Services ............................. 26
4.1.3
NOAO South Facilities Operations .................................................. 27
4.1.4
NOAO South Computer Infrastructure Services .............................. 29
4.2 NOAO North ................................................................................................... 31
4.2.1
KPNO................................................................................................ 31
4.2.2
NOAO North Engineering & Technical Services ............................. 34
4.2.3
NOAO North Central Facilities Operations ...................................... 36
4.2.4
NOAO North Computer Infrastructure Services .............................. 37
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
4.3
4.4
5
NOAO System Science Center ........................................................................ 39
4.3.1
System User Support......................................................................... 39
4.3.2
Science Data Management ................................................................ 41
4.3.3
System Community Development .................................................... 44
4.3.4
Time Allocation Committee ............................................................. 48
NOAO System Technology Center ................................................................. 49
4.4.1
System Instrumentation .................................................................... 49
4.4.2
LSST Technology ............................................................................. 50
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS ........................................................................................... 58
5.1 Office of Science ............................................................................................. 58
5.2 Education and Public Outreach ....................................................................... 59
5.3 NOAO Director’s Office ................................................................................. 67
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 70
A FY14 BUDGET BY PROGRAM .................................................................................... 71
A.1 FY14 Expenditures .......................................................................................... 71
A.2 FY14 Revenue ................................................................................................. 76
A.3 FY14 Funds Carried Forward to FY15............................................................ 78
B NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY........................ 79
B.1 NOAO Key Management during FY14........................................................... 79
B.2 Scientific Staff Changes during FY14 ............................................................. 79
B.3 Division of Effort—NOAO Scientific/Management Staff .............................. 80
B.4 Scientific Staff Accomplishments and Plans ................................................... 90
C NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS ........................................................ 120
D PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES.. 135
D.1 Telescopes at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory ............................. 135
D.2 Telescopes at Kitt Peak National observatory ............................................... 144
D.3 Gemini Telescopes (NOAO System Science Center) ................................... 154
D.4 W. M. Keck Observatory: Keck I and II ....................................................... 160
D.5 HET and MMT .............................................................................................. 160
D.6 Magellan ........................................................................................................ 161
D.7 AAT, CHARA, and Hale............................................................................... 161
D.8 NOAO Science Archive ................................................................................ 161
E USAGE STATISTICS FOR ARCHIVED DATA ....................................................... 165
F
TELESCOPE PROPOSAL STATISTICS .................................................................. 167
ii
CONTENTS
F.1
F.2
Semester 2014A Proposal Statistics .............................................................. 167
Semester 2014B Proposal Statistics .............................................................. 168
G OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014 ................................ 170
G.1 Demographics ................................................................................................ 170
G.2 Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory .................................................... 172
G.3 Kitt Peak National Observatory..................................................................... 180
G.4 Gemini Observatory ...................................................................................... 187
G.5 Community Access to Private Telescopes..................................................... 201
H BROADENING PARTICIPATION............................................................................. 205
I
GRANTS OBTAINED IN Q4 ....................................................................................... 209
J
SAFETY REPORT FOR Q4......................................................................................... 210
Cover Caption
The cover image shows a region that is 0.25 × 0.25 square degrees in the constellation of Serpens
from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS), an NOAO Survey program that began
observations in August 2014. The survey will image 6200 square degrees (15% of the sky) to an
unprecedented depth, enabling a broad range of astrophysical research. DECaLS will provide
extragalactic targets for the future Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. The first
calibrated images are already public, and catalogs will be publicly available beginning in March 2015.
The image shown is constructed from observations in the g (blue), r (red) and z (infrared) bands.
Image credit: Dustin Lang, for the DECaLS Collaboration; PIs: Dr. David Schlegel (LBL) and Dr.
Arjun Dey (NOAO). Cover credit: Pete Marenfeld, NOAO/AURA/NSF.
iii
NOAO MISSION PROFILE
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) is the US national research and development
center for ground-based nighttime astronomy. Its core mission is to provide access for all qualified
professional researchers, via peer review, to state-of-the-art scientific capabilities. Through that
access, the US research community is investigating a broad range of modern astrophysical challenges
from small bodies within our own Solar System, to the most distant galaxies in the early Universe, to
indirect observations of dark energy and dark matter.
To support that mission and help further US leadership in the international arena, NOAO is
leading the development of the US Ground-Based Optical/Infrared (O/IR) System—the ensemble of
public and private observatories dedicated to international leadership in scientific research, technical
innovation, education, and public outreach.
NOAO also is leading programs that help enable a new generation of telescopes, instruments, and
software tools to meet the research challenges of the next decade. In particular, NOAO is leveraging
in-house scientific and technical expertise gained over 50 years to participate in the development of
the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a unique 8-m-class, wide-field imaging telescope. Additionally,
NOAO is involved in the development of major, wide-field imaging and spectroscopic surveys at the
Blanco and Mayall 4-m telescopes as well as more-narrow-field 20-m and larger telescopes with
unprecedented spatial resolution and light grasp. Together, these new facilities will make possible
revolutionary advances in the physical understanding of dark energy and dark matter, galactic
evolution, time-domain activity of supermassive black holes at the centers of nearby galaxies, and icy
bodies in the outer reaches of our Solar System. By pushing back the frontiers of our understanding,
these facilities will surely uncover cosmic phenomena unforeseen today.
To communicate the excitement and opportunities of world-class scientific research and
technology development, NOAO operates a nationally recognized Education and Public Outreach
(EPO) program. The NOAO EPO program strives to promote scientific literacy and inspire young
people to become explorers in science and research-based technology, especially within groups that
have been historically underrepresented in the US physics and astronomy science enterprise.
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) operates NOAO under a
cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The above profile, from the NOAO Annual Program Plan FY 2014, applied to FY14.
1
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is the NOAO Fiscal Year Annual Report for fiscal year 2014 (FY14). This report fulfills requirements
established by the Cooperative Support Agreement (CSA) AST-0950945 between NSF and AURA.
NOAO and the research community it serves strive for significant leadership roles at the science
frontiers defined by the Astro2010 decadal survey report “New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and
Astrophysics” (NWNH) including characterization of the nature of dark energy, mapping the 3-D distribution of dark matter at cosmological distances, exploration and characterization of the time-domain, and
exoplanet characterization and the study of their parent stars. Such leadership is exercised through a range
of project sizes, from a few nights to tens of nights of observations per year over several years, and by
providing access to general-purpose instrumentation on world-class facilities. To enable scientific and
technological leadership, NOAO works closely and actively with university-based groups, other US-led
observatories, other US national science centers, major international science collaborations, and, especially, NOAO’s dynamic and world-leading user community.
During this fiscal year, NOAO continued to operate and improve the four 4-m-class facilities at Kitt
Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in
the Republic of Chile. Current science capabilities at these observatories continue to enable a broad range
of forefront scientific research. Facilities infrastructure support was provided to many tenant and partner
facilities at both sites on a fee-for-service basis. The number of such hosted facilities continues to grow,
especially on Cerro Tololo. Behind the scenes, NOAO completed several significant infrastructure renewal
projects at its base and mountain facilities in Arizona.
In terms of nights, the Gemini Observatory provided the most US community access at the 6-m to
10-m aperture level, as NOAO continued to be the US gateway to Gemini. Additional nights on large
aperture telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory were provided to the community as a return for NSF
investment in instrumentation projects at those observatories through the NOAO-managed Telescope
System Instrumentation Program (TSIP). During FY14, TSIP nights were not available at any other facility.
The community had access to the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT)—principally for use of the multiobject, wide field-of-view spectrometer AAOmega—in exchange for Australian use of DECam.
Community access also was provided by the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) on
Mt. Wilson for optical interferometry.
Scientific demand as measured by over-subscription rates (nights requested divided by nights available) remained strong for the facilities NOAO operated and to which NOAO provided access. There is a
clear trend that modern, world-class instruments are more in demand. Scientific productivity measured by
the number of papers published by the community-at-large and the NOAO scientific staff in particular also
remained strong.
The 2.2-degree-wide optical imager Dark Energy Camera (DECam) was used this year at the CTIO
Blanco 4-m telescope to continue the five-year Dark Energy Survey (DES). DECam also was used for a
wide range of projects led by both NOAO and community scientists. New, medium-resolution, optical
imaging multi-object spectrometers for both the Mayall 4-m and Blanco 4-m telescopes were released into
operations. Significant design and development progress was made toward the implementation of the
3-degree-wide, 5000-fiber, multi-object spectrometer Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) for the
Mayall telescope, culminating in a successful Critical Design 1 (CD-1) review.
The advent of DECam-based research drove key data management developments during FY14. NOAO
Science Archive holdings (compressed, single-copy) now exceed 140 terabytes (TB) of raw data and 90 TB
of reduced data. Community users of DECam routinely received processed image stacks produced using
the DECam Community Pipeline, developed in partnership with the DES Data Management team.
Recognizing the growing importance of research using mega-object to giga-object catalogs produced by
imaging surveys using DECam or other wide-field imagers, NOAO launched the Data Lab project to
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
provide a collaborative environment for community users to access, manipulate, and visualize such rich
catalogs. NOAO started a major archive system upgrade project this year, to bring all key software systems
up to current standards.
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) achieved a major milestone during FY14 by receiving
initial construction funding from the NSF. After an active year with significant design and development
activities as well as several major reviews, the start of NSF construction funding triggered the transfer of
the LSST Telescope System and Site Development team from NOAO to the LSST Project Office
(LSSTPO). Meanwhile, NOAO provided LSST scientific leadership in the areas of operations simulations,
characterization of the variable sky, and survey cadence development. NOAO continued its collaborative
effort with the University of Arizona Computer Science Department to develop a transient broker (for use
with both LSST and precursor event streams). The Data Lab mentioned above will provide a test bed for
LSST data access and analysis tools.
NOAO continued a five-year program launched in FY13 to engage the US community in the Thirty
Meter Telescope (TMT) project. This effort is supported through an NSF award to TMT. The US TMT
Science Working Group convened by NOAO continued various activities related to developing a US TMT
Participation Plan. The second annual TMT Science Forum was held in Tucson. That meeting was
organized by NOAO on behalf of TMT. NOAO scientists are sitting on the TMT International Observatory
(TIO) board of governors, science advisory committee, and the Education and Public Outreach advisory
committee. AURA/NOAO is a TIO Associate Member.
The NOAO Education and Public Outreach program carried out a broad and varied plan that touched
on many aspects of the NSF goals of broadening the participation of underrepresented individuals, groups,
and institutions. Activities supporting those goals were carried out primarily in Arizona and Chile.
The NOAO Director’s Office in collaboration with many other senior and middle managers developed
an NOAO transformation plan in response to new programmatic and financial directives from the NSF for
FY16. The transformation plan will be executed during FY15 and bring dramatic change to NOAO’s
mission, program, priorities, and structure in FY15.
3
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
2
2.1
NOAO ACCOMPLISHMENTS
ACHIEVEMENTS
Based on scientific merit as judged by peer review, NOAO provided access to 14 NOAO and non-NOAO
telescopes for 1304 scientists involved in 340 new and on-going research projects. The actual number of
scientists involved in NOAO-enabled observing programs is likely significantly larger as several large
collaborations do not list their entire team on the NOAO proposal form (e.g., Dark Energy Science
Collaboration). Overall, the number of nights requested exceeded the number of nights available by a factor
of 2.2. The majority of scientists who were allocated time (846, not including NOAO scientists) came from
173 US institutions distributed across 40 of the United States (including the District of Columbia). The top
five institutions by number of investigators were Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Space
Telescope Science Institute, University of Arizona, University of Texas Austin, and University of
California Berkeley. About 7% of the allocated time went to programs whose principal investigators were
at foreign institutions. In all respects, these numbers are comparable to FY13 and larger than FY12. Based
on observations obtained in previous years, the NOAO user community (including NOAO scientists)
published 545 refereed papers. Crabtree (2014, private communications) illustrates that NOAO Mayall and
Blanco telescopes were two of the most productive astronomical telescopes in the world in the period of
2008–2012. On a continuing, annual basis, NOAO supports the largest and broadest research community of
any US ground-based astronomical observatory.
The Dark Energy Survey (DES) completed its first year of observations (and started its second year of
observations) using DECam at the Blanco 4-m telescope. Refereed papers have begun to appear that
present initial DES scientific results based on DECam science verification data obtained in FY13. DECam
is also enabling a large number of other research investigations, from near-Earth objects to massive galaxy
clusters in the distant universe. DECam-related on-site and data management operations continued without
interruption. In support of DES and other users, NOAO continued an aggressive program to improve the
Blanco delivered image quality, resulting in reducing the median Blanco delivered image quality to
approximately 0.9 arcsec.
NOAO deployed two new multi-mode optical spectrometers: the Cerro Tololo Ohio State Multi Object
Spectrograph (COSMOS) at the Blanco 4-m and the Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi Object Spectrograph
(KOSMOS) at the Mayall 4-m. Both instruments were built by The Ohio State University as part of the
Renewing Small Telescopes for Astronomical Research (ReSTAR) program funded by NSF. These
spectrographs replace the venerable Ritchey-Chrétien Spectrographs and are almost a factor of two more
efficient in terms of throughput. In a related development, a multi-slit mode was enabled for the Goodman
optical spectrometer at the SOAR 4.1-m telescope. Meanwhile, Cornell University continued to make good
progress on TripleSpec4, a new, wide-band (0.95–2.46 microns), near-IR spectrograph for the Blanco 4-m,
scheduled for delivery during the second quarter (Q2) of FY15.
Significant contributions to development of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project
were made by NOAO, specifically in the areas of planning for the Mayall 4-m facility as well as the DESI
installation and commissioning. Within the DESI Science Collaboration, NOAO scientists had key roles in
DESI targeting survey planning and execution as well as bright-time survey project definition.
The LSST Telescope and Site Facility team completed significant design and development work in
many areas during FY14. Key achievements included NSF-approved vendor awards for final design and
construction for the site facilities and the telescope mount assembly as well as supporting several major
agency reviews, including the NSF Final Design Review. As FY14 ended, management responsibility for
this team was transferred to the LSST Project Office for the duration of the LSST construction phase.
In the realm of LSST survey preparation, NOAO and LSSTPO jointly organized a community
workshop to discuss survey cadence strategies. About 120 people participated in this workshop. Elsewhere,
implementation work began for the Arizona-NOAO Temporal Analysis and Response to Events System
4
NOAO ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(ANTARES), an NSF-funded collaboration between NOAO and the Computer Science Department of the
University of Arizona. The NOAO-led Operations Simulator (OpSim) team successfully passed an external
review as responsibility for this project transitioned from NOAO to LSSTPO.
2.2
STATUS OF VISION AND GOALS
The NOAO Annual Program Plan FY 2014 (APP14) defined the high-level NOAO deliverables for FY14
in its Executive Summary. Those high-level deliverables are restated below in section 2.2.1 with notes on
their status at the end of FY14. In section 2.2.2, planned spending and revenues for FY14 are compared to
actual spending and revenues for that period. Significant differences between planned and actual are
discussed.
Status notes are provided in sections 4 and 5 of this report for all lower-level program milestones
established in the APP14.
2.2.1
Status of FY14 High-Level Deliverables
From FY14 NSF base funding, NOAO plans to deliver and/or enable:

Deliver detailed transformation plans, to be executed in FY15, per NSF directives.
Status: Completed. The initial plan was delivered during the first quarter (Q1) of FY14, an updated
plan and status report was delivered during the fourth quarter (Q4).

Operation and maintenance of NOAO facilities in Tucson and on Kitt Peak (Mayall 4-m, WIYN
3.5-m, and 2.1-m telescopes).
Status: Completed. For details, see section 4.2 (NOAO North).

Operation and maintenance of NOAO facilities in La Serena (including the AURA recinto—
compound) and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón (Blanco 4-m and SOAR 4.1-m telescopes).
Status: Completed. For details, see section 4.1 (NOAO South).

Scientific user support services and community development activities for the non-NOAO
facilities within the US Ground-Based Optical/Infrared (O/IR) System, especially the Gemini
Observatory.
Status: Completed as needed for AAT, CHARA, Gemini, and Keck. No other non-NOAO facilities were
available via NOAO during FY14. For details, see section 4.3.1 (System User Support).

Community and DES operation of the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) at the Blanco 4-m telescope.
Status: DECam was the predominant instrument on the Blanco 4-m telescope during FY14. In addition
to a wide variety of community programs, observations for DES Year 1 were completed and those for
Year 2 were initiated. For details, see section 3.1 (Scientific Activities and Findings, Cerro Tololo
Inter-American Observatory) and section 4.1.1 (CTIO).

Final science verification and operations of the SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM) at the SOAR 4.1m telescope.
Status: Completed. SAM was released to the NOAO user community (see section 4.1.1, CTIO).

Commissioning, science verification, and operation of the Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi-Object
Spectrograph (KOSMOS) at the Mayall 4-m telescope.
5
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Status: Completed. KOSMOS was released to the NOAO user community. For details, see section 4.4.1
(System Instrumentation) as well as section 4.2.1 (KPNO).

Commissioning and operations of the repaired and upgraded ƒ/8 secondary mirror at the Blanco 4m telescope.
Status: Completed during Q1.

Commissioning and operations of the Cerro Tololo Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph
(COSMOS) at the Blanco 4-m telescope.
Status: Completed. COSMOS was released to the NOAO user community.

Delivery to Cornell University of a complete detector package for TripleSpec4, a medium
resolution near-infrared spectrograph for the Blanco 4-m telescope.
Status: In progress as FY14 ended. The as-delivered detector was found to have an inconveniently
placed hot pixel, necessitating late stage software and hardware changes in the detector package
design and implementation. Fortunately, this delay will have no impact on the TripleSpec4 delivery
schedule. For further details, see section 4.4.1 (System Instrumentation).

Design and development activity for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), including
telescope systems and on-site support facilities.
Status: Completed as necessary, although midyear re-planning was necessary to accommodate federal
reviews and funding availability. Both base and supplementary funding were allocated for these
activities. For details, see section 4.4.2 (LSST Technology).

Science data management services that are focused on immediate NOAO needs, including science
operations of the Dark Energy Camera and WIYN One Degree Imager.
Status: Partially completed relative to the FY14 plan. Two mission-critical personnel were hired by
LSST during the second half of FY14, which caused delays in archive software and hardware
infrastructure upgrade projects. By refilling positions and using short-term contract personnel, the
schedule should be recovered during FY15. For details, see section 4.3.2 (Science Data Management).

Education and Public Outreach program that is focused on critical, local activities and needs while
maintaining a national (global) perspective through targeted, innovative programs.
Status: Completed. See details in section 5.2 (Education and Public Outreach). See also related
activity involving the Kitt Peak Visitor Center (KPVC) (section 4.2.1). In addition, the NOAO EPO
External Advisory Panel (EAP) held its annual meeting during the third quarter (Q3) of FY14 and
made recommendations to the EPO manager and the NOAO Director’s Office. The EAP report is
publicly available from the NOAO website.

Technical and management support/planning for the deployment of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic
Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall 4-m telescope.
Status: Completed, with the main thrust focused on planning for the Mayall pre-installation
preparation as well as the DESI installation and commissioning. For details, see section 4.2.2 (NOAO
North Engineering & Technical Services).

Science support activities for LSST and the LSST community.
Status: Completed per plan, with particular emphasis on event broker development and survey
cadence research during FY14. See section 4.3.3 (System Community Development) for more details.
6
NOAO ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Administrative and facility operations services necessary for an organization with more than 250
employees at two geographically distributed sites.
Status: Standard business and human resources services were provided by the AURA Central
Administrative Services (CAS) and Human Resources (HR) groups on a cost-recovery basis without
incident. Facilities operations services were provided in Arizona and Chile by the NOAO North
Central Facilities Operations (section 4.2.3) and NOAO South Facilities Operations (section 4.1.3)
groups, respectively. Top-level program management and leadership were provided by the NOAO
Director’s Office (section 0) with support from the associate directors for KPNO, NOAO South, and
the NOAO System Science Center.
From FY14 (or earlier) NSF supplementary funding, NOAO plans to deliver and/or enable:

Annual Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs in Tucson and La Serena.
Status: Completed per plan, see section 5.2.

Continued support of current partners (Vanderbilt University/Fisk University and South Carolina
State University) in the Partnerships in Astronomy & Astrophysics Research and Education
(PAARE) program.
Status: No students were forwarded to NOAO from these programs during FY14. The South Carolina
State University PAARE program has concluded.

Additional design and development activity for LSST.
Status: Completed, see above.

Delivery of the Cerro Tololo Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS) to the Blanco 4-m
telescope.
Status: Completed, see above.

Continue construction of a new, medium-resolution near-infrared spectrograph (TripleSpec) for the
Blanco 4-m telescope through a sub-award to Cornell University (ReSTAR Phase 1).
Status: Completed per plan, see section 4.4.1 (System Instrumentation).

Participation in the development of scientific user support services for the Virtual Astronomical
Observatory (VAO).
Status: Completed per plan, see section 4.3.2 (Science Data Management). FY14 was the final year for
NOAO’s involvement in the VAO development activity.
On a cost-recovery basis, NOAO also plans to deliver and/or enable:

Technical and facility operations support services for tenant and/or partner observatories on Kitt
Peak, Cerro Tololo, Cerro Pachón, and Cerro Las Campanas.
Status: Completed, see discussions in section 4.2.3 (NOAO North Central Facilities Operations) and
section 4.1.3 (NOAO South Facilities Operations).
2.2.2
FY14 Planned vs. Actual Spending and Revenues
In this section, planned versus actual FY14 spending and revenues are discussed. More details about FY14
expenditures, revenues, and funds carried forward to FY15 are provided in Appendix A.
7
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Table 1 shows the planned budget, actual funding, and actual expenditures for the NOAO FY14
program. Detail is given at the second level of the work breakdown structure (WBS) from the NOAO
Annual Program Plan FY 2014 (APP14). Column 2 (APP14 Budget) of the table matches the “Budget,
Total” column of Table 19 from the APP14. This planned budget was covered by the sum of planned base
funding from NSF and planned non-base revenue. Column 3 (Final Budget) is the actual funding
accumulated for each program as of the close of the fiscal year. If actual funding is greater than planned
spending, NOAO accumulated more non-base funding than planned and/or base funding was moved into
that category during the year. Conversely, if actual funding is less than planned spending, NOAO
accumulated less non-base funding and/or base funding was removed from that category during the year.
The percentage differences in APP14 Budget vs. FY14 Actual Expenses and Final Budget vs. FY14
Actual Expenses are shown in Columns 5 and 6, respectively. Negative percentages indicate greater
expenditure than funding. Significant differences (negative or positive) are explained in the notes below.
Note 1. NOAO South. The overall program in NOAO South ended the year with a net positive
balance. Given the very favorable peso to US dollar exchange rate during FY14, the balance should have
been higher; hence, spending was greater than planned. Several factors explain this overspending. As part
of a new collective bargaining agreement, a one-time bonus with a total value of approximately $180K was
paid to the unionized NOAO staff in Chile. That bonus was unanticipated and unbudgeted, but easily
funded thanks to the favorable exchange rate. For the NOAO South Engineering & Technical Services
(NS-ETS) program, the APP14 assumed that approximately $450K would come from outside technical
work, principally from SOAR). About $200K of this revenue was not realized as more effort was
consumed by Blanco projects (i.e., additional effort over that planned was expended against base funding).
In addition, effort planned within CTIO for Blanco maintenance was expended within NS-ETS as Blanco
projects. Finally, several payments totaling approximately $238K were made from NS-ETS home accounts
for employees transferring to LSSTPO to cover costs related to contractual end-of-term severance
payments related to years of service and unexpended vacation time.
Note 2. NOAO North. NOAO North (NN) was underspent by 6%. Overall, payroll was underspent in
NOAO North, due to departures during the year of personnel who were not immediately replaced.
Moreover, Central Facilities Operations (CFO) realized slightly more revenue for services provided (in
Tucson) than planned. This revenue will be carried over in the same program area for FY15 so that tenants
(CAS, NSO, WIYN, LSST) will see the benefit of the extra funds. Within KPNO, telescope operations was
underspent by about $300K or 6%, due to departing staff not being replaced during the year and various
planned non-labor costs not expended. Conversely, the KPNO mountain operations work package was
moderately overspent as effort (people) planned within other work packages (e.g., KPNO telescope
operations) was charged here. Finally, NN-ETS has slightly greater-than-planned labor expenses but
significantly less-than-planned non-labor expenses. The non-labor deviation from plan was caused
primarily by overly conservative estimates of non-labor purchase costs, rather than failure to execute
planned projects.
Note 3. NSSC. At the top-level, actual NSSC expenditures were consistent with planned and actual
funding. However, within NSSC, actual spending (mostly labor) was distributed differently than planned
due to changed assignments within NSSC and unplanned personnel departures. The Science Data
Management (SDM) work package also underspent on new hardware, primarily due to those unplanned
personnel departures. The hardware upgrades planned for FY14 will now occur in FY15.
Note 4. NSTC. Overall, actual NSTC spending was significantly less than planned spending or actual
funding. This underspending was due in large part to the transfer of the LSST Telescope and Site Facilities
team and their activities from the NOAO-supported design and development phase to the LSST Project
Office, MREFC-supported construction phase, exacerbated by less-than-expected expenditures for contract
work. Elsewhere, the net expenses within System Instrumentation were less than expected as the main
contractor for TripleSpec4, Cornell University, underspent their contract by $300K. This is a net savings as
the project was less expensive than originally planned. Finally, the One Degree Imager (ODI) upgrade
project originally placed within System Instrumentation was transferred to the KPNO work package for
8
NOAO ACCOMPLISHMENTS
program management reasons, along with planned funding and actual expenses. Subsequently, the ODI
upgrade project was delayed and most work (spending) will occur during FY15.
Note 5. Office of Science. The Office of Science was underspent in staff research funds. Staff spent
more time on functional responsibilities and therefore used less research funds during the year. In addition,
the head of program was on sabbatical in FY14 (reducing planned labor costs) and fewer non-labor projects
(e.g., workshops) were executed than originally planned.
Note 6. NOAO Director’s Office. The NOAO Director’s Office spent slighty more than planned but
significantly less than actual funding. This is because actual revenue from indirect costs recovered from
external grants and programs was significantly greater than planned.
Note 7. Reserve. APP14 left $83K in reserve relative to the $25.5K base funding. However, NOAO
carried forward $1.66M in base funding from FY13 to FY14 (by policy, carry-forward is not planned into
the APP14, but it is reported in the annual financial reports).
Table 1: FY14 Planned vs. Actual Spending and Revenue.
Work Package
Final Budget
APP14 Budget
FY14 Actual
Expenses
APP14 Actual
Budget Actual
Note
NOAO South (NS)
Cerro Tol ol o Inter-Ameri ca n Obs erva tory (CTIO)
6,398,700
6,588,657
5,656,156
12%
14%
NS Engi neeri ng & Techni ca l Servi ces
1,452,147
1,051,382
1,724,256
-19%
-64%
NS Fa ci l i ties Opera tions
3,221,224
3,887,217
3,793,319
-18%
2%
NS Computer Infra s tructure Servi ces
1,236,190
1,252,964
1,195,496
3%
5%
12,308,261
12,780,220
12,369,228
0%
3%
Ki tt Pea k Na tiona l Obs erva tory (KPNO)
5,590,104
5,550,205
5,226,739
7%
6%
NN Engi neeri ng & Techni ca l Servi ces
2,336,928
2,394,431
2,186,872
6%
9%
NN Centra l Fa ci l i ties Opera tions
1,559,642
1,571,607
1,464,877
6%
7%
646,030
711,593
691,936
-7%
3%
10,132,704
10,227,837
9,570,424
6%
6%
NS Subtotal
1
NOAO North (NN)
NN Computer Infra s tructure Servi ces
NN Subtotal
2
NOAO System Science Center (NSSC)
Sys tem Us er Support
893,182
943,723
1,012,253
-13%
-7%
2,036,278
2,100,282
1,879,916
8%
10%
Sys tem Communi ty Devel opment
780,588
640,236
747,785
4%
-17%
Ti me Al l oca tion Commi ttee
400,182
400,182
300,999
25%
25%
4,110,230
4,084,423
3,940,953
4%
4%
55%
Sci ence Da ta Ma na gement
NSSC Subtotal
3
NOAO System Technology Center (NSTC)
Sys tem Ins trumentation
946,753
585,508
264,964
72%
3,000,000
2,466,981
2,318,617
23%
6%
3,946,753
3,052,489
2,583,582
35%
15%
4
Office of Science (OS)
1,579,973
1,793,361
1,587,236
0%
11%
5
Education & Public Outreach (EPO)
1,016,466
1,071,830
1,052,332
-4%
2%
NOAO Director's Office (NDO)
1,054,299
1,496,022
1,082,696
-3%
28%
83,848
1,741,285
168,788
La rge Synoptic Survey Tel es cope Technol ogy
NSTC Subtotal
NOAO Director's Reserve
AURA Services and Fees
Totals
2,454,095
2,454,095
2,347,190
4%
4%
36,686,629
38,701,563
34,702,429
5%
10%
9
6
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
2.3
CHALLENGES AND THEIR IMPACTS
The primary challenge for NOAO this fiscal year was preparing for a dramatic programmatic and financial
transformation in FY16. The origins of the required transformation lie within the NSF MPS Astronomical
Science (AST) Portfolio Review report released in late FY12. Preparations and planning for NOAO
transformation were begun during FY13 in close cooperation with the NSF Division of Astronomical
Sciences (NSF/AST) based on programmatic and financial guidance from NSF/AST. An initial NOAO
transformation plan was delivered to the NSF in early FY14. Those plans were revised later in FY14 based
on refined funding and programmatic directives provided by NSF Program Solicitation 13-582,
Management and Operation of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), as well as by various
supplementary instructions and clarifications from NSF/AST.
Transformation planning was complicated during the year by uncertainty in whether or not NSF would
enter into joint research enterprises at the Mayall with the Department of Energy (DOE) and at the WIYN
with the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). Fortunately, by the end of FY14, such
uncertainty was largely resolved, allowing NOAO to finalize personnel plans for FY16.
The prospect of the NOAO transformation created much unsettling uncertainty for both the research
community NOAO serves and the people who work for NOAO. Within the user community, there were
groups who felt strongly that NOAO was abandoning them and their principal investigator-oriented
research as well as groups that welcomed the new NOAO direction toward larger surveys and catalogbased research. While it is difficult to find middle ground between such views, NOAO’s strategy was to
provide clear, regular updates on new research opportunities for all. Analogous regular, clear
communication to NOAO employees helped keep morale stable.
The fiscal year began with a Federal government shutdown. Thanks to good preparation on all sides,
NOAO was able to maintain normal operations throughout the entire shutdown without undue interruption.
All NOAO actions were done in collaboration with the AURA Central Administrative Services (CAS) and
Human Resources (HR) groups.
Naturally, day-to-day operations within an organization with such diverse activities bring a regular
series of challenges to overcome but no other challenge rises to the same level as the Federal government
shutdown and transformation preparation. Indeed, in other respects relative to FY12 and FY13, FY14 was a
busy but relatively calm year.
10
3
3.1
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND FINDINGS
CERRO TOLOLO INTER-AMERICAN OBSERVATORY
“The Dark Energy Survey’s First Season” (excerpt from a September 2014 NOAO Newsletter article by
Josh Frieman)
The international Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration (about 300 scientists from 25 institutions)
carried out the first of five 105-night observing seasons from 31 August 2013 to 9 February 2014 using the
570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) built by the collaboration for the CTIO Blanco telescope.
DES is imaging 5000 sq. deg. of southern extragalactic sky to ~24th magnitude in the grizY bands and
carrying out a time-domain griz survey (optimized to measure light curves for distant supernovae) over 30
sq. deg. The primary goal of the survey is to probe the origin of cosmic acceleration via galaxy clusters,
weak gravitational lensing, the large-scale galaxy distribution, and Type Ia supernovae.
In its first season, DES imaged roughly 2000
sq. deg. of its wide-area footprint (see Figure 1)
with up to 40% of the full-depth exposure time,
which is 900 sec in griz and 450 sec in Y. The
time-domain survey had a mean cadence of
roughly six nights in each filter in each supernova
field and will yield much deeper cumulative
exposures over the lifetime of the survey. In the
second season, which [started] 15 August 2014, we
plan to cover the complementary portion of the
survey footprint and to continue the time-domain
survey. Subsequent seasons will increase the depth
of the wide-area survey, while continuing the timedomain survey.
The raw DES images will be available
publically from the NOAO Science Archive Figure 1: First-season i-band coverage of the DES widearea footprint, in RA-DEC coordinates. The full survey
(portal-nvo.noao.edu/) 12 months after they are footprint outline is in red; the first-season footprint
taken. NCSA [National Center for Supercomputing outline is in black and comprised a southern area
Applications] and NOAO will simultaneously overlapping the SPT SZ survey and a narrower region
release reduced, calibrated images passing data along the South Celestial Equator that overlaps SDSS
82. Each tiling corresponds to a 90-sec exposure.
quality criteria on a similar but longer time scale. Stripe
During Year 2, the complementary part of the footprint
In addition, DES will make two public releases of will be covered.
calibrated, co-added images and catalogs: one
based on the first two seasons of data, the other on
the full data set.
The collaboration has been carrying out science analyses of roughly 150 sq. deg. of deep data taken
during DES science verification from November 2012 to February 2013. Several papers have been
submitted for publication, with another 10 or so papers in the pipeline. Early results were presented at a
DES Special Session at the January 2014 American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C.
Highlights include measurements of several galaxy cluster masses via weak lensing; discovery of highredshift supernovae, a superluminous supernova, and high-redshift clusters; construction of a large-scale
weak lensing mass map; detection of galaxy-galaxy lensing; measurement of galaxy angular clustering and
the cross-correlation between DES galaxies and lensing of the Cosmic Microwave Background;
measurement of the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) signal from stacked South Pole Telescope (SPT) data around
DES-selected galaxy clusters; measurements of X-ray properties of DES-selected clusters; characterization
of optical galaxy populations in SZ-selected clusters; construction of a joint optical near infrared catalog
11
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
with the Vista Hemisphere Survey;
measurement of galaxy photometric
redshifts that demonstrate the precision
needed to carry out dark energy studies;
detection of a number of strong lensing
systems (see Figure 2); discovery of a
redshift z = 6.1 quasar; and studies of the
geometry and outer stellar populations of
the Large Magellanic Cloud.
“The Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar
History (SMASH)” (excerpt from a
September 2014 NOAO Newsletter article
by David Nidever & Knut Olsen for the
Figure 2: Strong gravitational lensing candidates from DES science
SMASH Team)
verification data. A 266-hour Gemini Large and Long Program will
David Nidever (University of Michigan)
follow up these and other candidates.
and the SMASH team are using the Dark
Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco
telescope to conduct an NOAO Survey program to unveil the complex outer stellar structures of the Large
and Small Magellanic Clouds, our Milky Way’s (MW) two largest and closest satellite dwarf galaxies.
These observations, with one of the world’s largest cameras, will reveal the evolution of the Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and their interaction with each other,
including exploring the possibility that they may have suffered a recent direct collision.
A decade ago, the interaction history of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) was thought to be well
understood. The gaseous components of the Magellanic System: the trailing Magellanic Stream, the
Leading Arm, and the Bridge between the Magellanic Clouds were well reproduced by models invoking
tidal stripping through the MCs’ repeated close passages to the MW. However, recent discoveries raise
fresh questions about the structure and evolution of the MCs. Recent Hubble Space Telescope
measurements of the proper motions of the MCs (Kallivayalil et al. 2006a, ApJ, 638, 772; 2006b, ApJ, 652,
1213; 2013 ApJ, 764, 161) suggest that the MCs are approaching the MW environment for the very first
time (Besla et al. 2007, ApJ, 668, 949). This discovery has forced a reinterpretation of many features of the
Magellanic System, leading recent simulations (Besla et al. 2010, ApJ, 721, 197; 2012, MNRAS, 2457;
Diaz & Bekki 2012, ApJ, 750, 36) to conclude that LMC-SMC interactions alone are responsible for the
formation of the Magellanic Bridge, Stream, and Leading Arm, atomic hydrogen features now known to
extend for at least 200° across the sky (Nidever et al. 2010, ApJ, 723, 1618; see lower panel of Figure 3).
The consequences of this new picture for the stellar component of the MCs are only beginning to be
explored. Nevertheless, we now know that MC stellar populations can be found over vast areas of sky (~20
kpc away from the LMC, Muñoz et al. 2006, ApJ, 649, 201, Saha et al. 2010); that the LMC has stripped a
large number of stars from the SMC (~5% of the LMC’s mass, Olsen et al. 2011); and that strong
population gradients exist to large radii (Gallart et al. 2008, ApJ, 682, 789; Cioni 2009, A&A 527, A116;
Meschin et al. 2014, MNRAS, 138, 1067). These results point to a much richer and more complex structure
and history than was imagined just a few years ago. They are based, however, on pencil-beam searches of
only ~1% of the relevant area. The SMASH survey will map 480 deg2 of the Magellanic periphery
(distributed over ~2400 deg2 at ~20% filling factor; see Figure 3) with deep ugriz images. Using old mainsequence stars as tracers, the SMASH survey, combined with the 5000 deg2 Dark Energy Survey (DES),
will reveal the relics of the formation and past interactions of the Magellanic Clouds down to surface
brightnesses equivalent to Σg > 35 mags arcsec–2. Specifically, the SMASH survey will:
12
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND FINDINGS
Figure 3: (Top) The predicted V-band surface brightness (mag/arcsec2) of the stellar component
of the Magellanic system from Besla et al. (2013). The simulation predicts stellar structures out to
large radii from the main bodies of the Magellanic Clouds (varying on small scales), and a higher
stellar density in the Leading Arm than in the trailing Magellanic Stream. (Bottom) The observed H
I column density of the entire 200° Magellanic Stream system is shown in grayscale (Nidever et
al. 2010), while the blue contours represent the 2MASS RGB star counts. The SMASH survey is
shown in red including contiguous regions of the main bodies of the LMC and SMC. The 74 fields
observed during the first year of the survey are shown as filled green hexagons. The footprint of
the Dark Energy Survey is represented by the purple shaded region.
1.
Search for the stellar component of the Magellanic Stream and Leading Arm. The detection of
stellar debris in these structures would make them the only tidal streams with known gaseous and
stellar components. This would not only be invaluable for understanding the history and
consequences of the Magellanic interaction, but would provide a dynamic tracer of the MW’s dark
halo and a way to probe the MW’s hot halo gas via ram pressure effects.
2.
Detect and map the smooth components of the MCs, including their extended disks and potential
stellar halos. The size of the LMC’s stellar disk is a direct probe of the tidal radius of the LMC,
with which the dark matter halos of the LMC and MW can be explored.
3.
Detect and map potential streams and substructure in the Magellanic periphery not associated with
gaseous features. These would probe stages in the formation and interaction of the MCs at times
earlier than the evaporation timescale of the gas.
4.
Derive spatially resolved, precise star formation histories covering all ages of the MCs and to large
radii, thus providing detailed information on their complete evolution.
5.
Enable many community-led projects, including studies involving the LMC/SMC main bodies,
Galactic structure, discovery of variable objects, and background galaxy populations.
13
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
The SMASH team has just completed a successful first year, observing 74 of the total 180 fields
(Figure 3). These fields nicely sample almost the entire region of the SMASH survey. Some representative
color magnitude diagrams (CMDs) are displayed in Figure 4. The top row of LMC fields illustrates the
power of the deep SMASH images to detect plentiful but faint Magellanic Cloud old main-sequence stars at
large radii. The inner-most field at a radius of 5.3° from the LMC center (left) harbors a large number of
stars of many ages and at several stages of evolution. The outer two fields at 10.7° (middle) and 14.5°
(right), on the other hand, are dominated by old main-sequence stars. Once fully processed, many SMASH
fields will be able to probe to much larger distances from the LMC. An extended red clump is visible in the
CMD of an SMC field (R = 3.9°, bottom-left) indicating a large line-of-sight depth as recently shown by
Nidever et al. (2013, ApJ, 779, 145). In the final two panels of the bottom row the main-sequence stars of
stellar substructures in the halo of the Milky Way at a distance of 20–30 kpc can be seen. The first year of
SMASH data (observed before February 2014), including those shown in Figure 4 will be released to the
public in January 2015. With two more years of observing ahead of them, the SMASH team still has a lot
of work and interesting results to look forward to.
Figure 4: Color Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs) of some representative SMASH fields. The top row shows stellar
populations in the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud at a radius of 5.3° (left), 10.7° (middle), and 14.5° (right).
While the inner-most field reveals stars of many ages, only faint old main-sequence stars are prominent in the
outer two fields demonstrating the power of these deep observations to detect faint structures. In the bottom-left is
a field at a radius of 3.9° from the center of the SMC with a very extended red clump indicating a large line-of-sight
depth as recently shown by Nidever et al. (2013). The final two CMDs reveal stellar substructure in the halo of the
Milky Way at 20–30 kpc from the Sun.
14
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND FINDINGS
A Sharp Eye on Southern Binary Stars (excerpt from NOAO press release 14-03)
Unlike the Sun, with its retinue of orbiting planets, many stars in the sky orbit around a second star. Binary
stars like these, with orbital periods ranging from days to centuries, have long been the primary tool for
measuring basic quantities like the star’s mass. While masses of normal stars are now well determined,
some binaries present special interest because their stars are unusual (e.g., very young) or because they may
contain planets, gas clouds, or other stars.
Now, astronomers at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and at the US Naval
Observatory (USNO) are making use of the latest technology, speckle imaging, to measure the separation
of close binary stars. By observing them over a period of years, their obits have been determined with
exquisite precision.
Using the new speckle camera at the 4.1-m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope in
Chile with its novel electron-multiplication CCD detector, the team is able to measure the angular
separation of stars down to 25 milli-arcseconds: this is equivalent to measuring the size of a quarter atop
the Empire State building in New York from Washington, D.C. This is over 2000 times better than the
human eye can resolve. As Dr. Andrei Tokovinin, the lead author on the paper, said, “This camera
surpasses adaptive-optics instruments at the 8-m telescopes, which work in the infrared and can only
resolve binaries wider than 50 milli-arcseconds.”
The team, which includes astronomers from SOAR and from the USNO, has not only been observing
previously known binary systems for which older data are very poor, but also is finding new double and
multiple systems. The … system HIP 83716 [has been] known to be double for over a century. But until the
SOAR camera examined it, nobody realized that the companion star was also a binary, making this a triple
system. The wide pair A,B orbit each other in about 520 years, while the newly discovered pair Ba, Bb
orbit each other in just 6.5 years.
Over the past seven years, the speckle camera on SOAR has observed almost 2000 objects, both
previously known and newly discovered binaries. This is a unique data set in terms of quantity and quality;
prior to this project, such measurements of southern binaries were made only occasionally by the team from
the USNO.
Recent observations made at SOAR in 2012 and 2013 are reported by A. Tokovinin (NOAO), B.
Mason, and W. Hartkopf (both from USNO) (2014, AJ, 147, 123).
A Planet Discovered by Microlensing (excerpt from a September 2014 NOAO Newsletter article by
Andrew Gould)
Andrew Gould (Ohio State University) and collaborators (2014, Science, 345, 46) used the CTIO SMARTS
1.3-m telescope (and eight others) and the gravitational microlensing technique to discover a 2-Earth-mass
planet orbiting at about 1 AU from one member of a binary star system. Each star has slightly more than
1/10 the mass of the Sun, and so shines 400 times less brightly than the Sun. Hence, the planet has a
temperature of 60 K, somewhat colder than Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. The stars are separated by 10–15
AU. The planet was discovered by combining around-the-clock photometric data from a total of nine
telescopes in four countries, including ANDICAM on the CTIO SMARTS 1.3-m telescope. The planet was
first noticed when it caused a short “dip” (B, in Figure 5) in the rising light curve taken with the OGLE
telescope (black points in lower right panel of Figure 5).
The rising light curve is due to a background star in the galactic bulge (at 8 kpc) that is progressively
magnified by the planet’s host (much closer at 1 kpc) as the two become more closely aligned on the sky.
When the planet becomes closely aligned with one of the two magnified images, its gravity disrupts the
image, creating a momentary dip. As the host becomes yet more closely aligned (and so more magnified),
the influence of its stellar companion causes a sudden eruption in the light curve (C, Figure 5), which
evolves into a double-horned profile (C–F, Figure 5) characteristic of binary-lens microlensing events.
Three hundred days earlier, by chance, the source happened to pass near enough to the stellar companion to
induce a low-amplitude “bump,” which is only visible in binned data (A, in lower-left panel of Figure 5).
Finally, although not obvious from the plot, the double-horned profile contains a subtle distortion due to the
15
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
planet. Even if the data near the “dip” are
removed, the fit to the light curve requires a planet
at just the mass and position that are indicated by
the “dip.” Hence, both the planet and the binary
companion are detected by two separate
signatures.
Although 5000+ planets (and strong planetary
candidates) have been discovered, there are only
three others orbiting one component of such a
relatively close system, and no other terrestrial
planets in 1-AU orbits. This discovery therefore
opens up a rich hunting ground for planets in such
binary systems, which are a large fraction of all
stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.
3.2
KITT PEAK NATIONAL
OBSERVATORY
Half of all Exoplanet Host Stars are Binaries
(excerpted from NOAO press release 14-06; see also
Horch et al. 2014, ApJ, 795, 60)
Figure 5: Light curves of planet discovered by Gould et al.
using gravitational microlensing and the CTIO SMARTS
The NASA Kepler Space Telescope has confirmed
1.3-m telescope. (Image courtesy of Andrew Gould and
about 1000 exoplanets, as well as thousands more
originally published in 2014, Science, 345, 46.)
stars considered “Kepler objects of interest,” dubbed
KOIs—stars that could possibly host planets. Until
now, there has been an unanswered question about exoplanet host stars; how many host stars are binaries?
Binary stars have long been known to be commonplace—about half the stars in the sky are believed to consist of
two stars orbiting each other. So, are stars with planets equally likely to have a companion star, or do companion
stars affect the formation of planets?
A team of astronomers, led by Dr. Elliott Horch, Southern Connecticut State University, has shown
that stars with exoplanets are just as likely to have a binary companion; that is, 40% to 50% of the host
stars are actually binary stars. As Dr. Horch said, “It’s interesting and exciting that exoplanet systems with
stellar companions turn out to be much more common than was believed even just a few years ago.” The
study by Horch and co-authors Steve Howell (NASA-ARC), Mark Everett (NOAO), and David Ciardi
(NEXSCI) makes use of very high spatial resolution observations that were carried out on the WIYN
telescope located on Kitt Peak in southern Arizona and the Gemini North telescope located on Mauna Kea
in Hawai’i. The technique used by the team is called speckle imaging and consists of obtaining digital
images of a small portion of the sky surrounding a star of interest, 15 to 25 times a second. The images are
then combined in software using a complex set of algorithms, yielding a final picture of the star with a
resolution better than that of the Hubble Space Telescope. By using this technique, the team can detect
companion stars that are up to 125 times fainter than the target, but only 0.05 arcseconds away. For the
majority of the Kepler stars, this means companion stars with a true separation of a few to about 100 times
the Sun-Earth distance. By noting the occurrence rate of these true binary companion stars, the discoveries
can be extended to show that half of the stars that host exoplanets are probably binaries.
Where the Brightest Cluster Galaxies Live (excerpted from a September 2014 NOAO Newsletter article by
Tod R. Lauer, et al.; see also Lauer et al. 2014, ApJ, in press, arXiv:1407.2260)
Tod R. Lauer (NOAO), Marc Postman (Space Telescope Science Institute), Michael A. Strauss, Genevieve J.
Graves, and Nora E. Chisari (Princeton University) used the KPNO 2.1-m, CTIO 4-m, and CTIO 1.5-m
16
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND FINDINGS
telescopes to obtain images and spectroscopy of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in 433 Abell clusters with
redshifts ≤ 0.08 as part of the Warpfire project. The volume-limited BCG sample covers nearly the full sky,
excluding only a ±15° zone-of-avoidance about the plane of the Milky Way, and is designed to provide a
reference frame for measuring the relative space velocity of the Local Group. The sample also provides a rich
data set to characterize the properties of BCGs, the relationship of those properties to those of their hosting
galaxy clusters, and where the BCGs live in the clusters and how that influences their formation and evolution.
These problems have been investigated before, but for the first time, the survey provides parametric expressions
for the distribution of the velocities and projected spatial locations of the BCGs within their clusters. The results
support a picture in which the galaxies that ultimately become BCGs were formed in smaller galaxy groups that
merged with a central rich cluster.
Arlo Landolt: 55 Years of Observing on Kitt Peak (excerpted from NOAO press release 14-05)
Dr. Arlo Landolt, Ball Family Professor Emeritus of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University, was
recently celebrated for his 55 years of observing at KPNO, almost all of which were devoted to service to the
astronomical community. In the summer of 1959, Dr. Landolt was the first guest observer at KPNO when the
only telescope on the mountain was the 16-in site survey telescope. Dr. Landolt is known best for his
photometric standard star lists. “Landolt standards” is a term familiar to the entire astronomical community.
Landolt standards have been extended to fainter stars, to stars located at both 50 degrees north and south
declination, as well as those located around the celestial equator. His most quoted paper, published in 1992, has
been cited in the professional astronomical literature over 3800 times—an average of 172 times per year. In
1995, he received the George van Biesbroeck award, which honors a living individual for long-term
extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy, often beyond the requirements of his or her paid position. The
entire Kitt Peak mountain staff, some retired mountain staff, several NOAO scientists and visiting observers all
gathered in the KPNO dining hall to honor Landolt, and presented him with a plaque which reads: “Presented to
Arlo Landolt by the staff of Kitt Peak National Observatory, in appreciation of his many years of service to the
astronomical community, June 2014.”
3.3
GEMINI OBSERVATORY
Gemini NIFS Used in Study of Triplet of Super Star Clusters in Starburst Core of M82
Westmoquette et al. (ApJ, 789, 94, 2014) report an exciting result for M82. M82 is an archetypal nearby
starburst galaxy with the starburst activity centered in the nucleus. This starburst activity is known from
high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging to consist of a number of high surface brightness
clumps, containing many young massive star clusters. Using US Gemini telescope time to obtain nearinfrared integral field spectroscopy with the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) and HST
time to obtain optical spectroscopy with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), the authors
were able to derive ages, masses, extinctions, and radial velocities for three individual star clusters. These
clusters are not located in either the cold molecular torus or in the circumnuclear ring of young star forming
knots, but between the two, in the outer orbits of the well-known stellar nuclear bar. The NIFS integralfield spectroscopy measured the depths of the CO features that form in red supergiant populations more
accurately than was previously possible in these super star clusters, allowing much better age
determinations. The very young ages of these super star clusters derived from this study mean that the
clusters must have formed in situ, in regions of dense molecular gas that were previously available but now
have been ionized, rather than forming in a nuclear ring and moving outward.
Distance and Luminosity of V4334 Sgr Measured for First Time
Sakurai’s object (V4334 Sgr), the final flash object discovered in the mid 1990s, underwent rapid cooling
during the first decade of the 21st century becoming as faint as K ~ 25. Using the Near-Infrared Imager
(NIRI) with Altair on Gemini North, Hinkle and Joyce (2014, ApJ, 785, 146) imaged the V4334 Sgr debris
cloud at 2.3 microns. The adaptive optics images show that V4334 Sgr has started brightening and now
17
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
consists of a central source with two extended globules. Near-simultaneous long-slit 0.85- to 2.5-micron
spectra obtained with the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) reveal nebular lines including He I
at 1.083 microns. The cloud imaged in He I is five times more extended than the dust debris showing that
the nebula is being shaped by wind interaction. By combining the wind expansion velocity and change of
angular size, the distance and luminosity of V4334 Sgr were measured for the first time.
Gemini Aids in Discovery of New Gravitational Wave Verification Supply
Kilic et al. (2014, MNRAS, 444, L1) report on the discovery of a new double white dwarf system. With a
period of just 20 minutes and a separation only 20% of a solar radius, the white dwarfs will merge in ~9
million years. The system should be a strong source of gravitational radiation that can act as a verification
source for the evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA). For decades, this was thought to be a
single white dwarf with an M star companion. High cadence spectroscopy with the Gemini Multi Object
Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini North and the Blue Channel spectrograph at the MMT revealed that the
M companion showed no orbital motion, while the white dwarf had radial velocity variations as large as
400 km/s. This implies an as-yet unseen white dwarf companion, and the orbital parameters indicate the
rapid decay and merger of the system. Only a large aperture telescope such as Gemini could provide
spectra quickly enough to give a well-sampled radial velocity curve over a 20-minute orbit.
Gemini’s NIFS and Adaptive Optics Aid in Revealing Presence of Supermassive Black Hole in UltraCompact Dwarf Galaxy
Dynamical measurements of ultra-compact dwarf (UCD) galaxies have shown that many are much more
massive than their luminosity would suggest. There has been a long-standing question as to whether these
measurements are the result of a supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center or because the average
stellar mass is larger than expected, as well as how such dwarf galaxies form. Aided with adaptive optics,
Gemini observations of M60-UCD1, an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy in the halo of M60, suggest that a
supermassive black hole is the culprit thus shedding light on the possible formation scenario. Anil Seth
(University of Utah) and collaborators have published kinematic data of M60-UCD1 taken with Gemini’s
Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) and the Altair adaptive optics system (2014, Nature, 513,
398). Models of the kinematic data show that M60-UCD1 has a central black hole mass of 2.1 × 107, about
15 percent of the galaxy’s total mass, which makes it one of the most black hole-dominated galaxies
known. Such a massive black hole in such a small galaxy suggests that this UCD was once much larger and
more massive, but has been stripped by encounters with its very massive neighbor, M60.
3.4
COMMUNITY ACCESS FACILITIES
MMT and Gemini Provide Data for Study on Metallicity Gradients based on H II Regions in NGC
628, NGC 2043, and M81
The research field of galactic metallicity gradients is expanding greatly due to capabilities such as the
MMT Hectospec and GMOS on Gemini. Abundances derived from emission-line targets in nearby, face-on
spiral galaxies do constrain metallicity gradients in young and old stellar populations by targeting H II
regions and planetary nebulae. In turn, these constraints have an impact on the suite of evolutionary models
that can be compared to a given galaxy, for a much deeper knowledge of galactic formation and chemical
evolution. Danielle Berg et al. (October 2013, ApJ, 775, 128) published a study on metallicity gradients
based on H II regions in NGC 628 and NGC 2403, based on MMT and Gemini data. Multi-object
spectroscopy with a large telescope allows the abundances of emission-line objects to be calculated with
the so-called “weak-line” method, which means that the true electron densities and temperatures of the H II
regions can be directly measured from auroral line ratios. Such a method is precise because it avoids heavy
assumptions on the nebular plasma physics. The authors found that the NGC 628 radial oxygen gradient is
shallower than previously determined by means of the less reliable “strong-line” abundances. This
18
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES AND FINDINGS
important result raises a red flag on the validity of the gradients in nearby spiral galaxies known to date,
which are based on 4-m-class spectroscopy and do not employ weak-line diagnostics.
A large sample of H II regions in the spiral galaxy M81 has been analyzed to derive the radial oxygen
gradients of the present-day gas phase. The spectra, acquired in classical mode with GMOS at Gemini
North on Mauna Kea, are to be compared with the planetary nebula spectra acquired with MMT/Hectospec
earlier. Direct oxygen abundances have been obtained (Stanghellini et al. 2014, A&A, 567, 88). They
derive a radial metallicity gradient slope that is steeper (~–0.08 dex kpc–1) than those of other nearby spiral
galaxies. The authors infer that there has been gradient evolution in M81, which dates back to about half
the Universe age and that produces a mild steepening of the gradient with time, by comparing this result to
the shallow (–0.0408 dex kpc–1) gradient derived from old stellar populations of M81. Such results are
essential to constrain the models of chemical evolution of spiral galaxies.
19
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
4
4.1
4.1.1
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
NOAO SOUTH
CTIO
FY14 Program Review
The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) operates the Blanco 4-m telescope on Cerro Tololo
and the SOAR 4.1-m telescope, in which NOAO is a 30-percent partner, on Cerro Pachón. NOAO is also a
20-percent partner in the Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System (SMARTS)
Consortium, which operates the 0.9-m, 1.3-m, and 1.5-m telescopes on Cerro Tololo. In addition CTIO
serves as host for more than 25 tenant telescopes and several additional projects studying a wide range of
phenomena.
The efficient and reliable science operation of these facilities, especially the two 4-m-class telescopes,
is the primary focus of effort for all NOAO South staff: the mountain-based CTIO Telescope Operations
group is responsible for night-to-night operations, first tier trouble-shooting of problems, and regular
preventative maintenance; the CTIO scientific staff provide science support to users before, during, and
after their observing runs, and provide scientific motivation and leadership for telescope and instrument
improvement projects; Engineering & Technical Services (NS ETS) adds engineering and technical depth
for problem resolution and maintenance efforts and develops and carries out projects to improve
performance and increase reliability; the Computer Infrastructure Support group (NS CIS) supports the
control and data-taking computers and equipment at the various telescopes as well as the broadband
international link used to transport the data from the mountaintop to the Internet and to data archives in the
US; the Facilities and Operations group (NS FO) provides accommodations, meals, and transport services
for staff and visitors and maintains the basic infrastructure and utility services for CTIO and all other
programs hosted by the AURA site in Chile. Technical expertise also is provided at cost to the Gemini
Observatory, and there are a variety of collaborative efforts in a wide range of areas that include scientific,
technical, administrative, and outreach activities.
A major science operations activity in FY14 was support of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), which is
using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco telescope to carry out a grizY survey of a 5000square-degree region centered on the south galactic cap plus a time domain search for supernovae, with 105
nights scheduled each year for five years.
During FY14, several projects designed to improve the delivered image quality (DIQ) of the Blanco
telescope were carried out, and efforts to restore to operation the ƒ/8 focus of that telescope were
completed. New capabilities for optical spectroscopy were brought to the Blanco telescope with the
delivery and commissioning of the CTIO Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS) and to the
SOAR telescope with the implementation of the multi-slit spectroscopy mode of the Goodman
spectrograph. The SOAR Adaptive module (SAM) also went into regular science use following the
completion of science verification and the execution of the first regularly scheduled science runs in the first
half of the year.
Blanco 4-m Telescope
During FY14, the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) was the only instrument scheduled for science use on the
Blanco 4.0-m telescope, apart from two nights scheduled with the Infrared Side Port Imager (ISPI).
Observations for the first season of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) started on 31 August 2013 and ended on
9 February 2014, with the equivalent of 105 nights (91 full nights plus 28 half nights) dedicated to the
survey. During this time 14,340 survey-quality grizY-band images were obtained, covering ~44% of the
20
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
5000-square-degree survey footprint, at up to 40% of the full-depth exposure time planned for the survey.
The second DES season began on 15 August 2014, and more than 3000 additional survey-quality images
were obtained during the 26.5 nights scheduled in August and September. The second season will continue
through February 2015. DECam was scheduled for an additional 136 nights to obtain data for 35
community science programs spanning a broad range of science topics.
Science observations with DECam are now a regular, routine affair with a well-developed structure in
place to provide technical and scientific support. The infrastructure to handle the large volume of date
generated by DECam and transmit it to the archives in the US also is operating smoothly, raw images
typically becoming available in the NOAO Science Archive a few minutes after an exposure ends, and data
processed through the community pipeline a few days later. The NOAO South staff work closely with the
instrument builders to resolve technical issues and to plan and carry out routine and not so routine
maintenance tasks and are becoming increasingly self-reliant. Efforts have been made to ensure robust,
reliable operation through the adoption of regular preventive maintenance procedures, monitoring of the
extensive telemetry data for early warnings of developing problems, and the provision of redundant
systems and spares wherever possible. As a result, unscheduled technical down time of the instrument and
telescope was only 3.7%, during FY14, good considering that DECam is a new instrument and that the
Blanco telescope had to be extensively modified to accommodate it.
Several measures were taken during FY14 to improve the Delivered Image Quality (DIQ) of the
Blanco telescope by better controlling its thermal environment: the cooling systems for the observing floor
and for the hydrostatic bearing oil were brought back into operation; a more effective control algorithm for
the daytime cooling of the primary mirror was implemented, in order to better match its temperature to that
of the nighttime air and thus reduce mirror seeing; Air Handling Units were installed for daytime cooling of
the air in the dome; and the prime focus cage was enclosed and its contents are being actively cooled.
Improvements were also made to the Blanco telescope’s active optics system: new high-precision pressure
controllers for the pneumatic actuators that support the primary mirror were designed, fabricated, and
brought into operation, permitting much finer control of its figure; and active control of the secondary
mirror to correct coma for the ƒ/8 configuration was implemented. In combination, these steps have
resulted in measureable improvements in the DIQ of images obtained for DES. The median r and i band
DIQ of the images obtained during the first DES season was 0.94 arcsec.
FY14 also saw the completion of work to recommission the ƒ/8 focus of the Blanco telescope and the
delivery and commissioning of the CTIO Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS). This new ƒ/8
instrument was delivered to Chile in March and installed on the telescope for the first time in April, when it
was thoroughly tested in both the imaging and single-slit spectroscopy modes. The multi-slit spectroscopy
mode was commissioned during a second run in July 2014. The measured peak throughput of COSMOS on
Blanco in spectroscopic mode is greater than 40%, comparable to that achieved by KOSMOS on Mayall,
and the Goodman Spectrograph on SOAR, and more than three times greater than achieved with the R-C
Spectrograph, which COSMOS replaces. Preparations for science use with COSMOS included an upgrade
to the instrument rotator to improve the accuracy of position in order to support multi-slit mode and
improvements to the comparison lamp and flat field illumination systems. COSMOS was offered for
unrestricted use, in all modes, in the 2015A proposal cycle.
Blanco Instrumentation

Dark Energy Camera: DECam is CTIO’s new wide-field optical imager, with a focal plane of
570 megapixels covering a field of view (FOV) of two degrees in diameter, the largest FOV
currently available in the Southern Hemisphere. DECam was the only instrument scheduled for
science during FY14 apart from two nights scheduled with ISPI. It was used successfully to carry
out the first season of observations for the Dark Energy Survey, begin the second season, and
execute a diverse set of community science programs.
21
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014

COSMOS: The CTIO Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS) is a new high efficiency
optical spectrograph for the Blanco telescope, a twin to KOSMOS at the Mayall telescope.
COSMOS can be used with a single 10.0-arcminute long slit or with a multi-slit mask (slit
placement field of 10.0 × 5.0 arcminutes) to obtain spectra with R ~ 2200. It can also be used in
imaging mode covering a 10-arcminute-diameter FOV. All three of these modes were fully
commissioned during FY14, and COSMOS was offered to the community for unrestricted use in
the 2015A call for proposals.

ISPI: The Infrared Side Port Imager (ISPI) is a wide-field infrared (IR) imager (10.25 × 10.25
arcminutes square), covering the range of 1.0 to 2.4 microns. ISPI was the imager used during the
commissioning of the repaired Blanco ƒ/8 secondary mirror in October 2014 and is once more in
regular science use, filling an important role in Blanco’s instrument complement.
Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR)
NOAO continued to operate the SOAR telescope on behalf of the SOAR partners during FY14. Various
projects to enhance the performance of the SOAR telescope and its instruments were carried out during
FY14. The hexapod that supports and positions the secondary mirror was replaced with a new unit during
the first quarter, replacing an older, obsolete model that failed during the previous year, but had been
restored to operation on a temporary basis by means of an emergency repair. Science verification of the
SOAR Adaptive Module (SAM) was completed, and the first regularly scheduled science programs were
carried out during the second quarter. Subsequently, SAM was offered for unrestricted use by all the SOAR
partners in the 2014B call for proposals. Commissioning of both the Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector
(ADC) and the multi-slit mode of the Goodman Spectrograph was completed in collaboration with the
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. NOAO South ETS staff also began work on a major upgrade of
the software for the SOAR Telescope Control System (TCS), bringing it up to the same level as the
recently upgraded TCS of the Blanco 4-m telescope in order to improve reliability and simplify
maintenance.
SOAR Telescope Instrumentation

SOI: The SOAR Optical Imager, built at CTIO, has been used regularly on SOAR since the
telescope commissioning, providing high-resolution (up to 0.077 arcsec/pixel) imaging over a 5.25
× 5.25-arcmin FOV. While the imaging mode of the Goodman Spectrograph has taken on some of
the imaging load, SOI continued to be in demand for its high image quality and stability.

SAM: The SOAR Adaptive-optics Module (SAM) is a ground-layer adaptive optics (AO) system
that uses an ultra-violet (UV) laser as a Rayleigh beacon to improve image quality in the optical,
achieving uniform correction over a 3-arcmin-diameter field. With the AO loop closed, resolution
of 0.5 arcsec in the V band and 0.4 arcsec in I band can be achieved under typical conditions. The
instrument incorporates a dedicated CCD imager, SAMI (SAM Imager), fitted with a 4K × 4K e2v
CCD covering a 3.0 × 3.0-arcmin FOV at a scale of 0.045 arcsec/pixel; SAM also can feed a small
visitor instrument.

Goodman Spectrograph: The Goodman Spectrograph is a high efficiency optical spectrograph
equipped with a Fairchild 4K × 4K CCD that provides very high throughput in the UV/Blue. The
Goodman Spectrograph has been operational since FY06 in two of its planned three modes: optical
imaging over a 7.2-arcmin-diameter FOV and single-slit spectroscopy with resolutions of 1400 to
9600. Work to implement and commission the third mode, multi-slit spectroscopy, was completed
in FY14, and this mode was offered for unrestricted use in the 2014B call for proposals.
22
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS

OSIRIS: The Ohio State Infrared Imager and Spectrometer, which is fitted with a CTIO-owned
1K  1K Rockwell HgCdTe array, was moved to SOAR after several years of use on the Blanco
telescope and was successfully commissioned in FY05. Although the instrument is getting rather
old, it continues to reliably provide both an imaging (over an FOV of up to 3.2 × 3.2 arcmin) and a
modest-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopy capability (up to R = 3000) for the NOAO and SOAR
communities.

Spartan Infrared Imager: Spartan is a near-infrared imager in use since FY10. Spartan offers
two different scales: an ƒ/21 channel with an FOV of 3.0  3.0 arcmin and a scale of 0.043
arcsec/pixel chosen to resolve the diffraction-limited core of Tip-Tilt-corrected images in the H
and K bands, and an ƒ/12 channel with an FOV of 5.0  5.0 arcmin at 0.073 arcsec/pixel.

Other SOAR Instruments: The Brazilian-built SOAR Integral Field Unit Spectrograph (SIFS)
was delivered to SOAR in December 2009, but problems developed with the fiber bundle, and the
bundle was returned to Brazil for repair. After the fiber bundle was repaired, one of the lens groups
became debonded and was sent for repair. Commissioning of SIFS is scheduled to resume in 2015.
During FY14, Brazil also continued commissioning the Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager (BTFI),
although currently this is not considered to be a facility instrument for SOAR. The high-resolution
SOAR Telescope Echelle Spectrograph (STELES) is expected to arrive from Brazil during 2015.
CTIO Small Telescopes and SMARTS
The Small and Moderate Aperture Telescope Research System (SMARTS) Consortium continued to
operate three small telescopes at CTIO: the 0.9-m, the 1.3-m, and the 1.5-m telescopes. We are in the
second year of a three-year agreement, SMARTS 3, which started on 1 August 2013.
NOAO South provides operational and technical support to SMARTS on a cost recovery basis. During
FY14, this included help with troubleshooting and problem resolution, regular washing of the mirrors of the
three SMARTS telescopes, and repair of the CCD cameras for the CHIRON spectrograph at the 1.5-m
telescope and the CCD imager of the 0.9-m telescope.
SMARTS Telescopes Instrumentation

CTIO 1.5-m: The CTIO 1.5-m telescope has been designated as the SMARTS spectroscopic
facility. There are two spectrographs available at any time, and it is possible to switch between
them in less than 30 minutes. One of the spectrographs, the CTIO high-resolution spectrometer
CHIRON, is a fiber-fed Echelle spectrograph providing high-resolution spectroscopy for bright
targets. The other mounted at the Cassegrain focus is an infrared spectrograph, SIMON
(Spectromètre Infrarouge de Montreal). The telescope and instruments are run in service mode
only.

CTIO 1.3-m: The “A Novel Double-Imaging Camera” (ANDICAM) instrument on the CTIO 1.3m provides simultaneous optical and near-IR imaging in full service, limited queue mode. The
optical imager uses a 2K  2K CCD, while the IR capability is based upon a 1K  1K detector. The
maximum time per night per project is set at three hours in order to support the wide range of
astronomical monitoring projects that can utilize this productive combination of telescope,
instrument, and observing mode.

CTIO 0.9-m: The CTIO 0.9-m telescope continued to support a fixed 2K  2K optical imager,
with observations in classical mode only. This facility is the cornerstone of a major astrometric
project, led by Todd Henry of Georgia State University, which relies upon the long-term stability
of the instrument and telescope.
23
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014

The YALO (Yale, AURA, Lisbon, Ohio State) 1.0-m telescope: This telescope remained closed
during FY14 except for three short runs during which it was operated instead of the 0.9-m in order
to support a science program from SMARTS partner Sejong University, South Korea. If sufficient
new funding cab be found, this telescope might be put into regular operation again.
Tenant Observatories and Projects
AURA and CTIO offer a platform that provides US scientists and institutions access to the skies of the
Southern Hemisphere. CTIO hosts more than 25 tenant telescopes, many of them entirely operated
remotely, and several additional projects studying a wide range of phenomena, including:

The 0.6/0.9-m Curtis Schmidt telescope is owned by the University of Michigan and is operated
on a part-time basis in a NASA-funded project to catalog space debris in geosynchronous orbits.

The Lowell 0.6-m telescope is run by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy
(SARA) as a fully robotic facility.

GONG: CTIO has hosted one of the National Solar Observatory’s six Global Oscillation Network
Group (GONG) helio-seismology stations, which has been in operation since 1995.

PROMPT: The University of North Carolina Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and
Polarimetry Telescopes (PROMPT) consists of a cluster of eight small telescopes that rapidly
follow up Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) discovered by the SWIFT satellite and subsequently trigger a
target-of-opportunity interrupt at SOAR. At other times, the telescopes make observations as part
of an extensive education and outreach program in North Carolina. Full science operations for the
first four telescopes began in FY06, four additional telescopes have been added since. Construction
of the most recent of these, PROMPT8, was completed with funding from Thailand at the
beginning of FY14, and the telescope is now in operation.

WHAM: The Wisconsin H-alpha Mapper (WHAM) is carrying out an all-sky survey of galactic
H-alpha emission using a Fabry Perot interferometer. The experiment was relocated to Cerro
Tololo in 2010 following the completion of the northern part of the survey from Kitt Peak.

LCOGTN: the CTIO node of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
(LCOGTN) includes three 1.0-m telescopes that came on line in FY13 and will be used for a
variety of scientific research projects and two 0.4-m telescopes that were added during FY14 to
serve in an education and outreach role.

MEarth, operated by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, consists of eight 0.4-m
telescopes in a run-off shed. The telescopes are being used to survey nearby M dwarfs in search of
new Earth-like exoplanets.

The KMTNet 1.6-m telescope is one of three telescopes comprising the Korea Microlensing
Telescope Network (KMTNet) being built by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.
The telescopes will be used for microlensing observations. Construction of the facility building
was completed in FY13. During FY14, the telescope was installed and commissioned, and the
installation and testing of the instrument, a CCD camera built at The Ohio State University, was
begun.

The T80-South 0.8-m telescope is being built with Brazilian funding and will form part of the
Javalambre Physics of the Accelerating Universe (J-PAS) project, which will carry out an 8000square-degree survey through 56 narrowband optical filters. The T80-S telescope and its northern
twin will be used for photometric calibration of the main survey. During FY14, construction of the
facility building was completed. Installation of the telescope and instrument and commissioning
are scheduled for FY15.
24
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS

Several non-astronomical experiments also are hosted including the Andes Lidar Observatory
(ALO), which is an ionospheric physics experiment operated by the University of Illinois, and a
seismic station that is operated by the University of Chile.
La Serena School for Data Science
The La Serena School for Data Science (LSSDS) is an intensive week of interdisciplinary lectures focused
on applied tools for handling big astronomical data. Participants are instructed in how astronomical data are
processed, accessed, and analyzed, including reduction pipelines, databases, and scientific programming.
Funding for the school is provided through a supplement to this award (AST-0950945) with roughly
matching Chilean contributions from CONICYT (the Chilean equivalent of NSF), the Millennium Institute
of Astrophysics, and the Center for Mathematical Modeling at the University of Chile.
The second annual school was held 15–22 August 2014. Over 100 applications were received for the
30–40 available slots with roughly half coming from the US and half from Chile and a few applications
from Europe and South America. Thirty-nine students were selected from these applications: 18 from the
US, 18 from Chile, and 3 international students. The curriculum this year included 13 lectures and 9 handson lecture activities that covered topics ranging from introductions to astronomical data and statistics to
how to use high-performance computing clusters. After a tour of the AURA facilities (including the Blanco
4-m and the Gemini South 8-m telescopes), the students were divided into groups of four to work on
projects in which they used the tools they had learned about in the lectures. Each group presented their
results at a final meeting held in Santiago at the Center for Mathematical Modeling.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Complete the commissioning of the ƒ/8 secondary mirror of the Blanco 4-m telescope using the
Infrared Side Port Imager (ISPI) and Hydra ƒ/8 instruments.
Status: Completed. A second commissioning run for the ƒ/8 secondary took place in October 2013,
followed by a first scheduled science run with ISPI. The image quality over the full field of view and
the repeatability of the f/8 alignment were tested during a final engineering run in April, after which
the ƒ/8 focus was declared ready for science the commissioning of COSMOS.

Support the first season of observations for the Dark Energy Survey (DES).
Status: Completed. The first season of DES observations started on 31 August 2013 and ended on 9
February 2014. The equivalent of 105 nights (91 full nights plus 28 half nights) on the Blanco
telescope were dedicated to the survey, during which 14,340 survey-quality images were obtained. Of
this time, 84.6% was used for DES observations, 10.2% was lost due to weather, and the remaining
5.2% was unscheduled technical down time that was shared approximately equally between DECam
and the telescope. As a result, completeness with survey-quality data was obtained for 44% of the
fields targeted for the first two years of the survey (82% of the goal for season one, plus 16% of that
for season two).

Commission the CTIO Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS) on the Blanco 4-m
telescope.
Status: Completed. COSMOS was delivered to Chile in March 2014, was unpacked and reassembled,
and post-shipment laboratory tests were carried out to verify that the image quality and other
instrument performance metrics reproduced those measured in Tucson prior to shipping. It was
installed on the telescope for the first time in April, and both the imaging and single-slit spectroscopy
modes of the instrument were tested thoroughly. The multi-slit spectroscopy mode was commissioned
during a second run in July 2014. COSMOS was offered for unrestricted use, in all modes, in the
2015A proposal cycle.
25
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014

Complete science verification of the SOAR Adaptive-optics Module (SAM) on the SOAR
Telescope, and start regular science operations with SAM.
Status: Completed. During successful science runs in January and March 2014, data was obtained for
the remaining science verification projects and for two science programs: one each from the NOAO
and Brazilian communities selected through the regular semester 2014A telescope time allocation
process. All the partners of the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) consortium offered SAM for
unrestricted use in the 2014B proposal cycle.

Commission the SOAR Telescope Echelle Spectrograph (STELES) and SOAR Integral Field
Spectrograph (SIFS) on the SOAR Telescope, if they are delivered by the SOAR partners during
FY14.
Status: No progress during this reporting period. Progress is pending delivery of STELES by the
SOAR partners and the completion of the repair by the manufacturer of the SIFS spectrograph camera.
4.1.2
NOAO South Engineering & Technical Services
FY14 Program Review
During the reporting period the NOAO South Engineering and Technical Services (NS ETS) group
provided engineering and technical support for science operations of the CTIO telescopes, helping with
problem diagnosis and resolution, and in regular maintenance of the optical, mechanical, electronic and
software systems of the telescopes and instruments. They also participated in projects to upgrade the
performance of the telescopes and to install and test new instrumentation.
In FY14 the Active Optics system of the Blanco telescope was upgraded: new high precision pressure
controllers for the 33 pneumatic actuators (air bags) that support the primary mirror were designed
fabricated, and brought into operation permitting much finer control of the mirror figure, and active control
of the secondary mirror to correct coma for the ƒ/8 configuration was implemented. Improvements to the
control of the primary mirror cooling system, and the reimplementation of cooling for the observing floor
and the hydrostatic bearing oil were completed in the first quarter leading to a measurable improvement in
DIQ. The installation of Air Handling Units for daytime cooling of the dome air, and work to enclose and
cool the prime focus cage were completed during the fourth quarter just in time for the start of the second
DES season.
The electronics and software, which control the f/8 guider Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC),
IMAN image analyzer, and comparison lamps, were upgraded during the second quarter, while the drive
mechanism and encoders for the Blanco instrument rotator were replaced to allow the finer adjustment of
the rotator angle required to support multi-slit spectroscopy. This completed the essential work need to
support commissioning and use of COSMOS, however, further work to addresses issues of obsolescence
and long-term maintenance, will continue into FY15.
In addition, NS ETS engineers worked together with the SOAR Telescope Operations team to install
and commission the SOAR ADC and a new hexapod for the SOAR secondary mirror. Members of the ETS
electronics group worked on the laboratory characterization of the IR detectors for TrippleSpec4, and
testing of the thick fully depleted “red” CCDs for the K/COSMOS spectrographs. They also carried out
emergency repairs to the CCD controllers for the Goodman Spectrograph at SOAR and for the imager on
the SMARTS 0.9m.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Upgrade the control of the Active Optics of the Blanco primary mirror, upgrade the Blanco
Environmental Control Systems (ECS), and implement methods to analyze the telescope
performance telemetry to improve and stabilize the image quality of the Blanco 4-m telescope.
26
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
Status: (a) Active Optics: New, highprecision pressure controllers for the 33
pneumatic actuators (air bags) that support
the primary mirror were designed and
fabricated (see Figure 6); these were
installed in the telescope and tested during
the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY14. The
resolution and noise performance achieved
with these new units was ten times better that
previou and allows much finer control of the
mirror figure. Currently, the pressure
demands are derived from a look-up table, as
they were with the old system. During the
first quarter (Q1) of FY15, on-sky
measurements will be taken to refine the
look-up table, and the alternative of closed- Figure 6: Five of the new pressure controllers for the
loop control using wave-front measurements primary mirror active support system ready for installation.
from DECam will be implemented and tested.
The active control of the secondary mirror to
correct coma for the ƒ/8 configuration was implemented successfully and tested during this reporting
period.
(b) Environmental Control System (ECS): Several measures were taken during FY14 to better control
the thermal environment of the telescope. In Q1, the cooling systems for the observing floor and for the
hydrostatic bearing oil were brought back into operation, and a more effective control algorithm for
the daytime cooling of the primary mirror was implemented that achieves a better match between its
temperature and that of the nighttime air, thus reducing mirror seeing. The combination of these steps
resulted in a measurable improvement in the DIQ of images obtained by DES starting in November
2013 (the median r- and i-band DIQ of the Blanco telescope is now 0.94 arcsec). Subsequently, air
handling units for daytime cooling of the dome air were installed, plumbed into the cooled glycol
system, and connected to electric power; and the prime focus cage was enclosed so that it can be
actively cooled. Both these systems were brought into service during Q4 in time for the start of the
second DES season. The collection of performance data and tuning of the operating parameters of
these new systems will continue during Q1 of FY15.

Begin upgrading the SOAR Telescope Control System (TCS) to the same standard as the recently
upgraded TCS of the Blanco 4-m telescope. This project will continue into FY15.
Status: The upgrade of the software associated with the Active Optics system was completed during Q1
of FY14 as part of the effort to install the new Hexapod. Work on the main telescope control
application, operators interface, and pointing kernel was begun in the third quarter (Q3) of FY14 and
will continue into FY15. The software for peripheral systems such as the Instrument Support Boxes and
for the various instruments will begin in FY15.
4.1.3
NOAO South Facilities Operations
FY14 Program Review
During FY14, NOAO South Facilities and Operations (NS FO) progressed with work on facility
infrastructure projects, supported new tenant projects, and made progress on administrative issues. A
dedicated water truck was purchased at the beginning of the year for the transport of water from the water
reservoir on Cerro Tololo to Cerro Pachón. The transformer and generator serving the Cerro Pachón
27
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
hotel/Andes LIDAR Observatory area were relocated to improve the quality of the power serving those
facilities. The MEarth facility on Cerro Tololo was completed and put into operation, the KASI team and
their contractor installed their KMTNet telescope, and construction for the new Brazilian T80-South
telescope project was completed with installation of the telescope scheduled for Q1 of 2015. The water
pump for the water system in La Serena was replaced.
Administratively, the remaining sections of the Service Level Agreement, with the exception of the
Emergency Medical Services section, were drafted, reviewed, and translated into Spanish. The cost
structure for fees was revised, reviewed, and put in place. A new model to share the costs for the common
infrastructure was proposed, and a model, albeit a different one, was found to be agreeable to the two large
tenants, Gemini South and LSST. This model will be presented to the full set of tenants in an upcoming
“AURA Observatory (AURA-O) Tenant meeting.” A management transition plan for NS FO was
developed and implemented, as the facilities manager transferred to a full-time position at LSST, and a
search for a new NS FO manager was carried out.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Complete and implement new Service Level Agreements between NOAO and tenants.
Status: The Service Level Agreement document (SLA) is complete with the exception of the Emergency
Medical Services section, a service that is being reviewed. The completed sections of the SLA were
reviewed thoroughly by the stakeholders, edited, and translated into Spanish, and feedback from the
department was incorporated. During Q2 of FY15, this version will be submitted to the the NOAO
South Facilities Operations Working Group for final review and signature. This group consists of
representatives of AURA Corporate, AURA CAS (Central Administrative Services), and the major
stakeholders (Gemini South, LSST, CTIO, and SOAR). The SLA will be presented to all AURA-O
tenants at the next AURA-O Tenants meeting.

Review and revise, as required, the fee structure for services to tenant programs hosted at NOAO
South.
Status: The revised fee structure for 2014, based on a sustainable cost mode, was reviewed in Q1 and
subsequently put into use. A revision of the basis for the mountain share fees was proposed, to
distribute the costs of shared infrastructure and to account for the start of LSST construction. The
revised distribution will be presented to all tenants at the next AURA-O Tenants meeting and will be
implemented in FY15.

Define a long-term solution for the upper (north) entry to the La Serena recinto. Currently, there
are two options for the north entry, neither being a long-term solution. The first option, which has
been available for many years, uses an entrance from the Universidad de La Serena that the
university is planning to close. The other option is an entry located at a curve in the main road.
Take steps to formalize the long-term plan with the neighboring university and the Municipality.
Status: NS FO maintains regular contact with the University to maintain awareness of their plans as
they relate to the AURA recinto entrances and continues to communicate to AURA the need for
attention to this issue at the organizational/legal level. A long-term solution is not defined yet, partially
because of changing input from the University.

Complete the project to upgrade the power feed to the Hotel/Andes LIDAR Observatory area on
Cerro Pachón.
Status: Completed. Planning was finished during Q1 of FY14, and a decision was made to relocate the
transformer and generator set that serve the Hotel/Andes LIDAR Observatory area closer to the served
facilities, thereby avoiding an expensive upgrade of the main feeder cable. Site work to create the
28
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
required access road, platform, and utility trenches was carried out during Q1 and Q2, and the
equipment was relocated during Q3. This project is complete, and the new upgraded power service has
been put into use.

Support the completion of the design and the construction bidding for the LSST Project on Cerro
Pachón.
Status: The design was completed and bidding for construction of the LSST Project was initiated on 23
October 2013 with the bids due on 7 April 2014. Review of the received bids occurred during the
remainder of Q3 of FY14.

Complete the reroofing project for NOAO offices in the La Serena recinto and other headquarters
building renovations.
Status: The reroofing projects for the main scientific office building and the AURA-CAS/HR building
(Modulux) were completed. Other necessary roofing projects are planned for FY15.

Support the installation of new facilities for the MEarth and T-80 projects on Cerro Tololo.
Status: Construction of the MEarth facility was completed on December 2. This was followed by a
period of testing and commissioning. MEarth has been in use for regular science operations since
February 2014. Construction of the T80-South project, a Brazilian 80-cm telescope, started in January
2014 and was completed in August 2014. Installation of the telescope, commissioning, and start of
operations will take place in FY15. (See Figure 7.)
Figure 7: (Left) Installation of the dome onto the T80-South telescope building. (Right) The eight 0.4-m
telescopes of the MEarth array ready for science operation.
4.1.4
NOAO South Computer Infrastructure Services
FY14 Program Review
The NOAO South Computer Infrastructure Services (NS CIS) group provides information technology (IT)
support for NOAO personnel and facilities in Chile and supports the backbone communications and
network infrastructure for all AURA-O facilities in Chile. Support is included for servers and the desktop
computers for all NOAO South staff. For all facilities—including Gemini, SOAR, and the tenants—NS CIS
provides the network infrastructure support necessary to maintain reliable connectivity between the
mountaintops (Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón) and La Serena as well as between La Serena and the rest of
the world. The NS CIS group also provides IT support for Las Campanas Observatory and network support
for NRAO/ALMA connectivity from Santiago to the US mainland on a cost recovery basis.
29
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
A new member of NS CIS has been receiving training to take over the NOAO South networking
duties. Another staff member has been learning about the NOAO South Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) equipment, and the two members have worked together to provide for redundancy in handling each
other’s jobs. They are now to the point where they are able to handle most problems on a day-to-day basis.
A Cisco Wireless Lan Controller was purchased and is being integrated into the wireless network in La
Serena to provide increased security and a more user friendly interface for registering machines and
managing connections. A new VoIP router Call Manager was purchased for La Serena to support the latest
software, thus providing better security.
The bandwidth of the external network from La Serena to Santiago, Chile, was increased to 1 Gbps as
planned, while the link from Santiago to Miami, Florida, now has two redundant 10-Gb paths. It will be
possible to fully exploit this increased bandwidth once the new fiber cable runs from Summit to Base and
Base to Santiago are installed next year. These fiber cables have a planned capacity of up to 100 Gb in
anticipation of the needs of LSST; however, NOAO South will only use a small proportion of the available
bandwidth.
Network connectivity was provided for various new tenants on Cerro Tololo including MEarth, KASI,
and T80-South, and work is proceeding to separate the network for each of the existing small telescopes so
that each has its own subnet permitting easier management, traffic monitoring, and better security.
Arrangements were made through AURA-CAS that let Gemini transfer their unused hardware to
NOAO South with a minimum of bureaucracy. This will make it possible for NOAO to obtain several
Cisco10-Gbs blade network switches, declared surplus by Gemini, which would otherwise cost
approximately US$30K each.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Install a 10-Gbs Ethernet segment in La Serena for virtual machines backbone.
Status: The 10-Gbs switch and nearly all of the network interface cards (NICs) for the servers were
received. Some NICs were installed and some initial tests were done. The plan is to purchase the disk
farm that is necessary for this virtual cluster in FY15.,A fabricated machine is being used currently.
Completion of this milestone should occur during Q2 of FY15.

Complete the upgrade of the current 622 Mbps network backbone to the planned 1-Gbps
international segment of the AURA network backbone.
Status: Completed.

Move essential information technology (IT) services in La Serena to virtual server machines for
improved reliability.
Status: This is part of the 10-Gbs switch project and will follow the same path (see status of first
milestone in this section).

Upgrade the Cerro Tololo Private Internet eXchange (PIX) to an Adaptive Security Appliance
(ASA) firewall.
Status: Completed.

Continue working to isolate Cerro Tololo tenants from NOAO Internet traffic.
Status: Work continuues to segregate (isolate) tenants from the NOAO networks. The work is extensive
as the network grew piecemeal, and new infrastructure was simply connected to the nearest active
location. Completion of this task is anticipated by the end of FY15.
30
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
4.2
4.2.1
NOAO NORTH
KPNO
FY14 Program Review
Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) operates the Mayall 4-m telescope and, until it was closed in
August 2014, the 2.1-m telescope. Additionally, KPNO operates the WIYN 3.5-m telescope in partnership
with the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, and the University of Missouri. The Kitt Peak
telescopes of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(NRAO Very Long Baseline Array) receive direct operational support or maintenance services from KPNO
in addition to the shared mountain facilities provided for all of the tenant observatories on the mountain.
KPNO, along with NOAO North ETS and NOAO System Technology Center (NSTC), continued
efforts to measure and improve the performance of the Mayall, to define the required NOAO/DESI
interfaces, and to develop the KPNO team of scientists and technical staff that will ensure that the Mayall is
prepared to receive DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) and carry out successful survey efforts
with it. In FY14, these efforts consisted primarily of characterizing the environmental conditions (mainly
thermal stability) of the Coudé room, the future site of the DESI spectrometer bank. While the primary
mirror was out of the telescope for re-aluminizing during the 2014 summer shutdown,, laser tracker
metrology was performed on the primary mirror to establish the location of the optical axis with respect to
the geometric axis of the mirror. Five NOAO scientists and the NOAO safety manager participated in the
successful Critical Decision 1 (CD-1) review at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in
September.
Mayall 4-m Telescope
The Mayall continues to operate as a world-leading 4-m-class telescope, with high scientific productivity
on a par with 8-m-class telescopes. The new Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (KOSMOS)
was added to the Mayall as a facility instrument in FY14. The wide-field imagers Mosaic 1.1 and
NEWFIRM continued to be in high demand throughout the year. These three instruments will form the core
of the Mayall instrumentation over the next few years. In FY14, planning continued for the installation in
2018 of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which is funded by the Department of Energy.
Mayall Instrumentation

KOSMOS: This new spectrograph was fully commissioned during FY15. It is the twin of the
COSMOS spectrograph at the Blanco 4-m telescope. The measured throughput of KOSMOS is
roughly twice as good as that of its predecessor, the Ritchey-Chrétien (R-C) Spectrograph.
KOSMOS can be used with a single 10.0-arcminute long slit or with a multi-slit mask (slit
placement field of 10.0 × 5.0 arcminutes) to obtain spectra with R ~ 2200. It can also be used in
imaging mode covering a 10-arcminute-diameter FOV.

Mosaic-1.1: The upgraded Mosaic-1.1 imager, the widest-field optical imager currently offered at
KPNO (35.4 arcmin square, 0.26 arcsec pixels), is used at the prime focus of the Mayall 4-m
telescope. Mosaic-1.1 continued to be in high demand at the Mayall. To reduce risk to this
instrument that might be incurred by transporting it around the mountain, it is no longer available
at the WIYN 0.9-m telescope. The Half Degree Imager was commissioned and is in service,
replacing Mosaic 1.1 on the 0.9-m telescope.

NEWFIRM: Demand for the NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Mosaic imager (27.6 arcmin
square) during FY14 remained heavy.
31
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014

R-C Spectrograph: This low- to moderate-resolution (300 < R < 5000), single- or multi-slit
optical spectrograph was provided in 2014 for its higher-resolution capability. New, highresolution grisms are planned for KOSMOS, so R-C Spec will be retired at the end of the 2014B
semester.

Echelle: This unique capability was retired after the 2014A semester.

Phoenix: Semester 2014B is the last semester this high resolution IR spectrograph was offered.
2.1-m Telescope
As per a recent NSF directive, the 2.1-m telescope was shut at the end of the 2014A semester. A call for
proposals to operate this telescope was issued in April 2014, and the four proposals received by the October
1 deadline will be reviewed in cooperation with the NSF.
WIYN 3.5-m Telescope
The WIYN Observatory consists of the WIYN 3.5-m and 0.9-m telescopes. NOAO is a partner in the
consortium (with the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, and the University of Missouri) that
operates the WIYN 3.5-m, the most modern of the telescopes operated on Kitt Peak.
WIYN 3.5-m Instrumentation

One Degree Imager (ODI) at WIYN has been in heavy demand and is producing excellent
images. The focal plane will receive new detector arrays in early 2015, increasing the field of view
from 24 × 24 arcmin to 40 × 40 arcmin.

WHIRC: The WIYN High-Resolution Infrared Camera was built by Margaret Meixner of Space
Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Ed Churchwell (University of Wisconsin), and colleagues at
Johns Hopkins University, STScI, WIYN Observatory, and NOAO/KPNO. This near-IR imager
provides very high spatial resolution, near-IR imaging over a 3.3 × 3.3 field of view. In
conjunction with the WIYN Tip/Tilt Module (WTTM), images as good as 0.27 arcsec FWHM (full
width half-maximum) have been recorded. Mirrors in the WTTM/WHIRC optical path were
recoated in FY13, bringing the throughput of WHIRC back up to original (2008) levels.

Hydra continues to get a lot of use by both the NOAO community and the university partners.

Integral Field Units (IFUs) provided by the University of Wisconsin (Bershady, PI) include the
new bundles HexPak and GradPak, which utilize variable aperture fibers for objects with nonuniform surface brightness (e.g., extended galaxies).
Infrastructure Modernization
The Instrument Handling Facility (IHF) on Kitt Peak is now fully equipped and was in use in FY14. Both
NEWFIRM and ODI were serviced in this facility during this reporting period.
Kitt Peak Visitor Center
The Kitt Peak Visitor Center (KPVC) is administered as part of Kitt Peak National Observatory. The
KPVC activities are largely funded with revenue generated by visitor programs and gift shop sales. In
addition to the operations of the mountaintop visitor center and gift shop, KPVC provides mountain tours
led by a trained docent corps and runs the Nightly Observing Program (NOP) and the Advanced Observing
32
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
Program (AOP). These internationally known programs allow public visitors to the mountain to experience
observing the wonders of the Universe with modern, small telescopes at one of the world’s best sites,
surrounded by working research observatories. This is a unique experience for those who participate, and it
communicates the excitement of astronomy to the general public. The Kitt Peak Visitor Center has been
providing public outreach for over 50 years. Table 2 summarizes the number of visitors who participated in
paid groups/programs at Kitt Peak during FY14. Previous reports had incorrect NOP and AOP numbers for
Q1 through Q3. This report has the corrected data.
Table 2: Participant Summary of KPVC Programs.
Kitt Peak Visitor Center & Tours
Summary of Participants
(12 months ending 9/30/14)
# of Participants
Group/Program
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Totals
General public tours
569
3,402
1,696
1,282
6,949
School groups K-college
157
31
114
94
396
Special tours
102
20
10
NA
132
54
75
30
60
219
1,740
2,236
2,452
373
6,801
43
34
54
2
133
VIP tours
Nightly Obs. Program
Advanced Obs. Program
Other classes & workshops
Youth Group Overnights
Totals
7
66
87
35
195
54
18
101
96
269
2,726
5,882
4,544
1,906
15,058
Status of FY14 Milestones

Install and commission the new Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (KOSMOS) on
the Mayall 4-m telescope.
Status: Completed. KOSMOS is offered currently in both single and multi-object modes.

Initiate work on a prioritized list of Delivered Image Quality (DIQ) improvements for the Mayall
4-m telescope, developed based on tests completed in FY13. As many of these improvements as
time and resources permit will be completed during FY14.
Status: Ongoing. Progress was made in identifying procedures for both the daytime and nighttime air
flow through the dome.

Efforts to investigate and improve the pointing and tracking performance of the Mayall 4-m will
continue.
Status: Hardware and software upgrades are being installed on the Telescope Control System (TCS).
Work is on schedule to be completed in Q2 of FY15.

End community access to the KPNO 2.1-m telescope after semester 2014A, and then place it in a
safe state of hibernation.
33
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Status: Completed. The telescope was closed in August 2014. NOAO staff worked with the NSF to
develop and release a solicitation for proposals to operate the KPNO 2.1-m telescope. The four
proposals received by the October 1 deadline will be reviewed in cooperation with the NSF.

Work with NSF to develop and release a solicitation for proposals to operate the KPNO 2.1-m
telescope. If time and opportunity permit, choose a new operator and complete the transfer by the
end of FY14.
Status: On-going. An announcement of opportunity to take over operation of the telescope was issued
in April, and four excellent proposals were received during Q4 by the deadline. Proposal selection will
be completed during Q2 of FY15 with the goal of transferring this telescope to a new operator before
the end of FY15.

Continue targeted building modification and/or renovation efforts on KPNO telescope and support
facilities to address building deficiencies, telescope and instrumentation support system needs, and
program requirements.
Status: Ongoing. Improvements in the Mayall enclosure (e.g., exterior coating, dome shutter brakes
upgrade) were identified and prioritized for completion in FY15.
4.2.2
NOAO North Engineering & Technical Services
FY14 Program Review
In addition to the milestone progress reported below, the NOAO North Engineering & Technical Services
(NN-ETS) group had changes in leadership and office locations in FY14. Dr. Jay Elias, head of NN-ETS
until July 2014, left to take up the directorship of the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR)
Observatory. With his departure, David Sprayberry took up the reins as group lead. The Tucson offices of
the Mechanical and Electronic Engineering groups within NN-ETS were moved to a different location
within the Tucson headquarters building. Although the primary motivation for the move was to free up a
large block of space for the expansion of LSST staff, the move does bring the two groups into the same
area and much closer to the Software group and the KPNO management offices. Thus the move should
facilitate better group cohesion and coordination.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Complete transfer of electronic drawings into the new documentation system.
Status: Completed. All electronically generated documents have been archived and indexed within the
new system.

Initiate conversion of hard-copy drawings into electronic form and begin adding them into the new
documentation system.
Status: The conversion was initiated as planned, and the addition of the converted drawings to the new
system is well underway. Old documents have been pre-screened, and documents for projects that were
never built or are no longer in service will not be preserved. A temporary assistant was hired for the
rote tasks of scanning the hardcopy documents and entering the indexing information according to a
defined set of criteria and labels. The conversion and ingestion of the old documents into the new
system should be complete by the end of FY15.

Complete installation of the Mayall mirror lift upgrade.
Status: Completed. The work suffered several delays due to late vendor deliveries and the
unsatisfactory quality of some vendor-supplied parts. Despite these challenges, the lift was safely
34
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
functional for the long-needed 2014 primary mirror recoating and the other summer shutdown work.
The final replacement of all parts and the upgrades to control firmware were accomplished by the end
of FY14. A small amount of work to complete the system documentation will continue past FY14 but
will be done before the end of October 2014.

Complete design work on the Mayall shutter brake replacement.
Status: Delays in the mirror lift work and associated recovery work prevented significant progress on
specific designs for this project during FY14. Preliminary investigation is done and has led to an
evolution of the project toward a broader effort to optimize the safety of the entire shutter mechanism.
In particular, this investigation revealed a need to improve the safety margins in the shutter drive
gearboxes. Progress on this milestone is expected in the first half of FY15.

Develop, review, and initiate a shutter-brake implementation plan.
Status: No progress, see the status report for the preceding milestone. Progress on this milestone is
planned for FY15.

Complete detailed planning for the Mayall servo-system upgrade.
Status: Completed planning. The upgrade project was well underway at the end of FY14.

Perform all major procurements for the servo-system upgrade, and initiate implementation.
Status: Completed. All major components and software packages were in hand and implementation of
the design was well along by the end of FY14.

Provide support for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Critical Decision 1 (CD-1)
review.
Status: Completed. NN-ETS supplied all material requested by the DESI Project Office. NN-ETS
personnel fully participated in a review of the materials prepared by others and in the planning and
practice sessions for the review talks. The KPNO director presented the NOAO plans during the CD-1
plenary session. NN-ETS and other NOAO personnel attended CD-1 and provided factual answers to
reviewer’s questions as needed. The CD-1 review outcome was extremely positive and bodes well for
the future of the DESI project.

Prepare NOAO work plan for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Critical Decision
2 (CD-2) preparation effort.
Status: The CD-1 occurred in September 2014. No date or date range has been established yet for CD2. Any work on this milestone will occur in FY15 or later, as required by the Department of Energy’s
review schedule.

Provide support for commissioning and acceptance of the repaired Blanco ƒ/8 secondary mirror.
Status: Completed in the first quarter of FY14. The repaired f/8 secondary mirror is back in routine
service on the Blanco telescope.
35
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
4.2.3
NOAO North Central Facilities Operations
FY14 Program Review
Throughout FY14, the NOAO North Central Facilities Operations (NN CFO) staff was involved in a wide
variety of projects supporting the Kitt Peak and Tucson facilities of NOAO. The year began with
significant staff efforts over the first two quarters to support the replacement of the primary PBX phone
systems for the two sites. This work involved placement of new phones and removal of old phones, staff
training on the system, the transfer of the various telecommunications supplier connections, and support for
the development of the programming needed to operate the system. This work also involved the
disconnection of both PBX units. Other early year efforts involved oversight of the contractors installing
new roof walkways for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (now Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope)
program office space, repairs to the main computer room humidifier system, and preparation of the facility
for the coming winter heating season. Other Tucson efforts focused on several smaller projects. These
projects involved removal of excess items from a closed shop area followed by renovation of that area into
a small multi-occupant office/lab space. Video conference systems were updated in meeting rooms, some
offices were upgraded, and safety improvements were completed on a material lift unit.
To accommodate new program needs, the Tucson-based LSST Project construction team in particular,
significant efforts were focused on space planning and renovation. This effort involved obtaining
architectural and engineering services to prepare plans for both staff and contracted support services. A
large electronics lab was closed, and staff supported the removal of its contents prior to beginning their
construction efforts to turn the former lab area into office space. The NN ETS staff was relocated into the
completed office space. Efforts are now focused on obtaining contracted services to renovate the area
vacated by the NN-ETS staff for planned occupancy in the coming year by the LSST construction team.
NN CFO staff efforts continued in preparing documentation for replacement of the primary Tucson fire
alarm panel and new valve installations for the chiller system in the first half of FY 15.
Tucson staff provided bid documentation and oversight support to KPNO for several projects
throughout the year. A contractor was hired for cleanup efforts that removed approximately 77 tons of
scrap metal from the old meadow storage area. Other technical support efforts involved obtaining
contracted services to install a metal roof and replace the flooring in the dining facility. Support was
provided for the recruitment and selection of a new Kitt Peak safety officer as well as the on-going job
orientation of the new hire. Efforts continued on various mountain support issues including the divestiture
review of the National Solar Observatory McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, a sanitary inspection by the
Environmental Protection Agency of the mountain’s water plant, and operating procedures. Meetings
were held with representatives of the Tohono O’odham Nation regarding their tribal public safety and
Bureau of Indian Affairs radio installations and with the new base hospital coordinator for the Kitt
Peak Emergency Medical Technician staff regarding emergency and medical services support issues.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Continue targeted building modification and renovation efforts at NOAO North to address program
needs.
Status: A number of targeted renovation efforts were completed during the year. Excess shop
equipment was removed from a closed machine shop, and the space was reconfigured into a multioccupantoffice space for electronics technicians. An architectural engineering firm was brought in to
prepare renovation documents for two large areas to accommodate new uses. Staff were involved in
both the relocation of personnel and the extensive renovation of one of these areas to host the 10person Kitt Peak Engineering group in modern office space. Renovation work is anticipated to
continue into FY15.
36
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS

Continue to upgrade selected restrooms by replacing fixtures to improve water conservation efforts
and to improve the deteriorated interior finishes and accessibility.
Status: Efforts were ongoing throughout the year to replace lavatories and associated fixtures in
several restrooms during this multi-year project.

Continue the window upgrade program to replace original exterior single-pane windows with
double-pane windows to improve energy efficiency and reduce solar heat gain.
Status: Limited efforts were undertaken with a few windows due to higher priority building renovation
activity. The replacement of exterior windows in the engineering wing was incorporated into the
upcoming FY15 LSST renovation project, and smaller projects will be continued into the next year.

Upgrade and/or replace deteriorated or obsolete portions of the mechanical air distribution system
and associated heating/chilled water system valves.
Status: Approximately five new valves were obtained to replace the leaking and deteriorated valves
within the chilled water system as a key effort in pursuing this project. To minimize impact on building
occupants, the replacement is scheduled during the coming winter months when the chiller system can
be shut down.

Complete installation and initiate operation of a new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based
PBX system procured in FY13.
Status: Completed. NOAO staff worked closely during the first half of the year with the contracted
vendor on programming and installation of the new system and phones. Following a short period of
dual system operations to enable training of staff, the old system was shut down with all telephone
operations on Kitt Peak and in Tucson shifted to the new system.
4.2.4
NOAO North Computer Infrastructure Services
FY14 Program Review
The NOAO North Computer Infrastructure Services (NN CIS) staff committed a large effort during FY14
to updating the Ethernet switch infrastructure in the Tucson facility to provide Power over Ethernet
connections to offices and labs to support the installation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
telephones. The newly replaced Ethernet switches were equipped with uninterruptible power supply units
to keep the building telephone system operational during power failures.
The Kitt Peak mountain network infrastructure was mapped and made more robust in preparation for
the installation of VoIP telephones. Finally, the Tucson and Kitt Peak Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) servers were updated to support VoIP phones.
The operating systems of several “central” servers (Scope, ADASS, and dhcp-KP) were upgraded from
obsolete versions to fully supported versions. New disk drives were installed on these servers to increase
their longevity. All of the “central” servers were upgraded to the latest appropriate FreeBSD (Free Berkeley
Software Distribution) version.
Windows systems throughout the Tucson facility continue to be admitted to the Windows Active
Directory Domain. Two backup Active Directory Domain Controllers were installed during this reporting
period. Currently, 104 Windows systems have been added to the Active Directory.
The transition from the old McAfee/Symantec anti-virus system to the new Shavlik anti-virus plus
patch management system for Windows machines went well.
NN CIS staff chose the Centrify Suite to manage Mac/Linux systems within the Windows Active
Directory Domain. A slow rollout is underway that will continue into FY15.
During this reporting period, NN CIS began the effort to implement demilitarized-zone (DMZ)
functionality for Tucson-based servers. A DMZ for LSST was implemented that will isolate the DMZ
37
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
machines used for modeling and experimentation by the LSST community from the rest of the NOAO
network. The ftp.noao.edu server, used for FTP (File Transfer Protocol) access to various archives, is
planned to be in a DMZ early in FY15. On Kitt Peak, a project to isolate tenant observatory networks from
the NOAO network and from each other is well underway. Finally, the anyconnect virtual private network
(VPN) system was modified so that tenant observatory staff who use this service will be limited to
accessing their observatory’s network and be blocked from the rest of the NOAO network.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Continue to implement Windows Active Directory Domain in Tucson and the AURA policies on
passwords and account lockout by bringing approximately 100 Apple Mac workstations and
laptops and approximately 225 Linux workstations, laptops, and servers into the Active Directory
Domain.
Status: Well under way. The Centrify Suite software package was selected for “managing” Apple and
Linux computers and incorporating them into the Windows Active Directory Domain. An initial
increment of licenses was ordered, and they are being rolled out slowly to a few systems to allow NN
CIS staff to refine installation procedures; currently, 11 Mac/Linux/FreeBSD systems are members of
the Active Directory.

Implement a secondary (or back-up) Active Directory Domain controller.
Status: Completed. The merger of the current CFO/Kitt Peak Active Directory (AD) with the CIS
Active Directory brought in more Windows systems; the total incorporated into the AD is now 104. The
combined Active Directories will allow use of a combined database for authentication purposes and
will centralize resources. As part of the merger, a third Active Directory Domain Controller was
installed, this one on Kitt Peak.

Collaborate with NOAO North Central Facilities Operations to implement the network portion of
the new, facility-wide Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system.
Status: Completed. See “Program Highlights” above.

Continue to implement Security Domains in Tucson and on Kitt Peak. In Tucson, implement a
DMZ for several Internet-facing machines and finish a comprehensive Security Domain for
servers, switches, and controllers managed by NN CIS. On Kitt Peak, fully isolate tenant networks
from the NOAO networks.
Status: Well under way. See “Program Highlights” above. The comprehensive Security Domain for
servers, switches, and controllers managed by NN CIS will not be implemented until FY15.
38
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4.3
NOAO SYSTEM SCIENCE CENTER
The existing and planned facilities of the US GroundBased Optical/Infrared System (“the System”)
constitute an extended and powerful system of
observational capabilities. A key mission for NOAO is
to deliver community access within this System to a
broad range of world-class instruments on telescopes
of all apertures. The NOAO System Science Center
(NSSC) forms NOAO’s interface to the System with
the primary aims of strengthening the contributions of
NOAO’s directly managed facilities to the System,
providing user support for System facilities not
directly managed by NOAO, and anticipating and advocating for the future development of the
System. The NSSC mission thus incorporates a wide range of responsibilities, many of which focus on
present-day facilities, while others deal with the evolution toward a future system, such as organizing
community input for the LSST and TMT projects.
NSSC consists of four major programs: System User Support (SUS), Science Data Management
(SDM), System Community Development (SCD), and the Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC).
SUS provides help to users of the currently available open-access time to facilities that are not
managed by NOAO, which covers the entire process of proposal preparation, submission, observing,
and post-observing data questions. SDM support revolves around the archiving of all raw data from
NOAO facilities and pipeline processing for selected imaging instruments, as well as the data needs
and support for future projects that involve NOAO. SCD maintains a broad view of the current state of
the System and how community desires and needs are best mapped into the future evolution of this
System; in FY14 SCD is focusing on preparing the broad community to effectively use LSST. The
TAC program handles the Phase I process of observing proposals submitted to NOAO, which includes
the maintenance of web pages and a Call for Proposals document covering all the necessary
information on facilities available under NOAO-managed time.
4.3.1
System User Support
FY14 Program Review
SUS continued its support role for system users with and support for Gemini, AAT exchange, and CHARA
observations. Most of the effort is directed to Gemini support. After thorough planning that lasted several
semesters, SUS initiated notable changes to the way Gemini users are supported and planned the future
efforts to aid post-observing activities, such as data analysis cookbooks and workshops. Gemini
Observatory decided to handle Phase II support for US principal investigators (PIs) starting with the 2014B
observing semester and continuing for a trial period of three years. As a result, SUS will be able to devote
the corresponding time to post-observing support.
SUS staff reviewed all Gemini 2014B proposals for technical issues and supported the TAC panel
meetings with answers to their questions and general technical support. Both the PIs and the panel members
have matured to a higher knowledge of Gemini observing modes, thus the support needed was minimal
during the past two semesters. SUS is planning to limit systematic pre-TAC reviews in the future to new
instruments and to implement quick, post-TAC reviews for the successful programs.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Continue effective support of US Gemini access and programs, such as Phase I and Phase II
observing processes, the HelpDesk, and site visits, with the view toward productive user access to
39
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
the increased number of US nights on the Gemini telescopes that resulted from the UK withdrawal
as well as any new observational capabilities that come online.
Status: SUS staff supported pre-TAC technical reviews for the last two observing semesters. After
thorough interaction with Gemini, there was mutual agreement that SUS would support post-data
activities other than Phase II programs in order to streamline the processes. Gemini supported Phase
II programs in 2014B for the US community. In conjuction with that, SUS started planning post-data
support, which will include data workshops, handbooks, and other activities

As needed, provide user support for open-access, NOAO-allocated time on the Keck telescopes,
Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) array, and Australian Astronomical
Telescope (AAT).
Status: SUS supported CHARA, Keck, and AAT programs in semester 2014A and the 2014B AAT
programs. NOAO did not have Keck nights available for its community in semester 2014B.

Represent the US National Gemini Office (NGO) in the Gemini Operation Working Group, and
participate in the joint Gemini/NGO meetings to discuss all operation issues.
Status: As a member of the Gemini Operations Working Group, the SUS head of program participated
in both semester meetings and contributed the US report. She also participated in the joint
Gemini/NGO meeting. Recently, most SUS members began participated in joint meetings in order to
liaise between Gemini and the US community, especially in view of the implementation of the new SUS
post-data support role.

Represent the US National Gemini Office (NGO) in the International Telescope Allocation
Committee.
Status: The SUS head of program, as the US representative to the International Telescope Allocation
Committee (ITAC), participated in the ITAC semester meetings.

Foster close ties and lines of communication with the Gemini directorate and staff, with the goal of
promoting the effective use of the Gemini telescopes by the US user community.
Status: SUS communicates all news, e.g., major policy changes, new modes, and new instruments, to
the US community through the NOAO Newsletter and by email. A September 2014 NOAO Newsletter
article informed the US Gemini community about the new SUS role.

As appropriate and requested by Gemini, implement the trading of effort between Gemini and the
US National Gemini Office (NGO). If Gemini will be solely responsible for the Phase II support
and for most of the HelpDesk tickets, the SUS will endeavor to support the data reduction effort
for a variety of Gemini instruments and modes.
Status: SUS began implementing this trade, with Gemini supporting Phase II programs in 2014B
and SUS implementing data packages to support data analysis. SUS is planning a data workshop
at the American Astronomical Society’s meeting next year, edited versions of different cookbooks
for data handling, and informed samples for the modes used most often (but under-published).

Provide support (such as technical reviews and panel orientation materials) to the Time Allocation
Committee for the Gemini and other selected facilities offered through the NOAO Call for
Proposals.
Status: The SUS part of the TAC orientation material this past year was centered on the new
modes of observation. SUS collaborated with other NOAO staff to develop a successful Call for
Proposals.
40
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS

Work with the community, relevant committees, and NOAO staff in supporting the processes
necessary to plan and procure new instruments or capabilities for NOAO and Gemini telescopes.
Status: One SUS staff is a member of the Gemini Science and Technology Committee. It is hope
that after his term is over, SUS will be given other opportunities to be in close connection with this
particular group.
4.3.2
Science Data Management
FY14 Program Review
The NOAO Science Archive continued serving large volumes of data from DECam and other NOAO
instruments. The Science Data Management (SDM) group continued to provide data handling support for
new instruments that use MONSOON/TORRENT controllers; the latest such instruments are KOSMOS
and COSMOS. SDM also archived the data these instruments produce. SDM supported the development
and operation of the Data Transport System (DTS). Both the DTS and Archive were tested during Q3 of
FY14 when an observer took more than 1100 DECam observations in a single night. All data were
transported and archived promptly.
Operation of the Mosaic and NEWFIRM pipelines as well as the DECam community pipeline (CP) and
the pODI pipeline (AuCaP) is ongoing. The CP was operating with version 3.0 (based on DES-DM 2.2.3)
by the end of FY14 and was routinely processing all non-DES DECam data. The CP was in active
development during this reporting period in collaboration with the Community Pipeline Team at the
National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and the pODI pipeline continued to evolve in
collaboration with the pODI scientists.
SDM development efforst during FY14 were concentrated in the areas of user support tools for the
Archive system, pipeline development for the large imagers, data handling systems for new instruments,
and prototyping tools for the new Data Lab. The new local security and authentication system deployed
with the Archive system verson 2.0.2 made it much easier for users to access their proprietary data,
significantly reducing requests to the Help Desk. With the deployment of Archive release v2.1.1 at the end
of FY14, users have a new, easier to use, more efficient download client at their disposal that includes a
Java-Web Start application to streamline data retrieval and allow faster parallel data transfer. A new file
naming convention, which makes it easy to identify data by their file names and to associate the different
data products, was deployed for both raw and reduced data. Previous years of data stored in the Archive
with Gzip compression were converted to FITS Rice tile compression for a homogenous data archive and
freed up 16 TB of disk space.
The first big step in the Archive System Infrastructure Upgrade project in which JBOSS was upgraded
to v5.0 and Mule was upgraded to v2.1 (including all of the additional necessary upgrades required) was
completed and given to the Quality Assurance/Test Engineer at the end of FY14. Future upgrades are
planned in FY15, but this upgrade was by far the most difficult.
Work continued on writing design and operational documents in support of the development of the
NOAO Data Lab, in preparation for a Conceptual Design Review early next year, in close coordination
with scientists within the NOAO System Community Development group. The Data Lab will provide
services and interfaces for working with large, curated data sets, particularly the massive catalogs from
DECam imaging surveys such as DES and various ongoing or future NOAO Survey programs. The Data
Lab also will provide a workspace environment for survey teams to share data within their collaboration
and facilities for customized data publication. SDM staff developed prototypes of a collaborative work
space environment for science teams using SciDrive (developed at Johns Hopkins University) and
preliminary tools for data publication. Using the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) DALServer
toolkit, SDM staff also created a demonstration data service for the Optical Gravitational Lensing
Experiment (OGLE) catalog on a test virtual machine.
41
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Members of SDM provided input to the DESI team about data management issues as documents were
prepared for the DESI CD-1 review with the Department of Energy. The SDM program scientist was a redteam reviewer for sections of the DESI CD-1 review materials.
Members of SDM worked on the VAO Project during the year providing support for Standards and
Infrastructure, Operations, and Quality Assurance. A staff member presented the paper, “The NOAO Data
Laboratory: A Conceptual Overview,” at the SPIE Conference in Montreal representing both the NOAO
and the VAO.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Continue operation of the NOAO data management system including data capture, transport,
archiving, and user access to all NOAO-observed data. Routinely pipeline process and archive all
Mosaic, NEWFIRM, and DECam data products.
Status: Operation of the NOAO data management system continued without major issues. With the
deployment of v2.0.2 of the Archive system, proposal co-investigators were given access to their
observed data in the NOAO Science Archive automatically. Also, the user portal was expanded to
allow users to change their account passwords in the NOAO-based authentication system. With the
v2.1.1 release, a new download client was introduced.

Automate, as much as possible, components of the data management system, e.g., data capture,
data archive, user administration, system monitoring, and system alerts and the deployment of
system upgrades and new releases of system components.
Status: Most Archive system components were brought under the Puppet Configuration Management
system for more automatic deployment. The remainder of the components will be brought under the
Puppet system during FY15.

Update third party infrastructure software to current versions for a more robust system.
Status: An Archive Infrastructure Upgrade plan and schedule were developed with a completion date
of late FY15. The first step in the process was completed in August, updating the two major third-party
systems: the JBoss app server was upgraded to v5 and Mule was upgraded to v2.1. Also, the National
Virtual Observatory Single Sign-On was replaced by the new version developed by the VAO; the
download client was replaced with a newer, enhanced version (see milestone below). The system was
completed and delivered to the test engineer for evaluation in September. Because of the extensive
changes to the system, a longer evaluation period will be required before deployment.

Continue to migrate the Survey Archive data sets to the NOAO Science Archive (remediating
survey data headers as needed) and implement the portal interface changes needed for search and
retrieval of Survey data sets.
Status: There was no progress during this reporting period. Instead, efforts were concentrated on
converting the gzip files in the NOAO Science Archive (pre-2010) to FITS tile compression, and older
files were renamed according to the new file-naming convention. (See milestone below.) The data from
the NOAO Survey Archive will be merged with the Science Archive during FY15.

Implement and deploy other Archive and Portal upgrades including a new download client and
image previews.
Status: A new download client was well tested by internal staff and external users including members
of the User Committee in the spring. It was deployed with the v 2.1.1 release in early September. An
improved version of the download client will allow users in the Southern Hemisphere to retrieve their
42
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
data from the NOAO southern mass storage system. It will be deployed with the v2.3.1 release in late
fall of 2014.

Implement a new file-naming convention for all data ingested into the NOAO Science Archive to
provide SDM staff and Archive users with an easier means to associate raw data with their
associated reduced files.
Status: The new file-naming convention was deployed for both raw and reduced data archived in the
NOAO Science Archive. Work to rename the older files in the Archive as well as to convert older files
that were compressed with gzip (a total of 3.8 million files) to FITS tile compression is nearing
completion. This will make for a homogenous data archive and release ~16 TB of disk storage for each
copy of the Archive system.

Develop further the pODI pipeline to include photometric stacking of exposure sequences with sky
background matching, cosmic-ray detection and rejection, and replacing the USNO-B reference
catalog with the SDSS catalog or Pan-STARRS catalog for improved photometric accuracy.
Status: A Python script for determining files that should be stacked based on heuristics was developed
to improve automatic stacking results in the pipeline. Work was begun on a routine to remove cosmic
rays from the data. Assistance was given to the staff at Pervasive Technologies, Inc (PTI) at Indiana
University to determine why the NOAO pODI Science Pipeline (AuCaP) would not operate on their
new Data Capacitor System (DC2). When the problems with file management between AuCaP and
DC2 were not resolved, calibration processing was moved to the NOAO DECam cluster and the
results were then transferred to PTI for ingest.

Upgrade the pODI pipeline to support the 6×6 ODI.
Status: A plan to upgrade the pODI Science Pipeline was developed and presented at the ODI 5 × 5
review.

Continue testing and development of the DECam community pipeline.
Status: The DECam pipeline scientist and pipeline operator continue to collaborate with the DECam
CP group at NCSA. The pipeline is working well and DECam calibration processing remains onschedule. User feedback has been very positive.

Continue the support of IRAF and its users. Develop system-wide support for tabular spectral
formats, cataloging tools, scripting language improvements, and new science applications.
Status: SPTABLE, the IRAF table spectral-format package, was completed and released in late
September.

Provide support for the Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) during its final year: support the
definition of International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) standards; serve as deputy chair of
the IVOA Time Domain Interest Group; add further functionality to the VOClient package;
continue building test plans and providing testing support for all VAO tools and services; and
provide primary support for the VAO Help Desk.
Status: The VAO VOClient package, v1.2, was enhanced and was released at the end of September
(end of the VAO grant). Staff members supported the final VAO Team Meeting and the VAO Closeout
review.

As resources permit, design and implement a test-bed catalog service—to gain experience in
development and user interfaces—using relatively small object catalogs that do not require special
architectures or computational capabilities.
43
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Status: A staff member presented the paper, “The NOAO Data Laboratory: A Conceptual Overview,”
at the SPIE Conference in Montreal. Work continued on testing new functionality for the Data Lab
including multiple prototypes for cloud-based collaborative storage. Members of SDM began
preparing documents (“Operations Requirements – ORD” and “System Architecture Design – SAD”)
to get ready for an external Conceptual Design Review early in the calendar year 2015.
4.3.3
System Community Development
FY14 Program Review
LSST Science
With the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) entering its construction phase in FY14, the “official”
time for the community to prepare for the LSST era has begun. One aspect of community science
preparation is the optimal cadence for LSST observations. In support of this, NOAO co-hosted the “LSST
& NOAO Observing Cadences Workshop” at the LSST2014 Project and Community Workshop, which
was held 11–14 August 2014, in Phoenix, Arizona. The workshop had three goals: (1) establish the
boundary conditions for possible LSST cadences; (2) lay the foundation for future cadence exploration by
establishing quantitative metrics for the performance of a given cadence for specific science cases, tied to
LSST cadence simulations; and (3) generate ideas for future cadence explorations and establish the goals of
the next workshop on cadences. The workshop attracted 120 registrants, with ~25% of those being new to
LSST. The workshop was organized around initial plenary presentations that provided background on the
LSST cadence problem followed by breakout groups on specific topics of interest. A tutorial session on the
Metrics Analysis Framework (MAF), a tool specifically designed to allow for metrics to be applied to
simulations of the LSST cadence, was a main feature. The breakout groups came away with the basis for
defining metrics for many science cases, and some sessions resulted in actual new metrics coded in MAF.
The breakout groups contributed write-ups for a workshop report, which was being edited at the end of
FY14. Workshop materials are available at project.lsst.org/meetings/ocw/. A follow-up survey of workshop
participants reflected the success of the workshop and the enthusiasm of its participants.
NOAO staff continued their involvement in and leadership of the Operations Simulator (OpSim) effort
in FY14 prior to LSST entering its construction phase. OpSim passed an external review in February 2014,
with major recommendations that included turning it into the LSST Scheduler project while continuing a
parallel OpSim effort. Now that LSST has entered its construction phase, NOAO involvement in OpSim
will focus on those aspects that are relevant to community science concerns.
In collaboration with the University of Arizona (UA) Computer Science Department, NOAO scientists
continued development of a prototype software infrastructure to characterize and distribute events
discovered by time-domain surveys. The Arizona-NOAO Temporal Analysis and Response to Events
System (ANTARES) was funded with an award to the University of Arizona from the NSF in September
2013 (CISE AST-1344024). NOAO scientists continued support of the program through weekly meetings
with members of the UA Computer Science Department to develop the architecture for the prototype timedomain event broker. The grant includes funding for an astronomy postdoctoral position (paid through the
UA Computer Science department, but resident at NOAO). This postdoc position was competed in Q1,
with an offer made to and accepted by Dr. Gautham Narayan in Q2. Dr. Narayan worked on assembling the
ancillary data sets needed for the broker in the second half of FY14.
System Community Development (SCD) scientists, in collaboration with the Science Data
Management (SDM) group, developed the concept of the NOAO Data Lab in FY14. The purpose of the
Data Lab will be to help users handle their large Dark Energy Camera (DECam) data sets and catalogs,
provide a framework for community access to the eventual Dark Energy Survey (DES) catalog and images,
and incorporate tools and technology being developed for LSST data for scientific use with DECam data.
The implementation of the Data Lab is being prototyped around the Survey of the Magellanic Stellar
44
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
History (SMASH) and Synoptic Bulge Survey, two DECam programs with heavy involvement by NOAO
scientific staff. The Data Lab concept was the subject of an SPIE paper written by M. Fitzpatrick et al. in
Q3, and supported by a Science Use Case document written by K. Olsen and T. Beers. The Data Lab
project is slated for a formal Conceptual Design Review in FY15. Work began in late FY14 on writing the
foundational documents that will support this review.
The current state of NOAO’s work on LSST Science activity can be viewed by visiting
ast.noao.edu/facilities/future/lsst/lcsc.
TMT Community Outreach
The US Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Liaison Office at NOAO is responsible for carrying out many
aspects of the NSF-TMT cooperative agreement, including engaging the US community with an eye toward
a potential NSF partnership in TMT. An SCD staff member (NOAO Liaison) carries out these activities at
NOAO. The TMT International Observatory, LLC (TIO) was formally incorporated in April 2014, with
AURA as an Associate Member. NOAO is executing the responsibilities, privileges, and activities of
AURA regarding TMT, representing the US-at-large astronomical community. The NOAO Liaison
participates in weekly telecons on NSF-TMT community engagement with TMT staff and others involved
in the execution of the cooperative agreement. He has written articles about the TMT Liaison activities for
the NOAO Newsletter and the NOAO electronic newsletter, Currents.
The NOAO Liaison chairs the US TMT Science Working Group (SWG), which consists of a dozen
astronomers drawn from US astronomical institutions outside the current US TMT partners (Caltech and
the University of California). This group is charged with engaging with the US community, informing it
about TMT and potential US participation therein, surveying the community’s interests and aspirations, and
conveying those to the TMT Science Advisory Committee (SAC) via three representatives appointed from
the US TMT SWG, the Board via AURA’s representatives, and the TMT Project office. The SWG is
developing a US TMT Participation Plan for the NSF and plans to have a draft prepared by the end of
calendar year 2014. The SWG holds regular telecons and met face to face in Pasadena for two days in
November 2013 and again in Tucson in July 2014. SWG members carried out telephone “interviews” with
members of the US community to gather information for the US TMT Participation Plan. The SWG also
created an on-line TMT US Community Survey near the end of FY14, which gathered about 400 responses.
The NOAO Liaison is a member of the TMT SAC and was named chair of the SAC in April 2014. In
FY14, he attended SAC meetings in Tokyo (October 2013, along with a TMT science and instrumentation
workshop), Pasadena (February 2014, by video), Vancouver (April 2014), and Tucson (July 2014). He
organized and chaired the last two meetings. As SAC chair, he attends TIO Board meetings to report on
SAC activities, organizes regular telecons of the SAC co-chairs, and attends (remotely) a weekly TMT
Project meeting.
NOAO hosted the 2014 TMT Science Forum in Tucson, at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, on 17–19
July 2014; The NOAO Liaison chaired for the meeting’s Science Organizing Committee and the Local
OrganizingCommittee. The annual TMT Science Forum serves both as a meeting of scientists from the
TMT collaboration and as an opportunity to involve members of the US-at-large astronomical community
in TMT. More than half (81 out of 152) of the participants in the 2014 meeting in Tucson came from US
institutions outside the current TMT partnership. The theme of this year’s meeting was “TMT in the
astronomical landscape of the 2020s.” There were invited talks on the synergy between TMT and many
other ground- and space-based astronomical facilities that will operate in the next decade, a TMT
instrumentation workshop, and parallel science sessions organized around the themes of the TMT
International Science Development Teams (ISDTs).
NOAO and TMT organized a TMT Town Hall meeting at the 223rd AAS meeting in January 2014. The
event was attended by about 120 people and featured presentations by Michael Bolte (UC Santa Cruz) and
The NOAO Liaison. A TMT Open House event is planned for the January 2015 AAS meeting in Seattle.
45
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
The NOAO Liaison and Tommaso Treu (UC Santa Barbara), another member of the SAC, organized
the process of admitting new members to the TMT ISDTs. Applications were received in January and
evaluated by the ISDT conveners and SAC members in February. The ISDTs are open to participation by
all PhD astronomers and are not limited to the TMT partners; the membership opportunity was heavily
advertised and attracted more than 100 applications. Roughly 40 astronomers from the US-at-large
community are now ISDT members.
Optical Interferometry Science
FY14 negotiations for access to the CHARA Array in 2015 were able to reserve five nights for NOAO
TAC assignment in observing semester 2015A.
NOAO staff participated in the CHARA annual science and collaborations conference. The staff
reported on the usage of CHARA time allocated by the NOAO TAC and represented the needs and
concerns of community observers in operations support and planning for facility improvements.
Negotiations with the Navy and Lowell Observatory to provide community access to the Navy
Prototype Optical Interferometer concluded. The Navy decided that peer reviewed community access is not
within the Navy mission for the facility.
The System Roadmap Committee
No meeting of the System Roadmap Committee was planned for FY14, and no activity occurred. The work
of the System Roadmap Committee may resume following the implementation of the NSF Portfolio
Review through the NOAO Transformation Plan and after the completion of the recompetition process for
the management and operation of NOAO.
Status of FY14 Milestones
LSST Science

Hold a community workshop, “Optimal Cadences for LSST Science.”
Status: The LSST & NOAO Observing Cadences Workshop was held as part of the LSST2014 Project
and Community Workshop in Phoenix, Arizona, 11–15 August 2014. The workshop attracted 120
enthusiastic participants.

Publish benchmark OpSim simulations and candidate observing schedules for evaluation by the
community.
Status: A dozen benchmark simulations were created and distributed to participants at the August
Observing Cadences workshop.

Assist community members with studies of the effect of OpSim parameter changes on optimal
cadences for their specific LSST science projects.
Status: OpSim parameter changes and their effect on LSST cadences formed part of the discussion at
the August Observing Cadences workshop.

Prepare an integrated report of the statistical predictions of the variable sky expected for deep
synoptic surveys, and make this report available to the community.
Status: The report, “The Variable Sky of Deep Synoptic Surveys,” was accepted by the Astrophysical
Journal in FY14 and is available as a preprint at arxiv.org/abs/1409.3265.
46
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS

Arrange a discussion of community experts on the features and design of an LSST-scale transient
broker.
Status: Completed in Q1 as part of the Hotwired III meeting held in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Develop a detailed plan for a prototype LSST-scale transient broker.
Status: Completed. The ANTARES postdoc was hired in FY14, and work was begun on collecting data
sets needed for broker development. Coordination with the UA Computer Science Department
participants continued.

Conduct data quality analysis of the second LSST DM-reprocessed Stripe 82 data set.
Status: This work was performed internally by the LSST Project. NOAO will concentrate on DECam
data for future LSST-related data quality work.
TMT Community Outreach

Lead the activities of the TMT US Science Working Group (SWG). This consists of the TMT
Liaison maintaining and updating the SWG membership, helping to set its agenda, and organizing
monthly (or as needed) teleconferences and annual face-to-face meetings at the TMT Science
Forum and at other opportunities (e.g., AAS) as needed.
Status: The activities and meetings continued as planned. The SWG made progress toward developing
a US TMT Participation Plan, with a draft report to the NSF anticipated in late 2014 or early 2015.

Attend quarterly TMT Science Advisory Committee (SAC) meetings, participate in monthly
teleconferences with the TMT SAC co-chair and weekly ones with the TMT-NOAO community
engagement group.
Status: The NOAO Liaison attended all SAC meetings and was named chair of the TMT SAC, starting
at its April 2014 meeting. He also led the (nominally) weekly telecons with TMT staff regarding the
NSF-TMT community engagement activities.

Participate in the organization of a TMT Town Hall event at the January 2014 American
Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting and the preparation for a subsequent Town Hall in January
2015.
Status: A TMT Town Hall was held at the January 2014 AAS meeting. Another TMT Open House event
has been proposed for the January 2015 AAS meeting.

Participate in the organization of the second TMT Science Forum, nominally to be held sometime
in summer 2014. Working with the TMT US Science Working Group (SWG), identify and
encourage members of the US community to attend the Forum.
Status: The TMT Science Forum was held in Tucson on 17–19 July 2014, hosted by NOAO and TMT.
152 participants attended the meeting, with more than half (81) coming from US institutions outside
the TMT partnership.
Optical Interferometry Science

Negotiate for community access to the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA)
Array in 2014 and provide required support to community users and the NOAO time allocation
process.
Status: Completed.
47
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
4.3.4
Time Allocation Committee
FY14 Program Review
NOAO offered public peer-reviewed access to 14 telescopes for the 2014A observing semester: the Mayall
4-m, WIYN 3.5-m, and 2.1-m telescopes at Kitt Peak; the Blanco 4-m, SOAR 4.1-m, and SMARTS 1.5-m,
1.3-m, and 0.9-m telescopes at Cerro Tololo; the Gemini North and South telescopes; the Keck I and II
telescopes; the Anglo Australian Telescope (AAT); and the CHARA interferometric array. A total of 389
proposals requesting 1143 nights of telescope time were received by the proposal deadline of 26 September
2013. See section F.1 for oversubscription rates and other observing request statistics by telescope for the
2014A standard and survey proposals. Statistics for just the standard proposals are available at
www.noao.edu/gateway/tac/obsreqs14a.html.
The Time Allocation Committee (TAC) for 2014A met in Tucson, 28 October–1 November 2013. The
TAC comprised seven scientific panels (three extragalactic, three Galactic, and one Solar Systems), each
made up of five voting members and a non-voting Chair. The panel membership is available at
www.noao.edu/gateway/tac.html. The overall process was managed (and chaired) by the associate director
for NSSC and involved the TAC program coordinator and the software support manager from the TAC
program staff. The process was successfully completed and notices announcing the results were emailed on
16 December 2013.
NOAO staff managed the TAC process for the Gemini Observatory’s 2014B Call for Large and Long
Programs, on behalf of Gemini, with the participation of the Gemini partners Argentina, Australia, Canada,
and the US. A total of 44 proposals were received, which requested total times of 531 hours on Gemini
North and 827 hours on Gemini South for 2014B.
In semester 2014B, NOAO offered peer-reviewed access to 11 telescopes, the same list of telescopes as
in semester 2014A minus the Kitt Peak 2.1-m telescope, the Keck I and II telescopes, and the CHARA
interferometer (all A and B semester time for CHARA was assigned during the semester 2014A meeting),
and with the addition of the Kitt Peak 0.9-m telescope. There were 373 new proposals covering the regular
semester call, plus an NOAO Call for Survey Proposals. A total of 381 proposals requesting 924 nights of
telescope time for 2014B were received by the proposal deadline. See section F.2 for oversubscription rates
and other observing request statistics by telescope for the 2014B standard and survey proposals. Standard
proposals statistics only are available at www.noao.edu/gateway/tac/obsreqs14b.html.
The regular TAC for 2014B met in Tucson, 5–9 May 2014, with the same panel structure as for 2014A
(but somewhat different panel membership) and managed by the same NOAO staff. Preceding the regular
TAC meeting were meetings of the NOAO Surveys TAC panel on 29 April 2014 and the Gemini Large and
Long Program TAC on 30 April 2014, which also met in Tucson. Both of these panels were chaired by the
interim head of program for the NOAO Office of Science. All TAC processes were successfully completed,
with the regular TAC notices announcing the results being emailed on 16 June 2014.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Work with SUS to issue calls for proposals for regular programs (twice a year) and survey
programs (once a year).
Status: Successful TAC cycles were completed for semesters 2014A and 2014B, as well as an NOAO
Survey Call for Proposals and TAC cycle.

Coordinate with SUS and private observatories to provide timely technical reviews of the
proposals.
Status: This was completed for the 2014A and 2014B semesters.

Convene Time Allocation Committee (TAC) panels twice a year to review the proposals and
provide recommendations to the NOAO director.
48
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
Status: Completed for semesters 2014A and 2014B.

Work with the public and private observatories to prioritize and schedule the approved proposals.
Status: Completed for semesters 2014A and 2014B.

Publish timely announcements of the results of the time allocation process.
Status: Completed for semesters 2014A and 2014B.

If agreed to by the Gemini Observatory, implement a Gemini Large Program international TAC
panel that would be managed by NOAO as part of the overall time allocation process.
Status: Carried out successfully during the semester 2014B TAC process.
4.4
NOAO SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY CENTER
The NOAO System Technology Center (NSTC) is
responsible
for
coordinating
technological
enhancements
to
the
US
Ground-Based
Optical/Infrared System (System) by NOAO
directly, in collaboration with various partner
institutions. As such, it takes the leadership role on
technical activities within NOAO that are needed to
realize new telescope projects or to enhance the
instrument complements on existing System
telescopes operated by NOAO or other entities.
The NSTC incorporates two programs serving
these goals: (1) System Instrumentation (SI), which
oversees the direct efforts of NOAO to build new
instruments or enhance the performance of existing instruments for its own telescopes, for the Gemini
telescopes, and for other telescopes participating in the System and is supported through NOAO’s base
budget and supplemental awards such as ReSTAR; and (2) LSST Technology, which provides scientific,
engineering, and management support to the LSST Project and is responsible for telescope mount,
enclosure design, and site work within the LSST construction project.
4.4.1
System Instrumentation
FY14 Program Review
Most of the goals of the System Instrumentation (SI) program were accomplished during the program’s
penultimate year of operation. Sufficient progress was achieved on all of the goals to ensure that the
program will be able to wind down as planned by the end of FY15. Progress on specific milestones is
reported below.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Commission the Kitt Peak Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (KOSMOS), a ReSTARsupported project, on the Mayall 4-m telescope, and begin community use of KOSMOS on a
shared-risk basis.
Status: Completed. Commissioning runs occurred in December 2013 and January 2014, and the
instrument was made available for shared-risk observing during observing semester 2014A. KOSMOS
49
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
was fully available for scheduled community observing during semester 2014B. The remaining
responsibility for operational support of the KOSMOS rests with KPNO.

Commission the Cerro Tololo Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (COSMOS), a ReSTARsupported project, on the Blanco 4-m telescope, and make COSMOS available for community use
on a shared-risk basis.
Status: Completed. Commissioning runs occurred in June and July 2014, and the instrument was
available for shared-risk community observing beginning in observing semester 2014B. Use of
COSMOS during 2014B will be affected strongly by the heavy time demands of the Dark Energy
Survey during B semesters. The remaining responsibility for operational support of COSMOS rests
with CTIO.

Complete the detector-controller-software integration tasks for TripleSpec (a ReSTAR-supported)
project, and deliver the integrated and optimized detector systems to Cornell University for final
integration of the entire instrument.
Status: The detector-controller-software integration was nearly complete by the end of FY14. The full
suite of engineering-level software was finished and put in active use. The multiplexer (MUX) and
engineering-grade detector (for the slit-viewing camera) were fully tested and verified to operate
nominally both warm and cold. One full cycle of testing and optimization of the science-grade detector
(for the spectrograph itself) was completed. It was found to operate nominally except for an anomalous
hot pixel in one half of the array that contaminates surrounding pixels at increasing levels with
increasing integration times. Fortunately, the spectrograph illuminates only half of the science-grade
array. As FY14 ended, the team had successfully tested a low-level software solution for this hot pixel
(essentially running that one pixel in “continuous reset” mode while the rest of the array runs
normally). The team also elected to rotate the device so the hot pixel is not illuminated in the
instrument, in case the detector behavior changes over the long term. A corrected fan-out board
allowing this rotation is expected from the fabricator in October 2014, and delivery to Cornell is
targeted for November 2014. This delivery is in sufficient time to support laboratory integration of the
instrument at Cornell without adversely affecting Cornell’s schedule.

Remove the partially populated One Degree Imager (pODI) from WIYN, disassemble it in the
Tucson laboratory, and begin integration of the expanded 6 × 6 focal plane into the Dewar.
Status: This project was postponed and descoped to a 5×5 focal plane upgrade due to issues with CCD
procurement and cost. The descoped project is scheduled to begin with removal of pODI in November
2014 followed by return of the upgraded instrument to WIYN in June 2015. Responsibility for this
project was transferred to NN-ETS as all of the relevant personnel work within that program.
4.4.2
LSST Technology
FY14 Program Review
The LSST Technology program at NOAO was very active and productive this year in both technical and
programmatic support of deliverables to major work packages of the LSST Project. Several large, early
procurement efforts were successfully developed, released, evaluated, and recommended for award
including the Summit Facility Building construction and the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA). The final
design review for the dome enclosure system was also completed, with the request for proposal released
and vendor bid responses due in late FY14.
The Telescope and Site team prepared and assisted in a complete update to all basis of estimate
materials (vendor quotes, catalogue pricing, engineering estimate, historical, etc.) for all activities used to
develop and support the overall construction plan. This effort was completed in preparation for the LSST
50
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
Final Design Review (FDR). The FDR, originally scheduled for October 2013, was rescheduled and
successfully completed in December 2013. This major Project milestone was followed by review and
approval of LSST construction by the National Science Board at their May 2014 meeting, and inclusion in
the approved FY14 federal budget with favorable funding profiles. Lastly, the National Science Foundation
issued Cooperative Support Agreement Award AST-1202910 on 1 August 2014, officially approving
construction authorization.
The transition to the LSST construction phase will be supported by the planned ramp-up and increase
in staffing in late FY14 to supplement the current group activities. Additional resources will be added to
complement the current team to provide increased program management oversight of major subcontracts as
they transition into final design and construction activities. Discussions have begun with NOAO to modify
existing office space in Tucson and in Chile to accommodate the additional personnel. Early procurement
contracts already awarded (M2 Cell Assembly, TMA, Hexapod/Rotator Systems) will exercise their Phase
B fabrication options, to enable the current fixed price efforts to remain in place, but with the emphasis
now on final design, construction, assembly, test, and final delivery.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Site and Facility:

Support the final review and closeout of the 100% facility design drawing package from
ARCADIS in Santiago;

conduct an open procurement effort to solicit a Chilean general contractor; and

award the site and facility general contractor contract.
Status: The procurement effort for the summit facility building construction (see Figure 8) was
conducted and completed in Chile in April 2014, with several complete proposals received. The vendor
Figure 8: The LSST Summit Facility final design interface drawing.
51
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
bids were examined and evaluated thoroughly by the bid review panel. An award recommendation was
provided to the LSST Project Office in May 2014. The recommended bid from Besalco Construcciones,
S.A. was approved by the NSF in September 2014.
Initial technical discussions and “value engineering” efforts were begun with the recommended
Chilean contractor to align their bid proposal with all required components, models, and quantities.
Additional discussions between the contractor and the LSST architectural and engineering firm
ARCADIS are aimed at reducing the final contract price through identification of efficiencies in
construction techniques or design changes. Contractor mobilization on the summit is anticipated in
late 2014, with initial activities to focus on civil works (roads, utilities, etc.) and final excavation at the
summit.

Dome:

Complete the enclosure and the wind/light screen baseline designs and prepare the procurement
package for the design and fabrication contract; and

award the dome design and fabrication contract.
Status: The wind/light screen system for the rotating enclosure (dome) was revised and completed to
accommodate the updated telescope minimum elevation requirement of 20 degrees. This reduced
requirement (from 15 degrees) enables adoption of a design similar to the one currently used by the
Gemini telescope, significantly reducing the system complexity and operational risk. The team
conducted the Final Design Review for the dome system (see Figure 9) in May 2014. The 1.5-day
design review was held in Tucson and conducted by a three-person external committee along with
several potential pre-qualified vendors. The design documentation was well received by the committee,
and their final panel report was very positive regarding the work completed (successfully addressing
all seven charge items).
Figure 9: The LSST Dome/Lower Enclosure interface drawing.
52
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
The dome procurement package documentation was updated and finalized utilizing feedback from the
design review committee. Subsequently, the dome system Request for Proposal (RFP) was released by
the AURA contracts officer in July 2014, with all bids due in early October 2014. The plan is to assess
and evaluate all bids received via a bid review committee and recommend in early 2015 a vendor to
fabricate the dome system. Timely award of this major subsystem is needed to maintain the overall
Project schedule.

Telescope Mount:

Complete the evaluation of vendor bids for the telescope mount;

award the telescope design and fabrication contract;

commence the initial engineering design activities with the telescope mount vendor; and

commence the initial engineering design activities with the hexapod/rotator system vendor.
Status: The TMA contract was recommended to a Spanish consortium (GHESA/Asturfeito) in early
2014. Initial design and development meetings were held in both Montreal (at the SPIE annual
meeting) and in Madrid in mid 2014. These initial engineering activities were focused on summary of
the vendor’s program plan, review of performance requirements, and review of all interfaces
(specifically those within the summit support facility). The TMA design (see Figure 10) will utilize
linear drive motor systems for both the elevation and azimuth directions. Incorporating this system and
the hydrostatic bearing track will require slight modification to the summit facility building design. In
August 2014, the GHESA/Asturfeito team final contract was approved by the NSF for final design and
construction.
Figure 10: Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) system and facility interface drawing.
Moog/CSA Engineering in Mountain View, California, was awarded the contract for the
hexapod/rotator systems (secondary mirror hexapod and the camera hexapod/rotator). Moog began
initial design activities in March 2014 to complete the final strut geometries and rotator component
selections. Initial designs of the strut flexures were completed as well as preliminary testing of
subscale rotator bearings and motor components (see Figure 11). A closeout review of initial design
53
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Figure 11: Flexure design/analysis for LSST hexapod system.
activities occurred in late September 2014, prior to the next phase of work, which will include final
design activities, construction, fabrication and test, and final delivery.

Reflective Optics:

Work with the LSST primary mirror vendor to perform, witness, and complete final acceptance
testing of the mirror,

develop command software and test the initial prototype of the inner loop controller, and

work with the secondary mirror assembly vendor to perform metrology risk reduction activities.
Status: The University of Arizona Steward
Observatory Mirror Laboratory (SOML) is on
schedule to complete polishing of the
primary/tertiary (M1M3) mirror (see Figure
12) in late 2014. The mirror surfaces are near
final specifications (as of the end of FY14), and
final acceptance test procedures have been
developed and reviewed.
The M1M3 shipping/storage container was
delivered, and a suitable storage location was
secured in Tucson. The mirror lifting fixture
was removed from local storage and delivered
to SOML to be assembled and tested to prepare
for final completion and storage of the
completed M1M3. Upon completion of the
optical testing, the M1M3 will be stored until
the telescope mirror cell and active support
system are fabricated and delivered to Tucson.
The Inner Loop Controller prototype board
assembly (Figure 13) was fabricated, delivered,
and successfully tested in the LSST lab. This
single board provides a common interface to
over 1300 inputs needed within the M1/M3 cell
assembly.
54
Figure 12: M1M3 undergoing optical testing at SOML.
Figure 13: Inner Loop Controller prototype assembly.
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
Exelis, the vendor for the secondary mirror (M2) cell assembly concluded initial metrology risk
reduction activities to support the optical fabrication effort. The M2 demonstration hardware was used
to evaluate the subaperture stitching algorithms, which are required to polish and test the M2 prime
hardware via interferometric analysis. Alignment and calibration procedures and techniques to be
used in optical processing of M2 were verified and improved. In late 2014, the M2 substrate will be
shipped from Massachusetts to New York in its transport/turnover fixture (see Figure 14) for
inspection and transfer of ownership from LSST. Exelis will begin final system design and construction
activities with a kickoff meeting in early October 2014.
Figure 14: M2 substrate and cell assembly hardware components (left) and
transport/turnover fixture (right).

Wavefront. Alignment and Calibration:

Remove the Calypso telescope from its site, evaluate the hardware condition, and formulate a
detailed refurbishment plan;

support the LSST calibration design review with input and design of instrument and atmospheric
calibration equipment.
Status: The team successfully completed the logistics processes and procedure planning necessary to
safely relocate the Calypso telescope from its site on Kitt Peak to the NOAO high bay area in Tucson
(see Figure 15). The telescope structure was disassembled to accommodate shipment, and the mirrors
were removed and secured in their shipping boxes and will eventually be cleaned and recoated. The
telescope hardware was secured to the floor at NOAO and will be inspected for eventual refurbishment
and upgrading of the drive and control systems. The drive system, control system, and secondary
mirror hexapod systems will all be replaced and upgraded to enable supervisory control from the main
LSST Telescope Control System.
Figure 15: Calypso telescope mount moved from Kitt Peak to NOAO high bay.
The Telescope team supported the refinement of calibration system performance requirements with the
LSST Simulations team. A suite of ancillary equipment will be used to monitor the atmosphere and
55
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
provide input to the calibration pipeline. The requirements drive the definition and acquisition of
hardware components to provide instrument photometric calibration and a measure of the atmospheric
water vapor content.

Software and Controls: Continue development of the operations scheduler preliminary design.
Status: The teams successfully developed and completed a week-long telescope software workshop at
CTIO. The goal was to review the status of software developments that were completed during the
previous design and development tasks (and proven on telescope hardware), present a software
development process to be followed during construction, and assess upcoming work flow and
responsibilities. Details of the operational scheduler design were completed.
In September 2014, the group held an external review of the Observation Control System (OCS)
interfaces, with emphasis on the operations scheduler. The meeting was reviewed by a three-panel
committee and was completed successfully, with useful comments from the reviewers. Development
tools and a workflow were identified to support a unified software effort.

Data Management: Update the data management infrastructure plans, especially as they impact the
summit and base facilities in Chile.
Status: The LSST Software team worked with the LSST Data Management and Camera teams to
update infrastructure requirements and plans (summit networks, summit to base communications, etc.).
Additional information regarding the details of the base facility (e.g., concrete floors being acceptable
with no raised floor being required) were defined. These requirements are needed to support the
planned design of the summit and base facilities as they move into the final design stages in
preparation for construction.

Utility Systems: Update the design for the electrical distribution, grounding, and utility services for
the summit facility to be consistent with the 100% summit facility drawing package and any
vendor-specific information from the secondary mirror and mount contracts.
Status: The 100% summit facility drawing packages were thoroughly reviewed by the lead LSST
electrical engineer to ensure compliance with the secondary mirror and mount contracts. The award of
the TMA contract resulted in the need to accommodate a hydrostatic bearing oil pump system within
the facility. In addition, the TMA vendor’s use of linear drive motors will reduce the size of the
capacitor bank system within the pier, making room for additional camera refrigeration equipment.
Information was provided and shared with the general La Serena/CTIO observatory community about
planned upgrades to utility systems necessary for LSST operations.

Systems Engineering:

Coordinate and complete the development of level 2 and 3 telescope and site interface documents;

complete the requirements modeling for the telescope and site, as well as the observation control
systems; and

update the hazard analysis and risk register of the telescope and site system.
Status: LSST Systems Engineering staff continued to refine and update interface documents to support
early vendor contractor efforts as well as internal requirements to the Camera and Data Management
subsystems. Many of these interfaces among subsystems (Telescope and Site, Data Management,
Camera) were reviewed during the OCS Interfaces review in September 2014. The observatory solid
model was updated to reflect the 100% drawing package and recent refinements to the Dome
subsystem. Additional efforts were completed to increase the use of the Confluence and JIRA
applications to provide broad communication and timely response to action items across the Project.
56
GROUND-BASED O/IR OBSERVING SYSTEM OPERATIONS
Each major subsystem has adopted an individual Confluence page to track progress and document
information as these systems move forward in construction.

Project Management:

Support the project with participation as an LSST Board member and an AURA Management
Council for LSST (AMCL) member,

complete the 2013 inputs for the updated Project Management Control System, and

support and participate in project-wide reviews.
Status: Aside from general support to internal reviews, the Telescope team (see Figure 16)
participated in the successful completion of the NSF Final Design Review (FDR) in December 2013.
This week-long meeting included 18 reviewers and government representatives. In preparation for the
review, the Project Management Control System (PMCS) basis of estimates were all updated to 2013
base year dollars and refreshed to be within six months old. The Project is included in the approved
federal budget with favorable funding profiles. The National Science Foundation issued Cooperative
Support Agreement Award AST-1202910 on 1 August 2014, officially approving construction
authorization.
Figure 16: LSST successfully completed its FDR in December 2013.

Operations Simulator:

Support the Operations Simulator (OpSim) group lead and the OpSim group’s principle interface
to the LSST Project,

develop necessary scientific metrics for the analysis of the OpSim output, and

complete and deliver the final design version of the OpSim tool set to support the LSST final
design review and the preparation for construction.
Status: The team successfully completed an external review of the Operations Simulator (OpSim) in
February 2014. The final report of the four-person review committee was very positive regarding the
materials presented and the development roadmap plan. The OpSim team is preparing for the
transition to construction of the Operational Scheduler, while maintaining the simulation effort within
the LSST Systems Engineering group. Additional details of the OpSim development plan also were
reviewed during the OCS Interface review successfully completed in September 2014.

Education and Public Outreach: Provide LSST graphic design assistance and website development
to support design reviews and planned procurements.
Status: The telescope team developed and utilized numerous custom website pages and links to support
broad communication and information transfer during all of the design reviews and procurement
efforts. These vehicles were effective in offering open communications to interested parties. Additional
supporting graphical design materials were used during the FDR to support the review.
57
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
5
5.1
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
OFFICE OF SCIENCE
FY14 Program Review
The Office of Science (OS) works to enhance the scientific environment at NOAO and NOAO’s ties to the
local academic astronomy community. The OS also works to engage the US community of astronomers in
various aspects of the NOAO mission.
To accomplish these goals, OS supports and encourages research by the NOAO scientific staff by
providing resources (e.g., equipment, funding, and mentoring) and supporting programs (e.g., the NOAO
North and South colloquium series, science workshops, coffees and teas, and the Goldberg Fellowship
program) that foster a scientifically productive environment. OS schedules and manages promotion, tenure,
and post-tenure reviews of the NOAO scientific staff and is responsible for policies and training related to
the responsible conduct of research. The OS head of program represents the NOAO scientific staff to the
NOAO director. OS also sponsors and supports community workshops aimed at engaging the community
in the NOAO mission.
Major activities and events for OS during FY14 included the following. The OS conducted the
program for the 2013-2014 NOAO/Steward Colloquium Series in collaboration with the University of
Arizona Steward Observatory. The OS initiated the program for the 2014-2015 Colloquium Series. In
collaboration with the NOAO postdoctoral researchers, the 2013-2014 program of Friday Lunch talks
(FLASHes) and Tuesday coffees was conducted, and the 2014-2015 program for both initiated. The OS
published four issues of the NOAO electronic newsletter Currents during the year to alert the NOAO
community to important initiatives and news from NOAO. The OS prepared the science highlights for two
NOAO Newsletters published during this reporting period. The highlights shared new science results
obtained with NOAO facilities. The OS worked with the Aaronson Prize committee at Steward
Observatory to select Alice Shapley as the 2014 Aaronson Prize winner.
The OS proposed and began organizing an NOAO-hosted meeting, “Tools for Astronomical Big Data,”
to help inform the community of the present tools available for the analysis of astronomical “big data.”
This workshop will be held 9–11 March 2015, in Tucson, in conjunction with the “DECam Community
Science Workshop,” which will follow on March 11–13. Invited speakers have been recruited, and the
meeting has been announced to the astronomical community.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Establish a program of monthly informal lunches and actively encourage postdocs to attend
NOAO-sponsored science talks and colloquia and scientific staff meetings to improve the
integration of the NOAO postdocs into the NOAO science environment.
Status: The OS will host a discussion in the fall of 2014 phased with the start of the new academic
year.

Continue to develop materials for and implement a retraining program on Responsible Conduct in
Research for NOAO scientific staff.
Status: No progress.

Provide mentoring and career development resources to staff as needed, particularly to
postdoctoral researchers.
58
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
Status: The postdoctoral researchers self-organized to discuss a variety of topics concerned with their
professional development. This was done through a series of afternoon coffees to which the permanent
NOAO staff and researchers at the University of Arizona are invited. Each coffee focuses on a
discussion of a single career development topic. These were well attended, and the discussions have
elicited a frank input from participants over a wide range of professional development.
5.2
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH
FY14 Program Review
The following are highlights of the various Education and Public Outreach (EPO) programs and activities
that took place during FY14.
Education Outreach
The EPO North group supported several educational
Public Outreach
events every week for a total of over 140 events during
Information Requests & Inquiries
FY14. The EPO undergraduate students supported two
thirds of the mostly local events. Over 40% of the events
(October 2013 through September 2014)
were related to dark skies education. Slightly more than
Type/Origin of Request
Number
20% of the events were national and 10% were
Information requests/inquiries about
international (e.g., workshops). Events were focused
astronomy/science (phone calls, e710
around Tohono O’odham programs (20); Dark Skies
mails, and walk-ins/requests for
sessions at the Cooper Center for Environmental
posters, bookmarks, brochures, etc.
Learning (CCEL) (19); podcasts (16); school star parties
Requests and inquiries for use of
(14); festivals, fairs and family events (14); educator
1,150
NOAO images
workshops (12); conference talks and posters (11);
classroom program visits (8); camps (5); and internet
1,860
Total
presentations (4). The EPO students continued to build
the education kits for Teaching with Telescopes and the
Dark Skies and Energy Education program.
The EPO students supported several educational events that occur annually. These included an event
with hundreds of students during Ted Walker Day at Old Tucson, the “MathMovesU” Galileoscope build
event, and a lively citywide student optics festival at St. Michael’s School in Tucson. For the Tohono
O’odham Nation, EPO staff and students supported the Sells Rodeo and Fair in January/February, as well
as the Truck of Love Camp in Pisinemo in June. There were also science fairs, a science café, a career day,
star parties, and Kitt Peak trips for the Tohono O’odham Nation. NOAO EPO staff and students also
supported astronomy activities at the University of Arizona’s Festival of Books in March, one of the largest
such events in the country. The group hosted hands-on astronomy-themed activities for the two Science
Family Nights at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM) this past summer and helped with a new,
popular ASDM event called “Native Universe” in June and the FunFest in November. The two-week,
summer “Colors of Nature” camp for 30-middle school girls in Tucson was supported by all of the EPO
students and they also helped to prepare for the two-week “Colors of Nature” camp that followed in
Fairbanks, Alaska. Dark skies education was provided twice this year by NOAO for the Tucson Amateur
Astronomy Association’s Fundamental’s Class, as well as a few dark skies workshops for Project ASTRO,
the Cooper Center, and Tucson teachers. EPO students helped with those workshops and the preparations
for national workshops at professional conferences of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA),
AAS, Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) and American Geophysical Union (AGU).
Dark Skies Education Program
By the end of calendar year 2014, NOAO EPO will have conducted 12 Globe at Night campaigns (10 days
each month) for citizen scientists worldwide. Over 15,700 observations from 90 countries, all 50 states, and
59
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Washington, D.C., have been collected from January through September 2014. The Globe at Night website
was redesigned for 2014. Globe at Night now has a public infographics web page that keeps real-time tabs
on statistics including mobile device usage and translated report page usage in submitting observations, as
well as histograms of limiting magnitudes by country. A successful dark skies and energy education
program for 12 sub-Saharan African countries (funded by the International Astronomical Union Office of
Astronomy for Development) ended shortly after the first quarter of FY14. The final report is available
upon request. In November, during the project’s last of the six Google+ Hangout sessions, the education
coordinators were trained to work with high-school students on the final dark skies educational activity in
the teaching kit.
During the fall if 2013, NOAO EPO teamed with the University of Arizona’s American Indian Science
and Engineering Society (AISES) program to provide light pollution research (an outdoor lighting audit) to
six high-school students from various Native American Nations in Arizona. The students presented their
results at a poster conference at the University of Arizona in October. In September, EPO supported local
Native American high-school students from Ha:san Preparatory and Leadership School at a camp-out on
Kitt Peak with dark skies education and opportunities to participate in Globe at Night observations. In the
spring of 2014, nineteen 2.5-hour dark skies sessions were provided to students in the 4th to 8th grades (50
per session) at the Tucson CCEL. Local teachers were trained at the Project ASTRO workshops in the fall
and spring as well as at an all-day dedicated workshop on dark skies and energy education in March.
Nationally, workshops were given at NSTA conferences, two AAS conferences, and the annual ASP
conference to educators teaching grades 4–14.
NOAO EPO was involved with the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) Education Committee’s
production of six pop-up traveling exhibit displays on how light pollution affects energy consumption,
safety, wildlife, and health, as well as an introductory display and one-on-one solutions. They will be
downloadable for free on the IDA website. The displays debuted at the “Blinded by the Light” conference
in Flagstaff in August 2014. At the conference, NOAO EPO was invited to show posters by Research
Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) students on the last three summers of light pollution research. Amy
Juan, an Integrated Optics for Undergraduate Native Americans REU student from the Tohono O’odham
Nation, presented her poster on her summer 2014 light pollution research at NOAO with John Kanemoto, a
teacher from the STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) program. Together they compared six methods for
taking night sky brightness measurements. In April, NOAO EPO again chaired the Global Astronomy
Month; Globe at Night was a centerpiece activity for the month, as was the international Earth and Sky
photo contest and IDA’s International Dark Sky Week. There were over one thousand photo entries from
55 countries for the photo contest. The 10 winning photos were covered by MSNBC, National Geographic,
Sky and Telescope, the Astronomy Picture of the Day website, and the Huffington Post, among others.
EPO staff was highly productive with dark skies and Globe at Night education articles in various
outreach venues like the International Year of Light (IYL2015) (light2015.org/Home/About/LatestNews/September2014/Citizen-Science-and-Globe-at-Night.html#.VBmQoc-m30Q.twitter). Papers were also
submitted to the Astronomical Society of the Pacific conference series, AAVSO (“Analysis of Seven Years
of Globe at Night Data,” by J. Birriel et al.) and to PNAS (“Worldwide Variations in Artificial Skyglow,”
by C. Kyba et al.). During December, staff convened (and presented at) four American Geophysical Union
meeting sessions (two oral and two poster). One pair of sessions (Educator Professional Development
Programs Promoting Authentic Scientific Research) was convened for the eleventh consecutive year by
NOAO. The other set of oral and poster sessions was on citizen-science, convening for the sixth year in a
row. Talks on Globe at Night data, dark skies programs and research, and the IYL2015 were presented at
the AAS, IDA Annual General Meeting (AGM), the Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) conference and the
Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) conference, as well as four posters at ALAN, CAP and
AGU. NOAO Two EPO students presented posters on the 2013 Dark Skies Yuma and Dark Skies Africa
programs at the IDA meeting. (At the IDA meeting, W. Roddy and REU 2013 student, R. Nydegger, were
awarded the Rising Star Award for their light pollution research at NOAO.) At the AAS meeting in
60
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
January, a special session on light pollution was organized by NOAO staff with several talks by
observatory directors and experts in the field.
NOAO EPO was awarded funding for a project for IYL2015’s Cosmic Light cornerstone theme and
has started the planning phase for a Quality Lighting Teaching Kit. The kits will be distributed through the
member chapters and student chapters of collaborators IDA, SPIE, and CIE (Commission internationale de
l'éclairage). NOAO EPO also was awarded a two-day Focus Meeting on light pollution and observatory site
protection during the IAU General Assembly. Planning for that meeting was begun.
Tohono O’odham Outreach
There were a total of 17 events on the Nation, including visits to the Sells after-school program, tours of
Kitt Peak, the Tohono O’odham Truck of Love Summer Camp, Indian Day at Indian Oasis Elementary
School, science fair judging, a star party at Tohono O’odham High School, and a star party at Tohono
O’odham Community College.
Astronomy is being taught by NOAO staff again this fall at Tohono O’odham Community College.
The class has 15 students, one of the largest classes at the college. It meets twice a week and carries four
credits as a laboratory class. Details on the organization of last year’s astronomy class were reported at the
January AAS meeting: NOAO staff were approached by astronomers from the University of Wisconsin
who are interested in partnering with a tribal college in their state.
Project ASTRO
The Tucson Project ASTRO program continued to support teachers and astronomers around the city with
materials and help at star parties and with professional development. NOAO maintains a variety of kits that
teachers can check out for classroom use. These kits are maintained by the EPO students and checked out
on a regular basis. NOAO staff and EPO students assisted with numerous Project ASTRO star parties and
classroom visits and attended the annual ASTRO site leaders meeting in Michigan.
The spring Project ASTRO workshop took place at NOAO on 3 May 2014; 28 Project ASTRO
teachers and astronomers attended the workshop. The agenda included project updates, recognition of the
Partnership of the Year award, dark skies activities, and a star party.
The 2014 Project ASTRO fall workshop was held at KPNO on 26 September, 2014. This all-day
workshop was attended by 16 teachers and 13 astronomers (some astronomers have more than one teacher
partner). NOAO will support these new partnerships as well as existing partnerships during the upcoming
school year.
Social Media
NOAO participated in the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast producing one episode per month that
highlighted the research of an NOAO astronomer. Five other podcasts aired this year that promoted
NOAO’s Dark Sky and GLOBE at Night programs. NOAO has over 1500 “likes” on Facebook and over
1700 followers on Google+.
Teaching with Telescopes
The Teaching with Telescopes website is for teachers to obtain information on using Galileoscopes in the
classroom. The website is updated as needed, especially the Galileoscope Observing Gide, which is revised
each year to help teachers and students observe the planets, the Moon, and other interesting astronomical
events.
A four-hour Galileoscope workshop was held at the National Science Teachers Association meeting in
Boston on 5 April 2014. Eighteen teachers learned about the optics of telescopes and built their own
Galileoscope during the workshop. Another major Galileoscope build took place on 13 February 2014
when NOAO led approximately 180 students in building Galileoscopes as part of the “Math MovesU”
event (in cooperation with Raytheon and the University of Arizona Math, Engineering, and Science
Achievement program); participants included a class of students from Ha:san High School.
NOAO staff has been meeting with staff from the Marana Unified School District to plan an upcoming
Galileoscope star party and teacher professional development sessions.
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Colors of Nature
The NSF-sponsored Collaborative Research Project STEAM: Integrating Art with Science to Build Science
Identities among Girls is known as “Colors of Nature” to the project partners: NOAO, the University of
Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of Washington Bothell. The Tucson Colors of Nature Summer
Academy was held June 9–20 and attended by 29 girls, including 7 from the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Several girls from the 2013 Colors of Nature Summer Academy returned to act as mentors this summer.
The Colors of Nature Summer Academy in Fairbanks, Alaska, was held July 7–18. A research talk on the
program’s research on science identity formation was presented at the annual meeting of the National
Association for Research in Science Teaching in Pittsburgh.
The Tucson Colors of Nature Summer Academy students attended a special star party at KPNO on 26
October 2013. The students and their families enjoyed telescope tours, solar observing, dinner, and a star
party. The Colors of Nature program hosted three science cafés this year in Arizona. Two of the cafés took
place in Tucson and one was held in Sells, Arizona. Total attendance at the three cafés was approximately
35 people.
Public Information Office
The EPO Public Information Office received 20 requests for filming, tours, and/or interviews on Kitt Peak
during FY13–14. Of the 20 requests, 7 groups were served. Some groups canceled due to scheduling
conflicts or other issues, while a few were denied access because their commercial interests did not meet
AURA’s mission statement for research, scientific, and/or educational purposes.
Media Releases
In FY14, NOAO issued eight media releases (see Table 3), which covered science discoveries at both
CTIO and KPNO. Released through the office of the AAS, these media releases all generated attention on
the Web, generally from sites concerned with science. All releases are available on the NOAO website
under the “News & Reports” tab.
Various other items not at the level of a full media release were featured on the NOAO homepage.
These included new wide-field images of M31 and M33 created with Local Group Survey data that was
taken on the Mayall 4-m telescope; the images were processed by Travis Rector and are available from the
NOAO Image Gallery web pages. Also highlighted were images taken with the Soar Adaptive Module
(SAM) at CTIO and the arrival of KOSMOS at the Mayall 4-m telescope.
Table 3: FY14 media releases by EPO.
Release No. Date
Source
Title
13-11
14-01
9 December 2013
19 February 2014
NOAO/SOAR
NOAO
14-02
14-03
14-04
2 April 2014
16 April 2014
23 June 2014
NOAO/Gemini
NOAO
NOAO
14-05
6 August 2014
NOAO
14-06
14-07
3 September 2014
22 September 2014
NOAO
NOAO/NRAO
62
Where Do Stars End and Brown Dwarfs Begin?
Astronomers at the National Observatory
Continue to Watch Sn 2014J
Sakurai’s Object: Stellar Evolution in Real Time
A Sharp Eye on Southern Binary Stars
The Coolest Known White Dwarf: A Diamond
in the Sky?
Dr. Arlo Landolt: 55 years of Observing at the
National Observatories
Half of all Exoplanet Host Stars are Binaries
Infant Solar System Shows Signs of Windy
Weather
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
Project ASTRO
In March 2014, the spring workshop hosted past and current astronomers, their teacher partners, and guests.
Departing from the usual daytime workshop, this meeting focused on Dark Skies and the Globe at Night
project and provided the group with an introduction to astrophotography. The fall workshop departed from
the past model by being only one day and being held at Kitt Peak. Initial feedback was positive; however,
the weather was uncooperative for observing.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
The NOAO NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site programs at KPNO and
CTIO offer undergraduate students the opportunity to engage in challenging research activities with
scientists working at the forefront of astronomy and astrophysics. Students are hired as full-time research
assistants to work with NOAO staff members on selected research projects for a period of ten to twelve
weeks during the summer in the respective hemispheres. As part of their research activities, REU students
gain firsthand experience with state-of-the art telescopes and instrumentation and develop expertise in the
data analysis tools specific to astronomical research. Six students (two women and four men) participated
in the CTIO REU program at NOAO South and six students (five women and one man) participated in the
KPNO REU program at NOAO North. Table 4 lists the participating REU students, their mentors, and their
summer projects.
The REU students were involved in other activities in addition to working on their projects. KPNO
REU students took a field trip to the National Solar Observatory, the Very Large Array (VLA), and the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey Telescope. The students observed at the KPNO 2.1-m telescope with the CFIM
direct-imaging CCD on July 8–14 and the FLAMINGOS near-infrared camera/spectrometer on July 22–28.
The CTIO REU students visited the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), Gemini ObservatorySouth, and the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope. The CTIO REU students also
observed with the SMARTS 0.9-m telescope on Cerro Tololo February 3–10. The 2013 KPNO REU and
CTIO REU students attended and presented posters at the January 2014 AAS meeting in Washington, D.C.
Table 4: REU students at CTIO and KPNO during FY14.
CTIO REU Students
Institution
Mentor
Project
Sarah Marie Burkhart
Arizona State University
Dr. Percy Gomez (Gemini)
“An Investigation into the Dynamics in Abell 3827”
John Michael Farmer
Clemson University
Dr. Kathy Vivas (CTIO)
“Probing Kinemetic Substructures in the Virgo
Overdensity using Bright RR Lyrae from the La Silla
QUEST Survey”
Joshua Carl Frechem
Old Dominion University
Dr. Peter Pessev (Gemini)
“Near Infrared Spectroscopy of Active Galactic
Circumnuclear Regions”
Shane Matthew Loeffler
University of Minnesota Duluth
Dr. Catherine Kaleida (CTIO)
“Comparing Stellar Populations Across the Hubble
Sequence”
Veronica D. (Margot) Paez
University of California Los
Angeles
Dr. Blair Conn (Gemini)
“Investigating the Depth and Data of a Wide Field
Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud”
(Table 4 continues on next page.)
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Table 4 REU students at CTIO and KPNO during FY14. (Continued)
KPNO REU Students
Institution
Mentor
Project
Samantha Brunker
University of Kansas
Dr. Jayadev Rajagopal (NOAO), “Studying Active Asteroids using pODI”
Dr. Susan Ridgway (NOAO)
Jamison Burke
Swarthmore College
Dr. Chuck Claver (LSST)
“LSST Site: Sky Brightness Data”
Belinda Cheeseboro
Andrews University
Dr. Dara Norman (NOAO)
“AGN Through the Eyes of WISE”
Kyle Lackey
University of South Carolina
Dr. Jay Elias (NOAO)
“Through the Les of COSMOS: Lithium in Lupus 3”
Marcus Lee
Tohono O’odham Community
College
Dr. Gautham Narayan (NOAO) “Characterizing and Classifying Variables from
LSST”
Anna Payne
Wellesley College
Dr. Hanae Inami
“Analyzing Hydrogen Recombination Lines in the
Infrared and Optical to Determine Extinction and
SFRs of Local LIRGs”
NOAO South Education & Outreach
The EPO South team is working on several joint projects with long-term partners in community and student
science education, such as CEAZA(Center for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones), University Santo Tomás,
and Explora-CONICYT. During FY14, many projects were created and implemented in almost all of the
communities of the Región de Coquimbo (Region of Coquimbo). On October 2013, in collaboration with
Explora-CONICYT, EPO South organized the local “Week of Science” with events that included visits to
CTIO labs and telescope sites for outstanding students and participation in public fairs in La Serena,
Coquimbo. Another important collaboration was with the local office of the Environmental Ministry,
leading to the first “Sustainable Neighborhood” project developed in the popular Coquimbo neighborhood
of San Ramón. This collaboration involved the implementation of a complete set of activities aimed at
teaching neighbors about environment protection and energy savings and developing a consciousness of
light pollution and its control.
In January 2014, part of the EPO South team
CTIO Visitor Center & Tours
travelled to Concepción in the south of Chile to
participate in the University of Concepción’s summer
Summary of Participants
school with the special goal of promoting the 2014
(October 2013 through September 2014)
Globe at Night campaign.
Group/Program
# of Participants
Collaborations continued in the second quarter of
2,066
CADIAS Center
FY14 with CEAZA in the joint project “Science,
Education and Sustainability for the Touristic
12,213
CADIAS Outreach
Development of the Region of Coquimbo.” The project,
2,009
Tololo Guided Tours
which ended in September 2014, has performed several
2,024
School Groups K-12
activities and conducted training sessions to develop
science-related competencies (including astronomy) in
580
Special Tours
the inhabitants of Punta Choros and Caleta Hornos to
18,892
Total
promote sustainable tourism in the Region. With the
University Santo Tomás of La Serena, EPO South staff
conducted the third training cycle of preschool teachers and preschool teacher students. The training
included workshops on basic astronomy, spectroscopy, and light pollution control. This cycle was carried
64
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
out throughout the whole first semester of 2014. It involved 75 preschool teachers and 15 students, with
more than 48 hours of training delivered.
In the third quarter of FY14, the EPO South team began another joint collaboration with CEAZA to
train science teachers and students from ten municipal schools of La Serena on science inquiry and
astronomy teaching/learning. This project will reach a total of ten teachers and approximately 100 students.
During the fourth quarter, the team continued collaborations with CEAZA using Explora-CONYCIT
funds in the project “The Whys of My Region,” working in classes and training preschool students of the
community of La Higuiera, located to the north of La Serena. The team also established new collaborations
with SERNATUR (Tourism National Office), CONAF (Park Rangers National Office), and INJUV (Youth
National Office), providing several training programs on astronomy-related activities to astro-tourism
guides, park rangers, and teenagers from different places of the Region of Coquimbo (see Figure 17). In
summary, during FY14, a total of 162 events were held by the EPO South team, with a total reach of
18,892 people.
Figure 17: Teenagers stargazing at Fray Jorge Natural Reserve Park as
part of a collaboration project with INJUV to promote the protection of
dark skies, flora, and fauna.
Status of FY14 Milestones

Support the strategic plan for NOAO South outreach and the Centro de Apoyo a la Didáctica de la
Astronomía (CADIAS) astronomy teaching center in Chile. This includes programs involving dark
skies education and teaching with Galileoscopes.
Status: Fulfilled, with efforts made to revitalize CADIAS and with strong teaching programs on dark
skies education and on teaching with Galileoscopes.

Execute a wide-ranging, dark skies awareness program for Chile and Arizona, including the
national/international citizen science program, GLOBE at Night, started and run by NOAO.
Status: Globe at Night ran campaigns throughout the year and remains a vigorous program with
productivity numbers that indicate successful campaigns. The Cooper Environmental Center education
program with the Tucson Unified School District also is vigorous and successful.

Work with the Tohono O’odham Nation to support an astronomy program at the Tohono O’odham
Community College and to support a science fair program in the Tohono O’odham high schools.
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Status: EPO continued to offer support for science fairs; however, the arrival of a new superintendent
in the school district complicated efforts to develop an ongoing program. In August 2014, NOAO staff
again began teaching elementary astronomy at the Tohono O’odham Community College, with an
enrollment of 15 students.

Support the Teaching with Telescopes program in Arizona and Chile with teacher professional
development on telescope and optics concepts, making use of Galileoscopes. Support to the extent
possible the current Galileoscope star party programs in Yuma, Globe, Safford, and Flagstaff.
Maintain the national Teaching with Telescopes teacher support website.
Status: During FY14, the Teaching with Telescopes program used kits NOAO developed for the
program to help with professional development in the US and Chile. NOAO supported the star party
programs in Safford and Flagstaff.

Conduct professional development workshops and programs for formal and informal science
educators in coordination with professional organizations such as the National Science Teachers
Association (NSTA), the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific (ASP), the American Geophysical Union, and the Association of Science-Technology
Centers (ASTC).
Status: Numerous professional development workshops were given at NSTA, AAS, and ASP meetings.
NOAO organized and supported several sessions at the AGU on citizen science and teacher
professional development to encourage research in the classroom. The ASTC meeting was not attended
this fiscal year due to the federal government shutdown and budget issues.

Support the training of guides and provide support for astronomy programs for the public at the
major municipal and touristic observatories in northern Chile.
Status: This program continued in Chile with strong support from NOAO.

Support dark skies education programs in northern Chile with El Centro de Estudios Avanzados en
Zonas Áridas (CEAZA).
Status: The NOAO program with CEAZA, described earlier in the review of the EPO South Education
& Outreach program, remains highly productive.

Maintain an active southern Arizona Project ASTRO teacher/scientist partnership program with
professional development activities held at least twice a year.
Status: Project ASTRO ran well in FY14 even after the loss of the Project ASTRO coordinator this
fiscal year.

Design and deliver (with grant partners) a successful two-week summer academy for middle
school girls: during June 2014 in Tucson and during July 2014 in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Status: The Colors of Nature program delivered two successful (as judged by independent evaluations)
summer academies during FY14 in Tucson, Arizona, and Fairbanks, Alaska.
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NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
5.3
NOAO DIRECTOR’S OFFICE
FY14 Program Review
The NOAO Director’s Office (NDO) began the fiscal year by dealing with the impact of a two-week
Federal government shutdown. All NOAO actions were done in collaboration with the AURA Central
Administrative Services and Human Resources (HR) groups. Thanks to good contingency planning and
preparation on all sides, NOAO was able to maintain normal operations throughout the entire shutdown
without undue interruption.
NDO completed and delivered three major documents during Q1: the “NOAO Transformation Plan FY
2016,” the “NOAO Annual Program Plan FY 2014,” and the “NOAO Fiscal Year Annual Report FY
2013.” The first two documents were reviewed by the NSF Program Review Panel as part of a meeting held
at NSF Headquarters in November. The NOAO director and deputy director attended that meeting. During
Q2 and Q3, transformation planning continued with particular emphasis on NOAO-wide personnel
planning and KPNO restructuring. A revised transformation plan with status report was delivered to the
NSF during Q4 in concert with the delivery of the “NOAO Annual Program Plan FY 2015.” Before
delivery, these documents were reviewed and approved by the AURA Observatory Council. The NDO also
organized and delivered quarterly reports for Q1 and Q2 as well as an annual progress report after Q3.
The director and deputy director attended the AAS meetings in January (National Harbor, Maryland)
and May (Boston, Massachusetts). At the January meeting, the director conducted the annual NOAO Town
Hall, where he presented an update about the NOAO program and answered questions from the audience.
During the rest of the January and May meetings, the director and deputy director spent most of their time
at the NOAO booth to interact with conference attendees and answer their questions one on one.
During Q2, the NOAO director held a series of internal town halls. Meeting with groups of roughly
20–30 NOAO employees, the director repeated his January AAS Town Hall presentation and then
answered questions. These sessions typically lasted 90 minutes and were held on Kitt Peak and Cerro
Tololo as well as twice in La Serena and five times in Tucson. The goal was to make sure all NOAO
employees had a chance to interact with the director as NOAO heads into a time of great change. This
process will be repeated in early 2015.
The director participated in meetings of the LSST Board of Directors, TMT Collaborative Board of
Directors, LSST Joint Operations Working Group, Joint DES-LSST Workshop, AURA Management
Council for LSST, AURA Administrative Services Oversight Committee, and WIYN Board of Directors.
The director also participated in the 12th Kavli Futures Symposium that focused on the topic “Future U.S.
Ground-Based Astronomy in the Global Context,” at which he took part in a lively and frank two-day
discussion with other community leaders. At the invitation of the NASA Program Officer, the director was
a member of the review board for the Kepler prime mission close-out review. The director was also a
panelist for a management review of a non-astronomical NSF facility. As president of IAU Division B, the
director attended the IAU Executive Council meeting during Q3. The director and deputy director
participated in the 2014 TMT Science Forum, where the director gave a presentation entitled “TMT in the
Astronomical Landscape of the 2020s.” The director and deputy director both attended various sessions of
the LSST Final Design Review in early December 2013.
The director made presentations to the AURA Board of Directors, AURA Member Representatives (at
their annual meeting, which the deputy director also attended), AURA Observatory Council (where the
deputy director and the three associate directors presented as well), NOAO Users Committee (where the
deputy director and the three associate directors also presented), and NSF NOAO Program Review Panel
(where the deputy director presented as well).
The deputy director attended a Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) Science Advisory Committee
meeting in Pasadena in October. He also attended the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)
Collaboration meeting in May and the DESI Lab Director’s Review in November, which were both at
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The deputy director was present at the GMT Preliminary Design
Review in January and the GMT GMACS optical spectrograph workshop/Science Advisory Committee
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
meeting in April, which was hosted at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The deputy
director participated in several sessions with the EPO External Advisory Panel during their annual meeting
in Tucson in April. The deputy director also participated in the SOAR “Futures Workshop” in Chapel Hill
in May as a SOAR Board member for NOAO and attended the SOAR board meeting in Brazil in August.
The deputy director was designated as the senior manager responsible for all NOAO activitiy related to the
DESI Project and Science Collaboration.
Status of FY14 Milestones
Observatory Management

Develop an annual program plan for FY14, to be delivered during the first quarter of FY14.
Status: Completed. The FY14 plan was delivered to the NSF and posted to the NOAO News & Reports
web page.

Deliver detailed transformation plans covering FY14–FY16, to be executed in FY15, per NSF
directives.
Status: Completed. See discussion above.

Deliver scientific quarterly and annual progress reports as required by NSF under the terms of their
cooperative agreement with AURA for the management and operations of NOAO.
Status: Completed. The following reports were delivered to the NSF and posted to the NOAO News &
Reports web page: “NOAO Quarterly Scientific Report (1) FY 2014,” “NOAO Quarterly Scientific
Report (2) FY 2014,”and “NOAO Annual Project Report FY 2014.” In addition to those reports and
the annual program plan noted above, NOAO also submitted the following reports to the NSF on
behalf of AURA: final report for SPO-1 AST-0244680 and annual project reports for AST-1262829,
CSA AST-1019067, AST-0936648 and 1062976.

Facilitate on-going management training for the NOAO senior management team.
Status: With a facilitator from the AURA HR group, the members of the NOAO senior management
team (director, deputy director, and three associate directors) are working together through the
Blanchard CD2 Manager on-line course. A similar course will be offered to middle managers in FY15.

Continue to work on ways to improve communication between NOAO staff at all levels.
Status: The director issued regular updates to all NOAO employees via email in English and Spanish.
During Q2, the director held internal mini-townhalls with groups of 20–30 employees to enable direct
conversation about upcoming NOAO changes.

As necessary, support AURA with NSF-mandated reviews (e.g., Business Service Review and
Mid-Term Management Review).
Status: The director and deputy director supported AURA during its preparation of a proposal to
manage NOAO in the FY16–FY25 period.
Diversity Program

The diversity advocate will maintain a national presence on issues related to diversity and use the
information gathered to inform diversity activities at NOAO.
Status: The diversity advocate (DA) used AAS member demographics data to inform and investigate
trends in NOAO core mission activities (e.g., TAC membership and proposal acceptance rates). In
68
NOAO-WIDE PROGRAMS
coordination with the Committee on the Status of Minorities in Astronomy, she initiated and supported
mentoring opportunities for underrepresented students at AAS meetings. The DA participated as a
panelist in a University of Arizona discussion on challenges and strategies for balancing family and a
career in one of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The diversity advocate will insure that procedures and practices in hiring, promotion, tenure,
workplace climate, etc. incorporate diversity best practices, in collaboration with the AURA HR
group.
Status: The diversity advocate initiated and chaired discussions of diversity with a representative
working group at AURA Centers in Chile, resulting in a white paper that outlined concerns, ideas, and
suggestions. The paper was presented to the AURA Workforce and Diversity Committee (WDC) at
the May 2014 meeting.

Insure that procedures for hiring are outlined clearly.
Status: The DA made presentations on unconscious bias to AURA HR staff. She also provided
feedback on recent modifications of AURA’s code of conduct policies.

Work with the NOAO associate directors to help minority staff feel more included in the NOAO
mission.
Status: The diversity advocate has not been involved in efforts regarding this milestone.

Continue, in coordination with AURA, to work on broadening participation in the NSF science
enterprise by engaging individuals, institutions, and geographical areas “...that do not participate in
NSF research programs at rates comparable to others.” (Quote from the Executive Summary of
Broadening Participation at the National Science Foundation: A Framework for Action, August
2008).
Status: The diversity advocate coordinated the AURA-IINSPIRE partnership for AURA Centers in
Tucson and continued to solicit projects and mentors from the NOAO technical and engineering staff.
She began providing support for the National Society of Black Physicists upcoming meeting in
February 2015 as the ASTRO section co-chair.
Safety Program

With the coordination of the NOAO North Engineering & Technical Services manager, continue to
enhance safety control measures for the Kitt Peak annual maintenance efforts during operational
shutdown periods.
Status: KPNO hired a new safety officer during FY14, who is working with the NN ETS team on
improved safety documentation, among other activities.
69
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
APPENDICES
70
A FY14 BUDGET BY PROGRAM
A.1 FY14 EXPENDITURES
The following pie charts show the breakdown of the NOAO base fund expenditures for FY14 in three
ways: (1) as a percentage of NSF base funding by program, (2) as a percentage of total funding by program,
and (3) as a percentage of total funding by expense category.
FY 2014 Base Expenditures
Fee
10%
NDO
2%
EPO
4%
NS
32%
OS
3%
NSTC
7%
Base fund expenditures
as a percentage of total
NSF base funding by
program.
NSSC
16%
NN
26%
NDO
3%
Fee
7%
FY 2014 Total Expenditures
EPO
3%
NS
35%
OS
2%
Total expenditures as a
percentage of total
funding by program.
NSTC
8%
NSSC
12%
NN
30%
71
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
FY 2014 Expenditures by Category
Services
18%
Sub-Awards
2%
Total expenditures as a
percentage of total funding by category.
Supplies &
Materials
10%
Travel - Foreign
1%
Travel - Domestic
1%
Payroll
67%
Capital Purchases
1%
Table A-1 shows the actual gross expense figures as of the end of FY14 for each major program work
package as well as the carry-forward funds. The left-hand column contains total funding for each activity,
i.e., the sum of NSF FY14 base funding, non-base FY14 funding or revenue, and FY13 carry-forward
funding (if any). The key for Table A-1 provides descriptions of the work breakdown structure shown in
the table. (See section A.3 for a breakdown of the funds carried forward from FY14 to FY15.)
Table A-1: FY14 Total Funding vs. Actual Expenditures
Work Package
Total Budget
FY14 Actual
Expenses
6,006,775
1,051,382
3,581,132
752,964
306,085
11,698,338
5,074,274
1,724,256
3,440,725
695,496
352,594
11,287,346
5,550,205
2,394,431
1,571,607
711,593
10,227,837
5,226,739
2,186,872
1,464,877
691,936
9,570,424
880,723
2,100,282
640,236
400,182
4,021,423
1,012,253
1,879,916
747,785
300,999
3,940,953
NOAO South (NS)
Cerro Tol ol o Inter-Ameri ca n Obs erva tory (CTIO)
NS Engi neeri ng & Techni ca l Servi ces
NS Fa ci l i ties Opera tions
NS Computer Infra s tructure Servi ces
NS Admi ni s tra tive Servi ces
NS Subtotal
NOAO North (NN)
Ki tt Pea k Na tiona l Obs erva tory (KPNO)
NN Engi neeri ng & Techni ca l Servi ces
NN Centra l Fa ci l i ties Opera tions
NN Computer Infra s tructure Servi ces
NN Subtotal
NOAO System Science Center (NSSC)
Sys tem Us er Support
Sci ence Da ta Ma na gement
Sys tem Communi ty Devel opment
Ti me Al l oca tion Commi ttee
NSSC Subtotal
(Table A-1 is continued on the next page.)
72
FY14 BUDGET BY PROGRAM
Table A-1: FY14 Total Funding vs. Actual Expenditures (Continued)
Work Package
Total Budget
FY14 Actual
Expenses
648,508
2,466,981
3,115,489
959,914
1,071,830
1,496,022
1,741,285
2,454,095
36,786,234
264,964
2,318,617
2,583,582
753,789
1,052,332
1,082,696
168,788
2,347,190
32,787,100
0
0
90,775
54,797
145,572
488
1,999
38,340
-49,255
-8,427
36,931,806
32,778,673
NOAO System Technology Center (NSTC)
Sys tem Ins trumentation
La rge Synoptic Survey Tel es cope (LSST)
NSTC Subtotal
Office of Science (OS)
Education & Public Outreach (EPO)
NOAO Director's Office (NDO)
NOAO Director's Reserve
AURA Services and Fees
Total Base Expenditures
Other NSF Funding
ARRA Stimul us Fundi ng North
ARRA Stimul us Fundi ng South
La Serena School for Da ta Sci ence
Tel es cope Sys tem Ins trumentation Progra m
Subtotal Other NSF Expenditures
Total NOAO Expenditures
FY14 Ba s e Fundi ng
FY13 Ca rry-Forwa rd Appl i ed to NOAO Ba s e Progra ms
FY14 Progra m Outs i de Revenue
Suppl emental Expendi ture Support
FY14 Total NOAO Carry-Forward
(25,473,748)
(132,351)
(9,496,446)
(2,488)
(2,326,360)
Key to Table A-1 FY14 Total Funding vs. Actual Expenditures
This NOAO division focuses on the administration, facilities, and IT support services for
NOAO South (NS)
NOAO activities based in La Serena, Chile.
Cerro Tololo Inter-American
This work package includes the operational and mountain facilities support costs for CTIO. It
Observatory (CTIO)
does not include NOAO-wide administrative costs.
NS Engineering & Technical
This work package includes design, fabrication, installation, and operations support for the
Services
telescopes and instrumentation on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón.
NS Facilities Operations
This work package includes the shared costs of operations of all of the AURA La Serena
facilities, including warehouse, shipping/receiving, inventory control, security, water and
sewer facilities, garage and transport, and the La Serena motel, as well as general maintenance
and janitorial services. It also includes the shared costs of operations of all AURA
mountaintop facilities on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón, including road maintenance, power
line maintenance, water system maintenance, emergency medical services, communication and
telephone system maintenance, kitchen operations, and dormitory operations. All activities
related to the management of general NOAO activities in La Serena are contained in this work
package.
NS Computer Infrastructure
This work package includes computer system support for NOAO South including network
Services
maintenance and software support. It includes system security and access.
This NOAO division focuses on the administration, facilities, and IT support services for
NOAO North (NN)
NOAO activities based in southern Arizona.
Kitt Peak National
This work package contains the operational and mountain support costs for KPNO including
Observatory (KPNO)
personnel, travel, miscellaneous equipment, tenant support, Site Director’s office, user
support, NSO support, instrumentation and modernization upgrades, and other mountain
facilities costs. Also included are costs of telescope operation and maintenance and
partnerships. It does not include NOAO-wide administrative costs.
73
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Key to Table A-1 FY14 Total Funding vs. Actual Expenditures
NN Engineering & Technical
This work package includes design, fabrication, installation, and operations support for the
Services
telescopes and instrumentation on Kitt Peak.
NN Central Facilities
This work package includes the NOAO North facilities operation costs of non-mountaintop
Operations
building maintenance, roads and grounds, utilities, vehicles, and the computer network in
Tucson.
NN Computer Infrastructure
Included in this work package is computer system support for NOAO North, NSO, SOAR,
Services
and WIYN including network maintenance and software support. It also includes system
security and access.
This NOAO division is a combination of the Science Data Management, System User
NOAO System Science
Support, Time Allocation Committee, and System Community Development programs.
Center (NSSC)
System User Support
This work package includes management of US community access to Gemini and other
System telescopes, including periodic meetings of NOAO user constituencies, other
informational workshops and committees, and the annual meeting of the survey teams. It also
includes user support for observing proposal preparation and submission for all System
facilities, as well as post-observing data processing. The work package includes personnel,
travel, support, and equipment for NSSC to provide US community access and user support to
the two Gemini telescopes.
Science Data Management
This work package contains the planning and management of SDM North and South,
development and operation of the NOAO Science Archive, user support, and data
management for other initiatives. It includes community involvement and data in the VAO.
System Community
This work package focuses on connecting the US community-at-large with the new science
Development
capabilities under development such as LSST, GMT, TMT, LCOGTN, and various emerging
facilities for optical interferometry.
Time Allocation Committee
This work package encompasses support of the NOAO time allocation process and TAC
meetings, including salaries, travel, supplies, and services required to support the TAC
meetings.
This NOAO division is responsible for coordinating technological enhancements to the US
NOAO System Technology
Ground-Based O/IR Observing System. It incorporates System Instrumentation and the
Center (NSTC)
NOAO LSST Telescope and Site team.
System Instrumentation
This work package contains the operations and management of the instrumentation program
supporting NOAO, the System, and the community. It also includes projects funded through
the NSF ReSTAR proposal including a new instrument for the KPNO Mayall 4-m telescope
and detector upgrades to one existing instrument each at KPNO and CTIO.
Large Synoptic Survey
This work package includes support for the LSST Telescope and Site team, which has
Telescope Technology
responsibility for the design, development, and construction of the facilities in Chile, including
the telescope, enclosure, and support facilities both on the summit and in La Serena.
This work-package contains support to science staff, including administrative support,
Office of Science (OS)
colloquia, travel, page charges, and conferences/workshops. It also includes salary support for
fellowships and those science staff on sabbatical or directly supporting the OS activity.
This work package contains the NOAO North and South education and public outreach
Education and Public
programs, REU programs, public affairs, and graphic arts.
Outreach (EPO)
This work package focuses on the activities of the NOAO director, deputy director,
NOAO Director’s Office
administrative support staff, risk management, library, and safety coordination.
(NDO)
This work package includes unallocated FY14 base funds combined with all unexpended or
NOAO Director’s Reserve
uncommitted FY13 base funds. This reserve is used for unpredictable spending needs, such as
major changes in the US dollar to Chilean peso exchange rate or unexpected maintenance
needs that require immediate response.
This includes the cost of purchasing services from AURA for NOAO-wide human resources,
AURA Services & Fees
accounting/financial management, procurement, payroll, and logistics. It also includes the
AURA Facilities & Administration fee for new funds and carry-forward from unexpended
FY13 funds. The AURA management fee for FY14 is 2.89 percent.
This total includes the total expenditures of NOAO programs from NSF base funds.
Total Base Expenditures
NSF funding for NOAO programs awarded separately from CSA (1) AST-0950945.
Other NSF Funding
74
FY14 BUDGET BY PROGRAM
Key to Table A-1 FY14 Total Funding vs. Actual Expenditures
ARRA Stimulus Funding
This work package includes the renewal of critical infrastructure at the Tucson Headquarters
North
and Kitt Peak using one-time funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA) awarded under SPO-16 AST-0947035
ARRA Stimulus Funding
This work package includes the renewal of critical infrastructure at the La Serena Base
South
Facility and Cerro Tololo (including Cerro Pachón) using one-time funds from the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) awarded under SPO-16 AST-0947035
La Serena School for Data
Supplemental support for three one-week schools in Chile, in 2013, 2014, and 2015, to help
Science
train the next generation of scientists from Chile, the US, and other countries in the use of
tools and techniques of “Big Data” in astronomy is in this work package.
Telescope System
The Telescope System Instrumentation Program (TSIP) funds development of new
Instrumentation Program
instruments for, or operational costs of, non-federal observatories in return for US community
access to observing time on those telescopes as administered by the NOAO TAC.
This total includes the expenditures for NSF awards to NOAO other than CSA (1) ASTSubtotal Other NSF
0950495.
Expenditures
This total includes the total expenditures of NOAO programs from NSF funds.
Total NOAO Expenditures
FY14 Base Funding
Actual FY14 NSF funding provided to NOAO for base programming.
FY13 Carry-Forward Applied
FY13 carry-forward that was applied to the FY14 program.
to NOAO Base Programs
FY14 Program Outside
FY14 NSF base program revenue applied to the FY14 program (from Table A-2).
Revenue
Supplemental Expenditure
Total expenditures on supplemental support awards including the FY08 NOAO supplemental
Support
support for FY14 expenditures from the LSST Design and Development project, KPNO and
CTIO ARRA modernization projects, TSIP, and projects funded through the ReSTAR award.
Total amount of unexpended carry-forward from all NOAO programs.
FY14 Total NOAO CarryForward
75
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
A.2 FY14 REVENUE
Table A-2 summarizes the other revenue (non-NSF base funding) received by each program. The key to
Table A-2 describes the revenue sources.
Table A-2: FY14 NOAO Program Outside Revenue
Description
FY14
Revenue
NOAO South (NS)
CTIO Indirects and Miscellaneous Revenue
153,292
CTIO SMARTS Labor Recharge & Indirects
72,668
NS ETS Projects Labor Recharges & Indirects
279,237
NS FO La Serena Facilities Support to Gemini, SOAR, & AURA-O
877,755
NS FO Mountain Facilities Support to Gemini, SOAR, & AURA-O
2,264,326
NS CIS Computer Network Support to AURA Centers, Las Campanas, ALMA, & Tenants
NS Subtotal
NOAO North (NN)
KPNO DS3 Link
183,804
3,831,083
71,627
KPNO Meal & Dormitory Revenue
316,226
KPNO KPVC Sales Revenue & Memberships
644,432
KPNO Joint Use Fee
124,136
KPNO Misc Facilities Use Fees
179,674
KPNO WIYN Operational Support
678,644
NN ETS Instrument Shop Support for NSO & Grants
239,315
NN CFO Support to NSO, WIYN, LSSTC, & Other Indirect Cost Revenue
812,407
NN CFO Facilities Use Fees
280,179
NN CIS Support for NSO & VAO
236,593
NN Subtotal
3,583,234
NOAO System Science Center (NSSC)
Science Data Management VAO Grant
186,583
NSSC Subtotal
NOAO System Technology Center (NSTC)
Support for LSST Project
186,583
966,981
System Instrumentation Support for Other Outside Programs
2,780
NSTC Subtotal
969,761
Office of Science (OS)
Grant Supported Staff Costs
143,063
OS Subtotal
143,063
Education & Public Outreach (EPO)
Support to NSO
105,209
Grant Supported Staff Costs
76,292
EPO Subtotal
181,500
NOAO Director's Office (NDO)
Grant Indirect Revenue
456,214
Support for AURA Recompetition for NOAO
78,130
AURA DDF
11,732
Library Support to NSO
55,147
NDO Subtotal
Total FY14 Program Outside Revenue
76
601,223
9,496,447
FY14 BUDGET BY PROGRAM
Key to Table A-2 FY14 NOAO Program Outside Revenue
NOAO South (NS)
NOAO Division
CTIO Indirects and Miscellaneous Revenue
Revenue from small projects for Gemini and other external entities and general
indirect cost recovery.
CTIO SMARTS Labor Recharge and
Indirects
General indirect cost recovery from SMARTS operational support.
NS ETS SOAR Projects Labor Recharges
and Indirects
Revenue for labor provided by NS Engineering & Technology staff for SOAR
project support.
NS FO La Serena Facilities Support to
Gemini, SOAR, and AURA-O
Revenue from providing facilities services to the tenants.
NS FO Mountain Facilities Support to
Gemini, SOAR, and AURA-O
Revenue for support of mountain operations from Gemini, SOAR, AURA-O, and
other tenants on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón.
NS CIS Computer Network Support to
AURA Centers, Las Campanas, ALMA, and
Tenants
NOAO support revenue from the users.
NOAO North (NN)
NOAO Division
KPNO DS3 Link
Revenue from tenants for maintenance and support.
KPNO Meal & Dormitory Revenue
Revenue from nighttime programs, meals sold, and dormitory rental on Kitt Peak.
KPNO KPVC Sales Revenue &
Memberships
Revenue from Visitor Center, sales, night observing programs, etc. and the
Friends of Kitt Peak program.
KPNO Joint Use Fee
Annual fee charged to all tenants on KP for joint support services provided.
KPNO Misc Facilities Use Fees
Miscellaneous revenue from use of the facilities.
KPNO WIYN Operational Support
Support funds from the WIYN partners toward support of operations.
NN ETS Instrument Shop Support for NSO
& Grants
Revenue from NSO or grant accounts to cover payroll costs of instrument shop
work requested by NSO or grant awardees, respectively.
NN CFO Support to NSO, WIYN, LSSTC,
& Other Indirect Cost Revenue
Indirect revenue from grants and support for facilities and services rendered to
NSO, WIYN, LSSTC, etc.
NN CFO Facilities Use Fee
Revenue from leasing Tucson space to LSSTC, University of Arizona, etc.
NN CIS Support for NSO and VAO
Revenue from labor support by NOAO North Computer Infrastructure Services to
NSO and VAO.
NOAO System Science Center (NSSC)
NOAO Division
Science Data Management VAO Grant
NSF grant support for NOAO work on the Virtual Astronomical Observatory
(VAO).
NOAO System Technology Center
(NSTC)
NOAO Division
Support for LSST Project
Labor and effort recovered from LSST Corporate
System Instrumentation Support for Other
Outside Programs
Miscellaneous support work done by the System Instrumentation staff for
Gemini, Steward Observatory, Lunar Planetary Lab, and other local astronomical
institutions.
Office of Science (OS)
NOAO Division
Grant Supported Staff Costs
Grant and outside support for postdocs including Hubble fellowships, etc.
Education and Public Outreach (EPO)
NOAO Division
Support to NSO
Revenue provided by NSO for work done by the Photo Imaging Lab and to
support NSO EPO efforts on Kitt Peak, some public information functions, and
general EPO outreach locally and regionally on behalf of NSO.
Grant Supported Staff Costs
Grant and outside support for various EPO staff, e.g., the Colors of Nature grant.
NOAO Director’s Office (NDO)
NOAO Division
Grant Indirect Revenue
A portion of grant revenue goes to the Director’s Office for miscellaneous
science support and NSO library support.
77
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Key to Table A-2 FY14 NOAO Program Outside Revenue
Support for AURA Recompetition for
NOAO
Funding from AURA Corporate for NOAO labor support in developing the
AURA proposal to manage and operate NOAO in FY16–25.
AURA DDF
Funding from AURA Corporate for discretionary expenditures.
Library Support to NSO
Contributions from NSO for support of the NOAO Library.
Total FY14 Program Outside Revenue
Outside Revenue not provided by the NSF core program. Includes supplemental
funds used for NOAO base programs. (Refer to revenue table for full detailed
revenues per program.)
A.3 FY14 FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD TO FY15
Table A-3 shows a breakdown of carry-forward from FY14 base funding and external revenue and the total
carry-forward available for distribution in the NOAO FY15 program. Table A-4 shows a breakdown of
how the FY13 funds carried forward to FY14 were applied to the FY14 budget.
Table A-3: Carry-Forward after FY 2014 Expenditures
FY14 CarryForward
Program
NOAO Funds Carried Forward
2,326,360
Other NSF Funds Carried Forward
REU
220,189
Interagency Transfers
29,038
Total Funds Carried Forward to FY15
2,575,587
Table A-4 Application of FY13 Carry-Forward in FY14
FY13 CarryForward
Program
NOAO Funds Carried Forward from FY13
1,935,360
NS Facilities Operations
(55,551)
Science Data Management
(76,800)
NOAO Director's Reserve
(1,657,437)
La Serena School for Data Science
(90,775)
Telescope System Instrumentation Program
(54,797)
FY13 Carry-Forward Funds Remaining after FY14
0
78
B NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
B.1 NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT DURING FY14

David Silva, NOAO Director

Robert Blum, NOAO Deputy Director

Lori Allen, Associate Director for KPNO

Nicole van der Bliek, Interim Associate Director for CTIO (through 31 January 2014)

Stephen Heathcote, Associate Director for CTIO (from 1 February 2014)

Verne V. Smith, Associate Director for NOAO System Science Center

Tod Lauer, Acting Head of Program, Office of Science (through 30 August 2014)

Joan Najita, Head of Program, Office of Science (from 1 September 2014)

David Sprayberry, Head of Program, NOAO System Technology Center

Stephen Pompea, Head of Program, Education and Public Outreach
B.2 SCIENTIFIC STAFF CHANGES DURING FY14
New Appointments
Date
Name
Position
Location
12/01/2013
Vivas, Anna K.
Assistant Astronomer
NOAO-S
12/01/2013
Briceño Avila, César
Associate Scientist
NOAO-S
01/15/2014
Dottori, Horacio
Interim Director of SOAR
NOAO-S
Date
Name
Position
Location
02/28/2014
Furlan, Elise
Research Associate
NOAO-N
06/06/2014
Beers, Timothy
Astronomer/Tenure
NOAO-N
06/27/2014
Pforr, Janine
Research Associate
NOAO-N
07/31/2014
Dottori, Horacio
Interim Director of SOAR
NOAO-S
08/29/2014
Dong, Hui
Research Associate
NOAO-N
08/31/2014
Hong, Sungryong
Research Associate
NOAO-N
Departures
79
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Status Changes
Date
Name
Position
Change
Location
02/01/2014
Heathcote, Stephen
Assoc. Director for
NOAO South
Promoted from Director SOAR
NOAO-S
02/01/2014
van der Bliek, Nicole
Deputy Dir. for NOAO
South
Re-appointed as Deputy Dir. for NOAO
South
NOAO-S
03/01/2014
Pompea, Stephen
Observatory Scientist
Promoted from Scientist
NOAO-N
03/31/2014
Beers, Timothy
Astronomer/Tenure
Changed from Assoc. Director for KPNO NOAO-N
04/01/2014
Allen, Lori
Scientist
Promoted from Associate Scientist
NOAO-N
08/01/2014
Elias, Jonathan
Director SOAR
Promoted from ETS Manager
NOAO-S
08/29/2014
Kartaltepe, Jeyhan
Assistant Scientist
Promoted from Research Associate
NOAO-N
B.3 DIVISION OF EFFORT—NOAO SCIENTIFIC/MANAGEMENT STAFF
The fractional division of actual effort for each NOAO scientific staff member across FY14 budgeted
programs is shown in Table B-1 on the following pages.
Scientific staff members and programs shown in Table B-1 are those funded under NSF funds allocated
to the FY14 NOAO base budget. Programs and scientists (e.g., postdoctoral research associates) funded
under external grants or non-AST/NSF sources are included. All columns show the actual FTEs by
program. Also included in Table B-1 are the technical, engineering, and other staff who are either partially
or totally funded by other funding as defined by the NSF/AURA Cooperative Agreement. Table B-2
provides a breakdown of the sources of other funding by FTE. Table B-1 and Table B-2 show the actual
FY14 effort by each listed staff member within the NOAO functional programs. These tables may be
compared with Table 24 and Table 25, respectively, in the “NOAO Annual Program Plan FY 2014,” in
which the predictions at the start of the year are listed.
Scientific staff fill out biweekly timecards indicating the hours spent on each activity. These hours are
converted to fractions of a pay period, taking charges to grants and functional activities first, then research,
up to the 80 hours per pay period limit. The nominal allocation for research is shown with a code after the
staff member’s name as follows:

Director, Deputy Director, and Associate Director (D): max of 20%

Head of Program (H): typically a max of 20%

Full, Associate, and Assistant Astronomer (A): max of 50%

Senior, Observatory, Full, Associate, and Assistant Scientist (S): max of 20%

Postdocs and Goldberg Fellows (P): max of 100%
80
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
Table B-1
FY14 Fractional Division of Effort of NOAO Scientific Staff/Key Management by Budgeted Program with
Technical, Engineering, and Other Staff with Other Funding (FY14 NSF-Allocated Funds Only)
Scientific Staff & Key Mgmt (excluding postdoctoral research associates)
NSSC
NSTC
Research
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO DIR
GRANTS/
1
OTHER
Total
Abbott, Timothy (S)
0.18
0.82
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Allen, Lori E. (D)
0.07
-
-
0.93
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Beers, Timothy (A)
0.50
-
-
0.05
-
-
-
-
-
0.03
-
-
-
0.09
-
0.67
Blum, Robert D. (D)
0.05
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.84
0.11
1.00
0.12
0.88
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
0.02
-
-
0.05
-
0.69
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.24
1.00
0.30
-
-
0.02
-
-
0.15
0.53
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
0.58
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.58
-
0.12
-
0.57
-
-
-
-
-
0.31
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
0.07
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.43
-
-
0.50
Gregory, Brooke (S)7
0.00
0.50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.50
Heathcote, Stephen (D) 8
0.01
0.42
0.56
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.01
1.00
Hinkle, Kenneth H. (S)
0.07
-
-
-
-
0.93
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
James, David (A)
0.75
0.22
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.03
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
0.06
-
-
0.83
-
0.11
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
0.49
-
-
0.03
-
-
-
0.05
0.11
-
-
0.25
0.07
-
-
1.00
Name
2
Briceño, César (S )
Dey, Arjun (A)
3
Dickinson, Mark E. (A)
Dottori, Horacio (D)
4
Elias, Jonathan H. (D)
5
Garmany, Catharine D. (S)
Joyce, Richard R. (S)
Kartaltepe, Jeyhan (S)
Lauer, Tod R. (H)
9
6
1
For the grant and other funding sources, see Table B-2.
César Briceño started at CTIO after the beginning of FY14.
3
Arjun Dey was on sabbatical during FY14 until 1 September 2014.
4
Horacio Dottori was on staff from 16 January 2014 through 31 July 2014 as Interim Director of SOAR.
5
Jonathan Elias was appointed Director of SOAR effective 1 August 2014.
6
Catharine Garmany is a half-time employee.
7
Brooke Gregory is a half-time employee.
8
On 1 February 2014, Stephen Heathcote became NOAO Assoc. Dir. of NOAO South and fully funded from NSF base funds.
9
Jeyhan Kartaltepe was promoted from Postdoctoral Research Associate to Assistant Scientist 29 August 2014.
2
81
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Scientific Staff & Key Mgmt (excluding postdoctoral research associates)
NSSC
NSTC
Research
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO DIR
GRANTS/
1
OTHER
Total
0.25
-
-
-
-
0.19
-
0.56
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.43
-
0.57
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.53
-
-
0.47
1.00
Norman, Dara (S)
0.14
0.01
-
0.01
-
0.46
0.06
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.32
-
1.00
Olsen, Knut (H)
0.33
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.67
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Points, Sean D. (S)
0.04
0.50
-
0.02
-
-
-
-
-
0.44
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Pompea, Stephen M. (H)
0.15
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.60
-
0.25
1.00
Probst, Ronald G. (S)
0.21
0.00
-
0.68
-
0.00
-
-
-
0.10
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Rajagopal, Jayadev (S)
0.05
-
-
0.86
-
0.10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Ridgway, Stephen T. (A)
0.15
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.83
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.02
1.00
Ridgway, Susan E. (A)
0.38
-
-
-
-
0.62
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Saha, Abhijit (A)
0.39
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.61
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
0.05
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.83
0.13
1.00
0.20
0.23
0.02
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
-
-
-
0.50
Smith, Robert C. (A)
0.13
0.35
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.52
1.00
Smith, Verne V. (D)
0.26
-
-
-
-
0.52
-
-
0.22
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
-
0.68
-
-
-
-
-
0.32
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Stanghellini, Letizia (H)
0.40
-
-
-
-
0.59
-
-
-
-
-
0.01
-
-
-
1.00
Stobie, Elizabeth B. (H)
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.95
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.05
1.00
Tokovinin, Andrei (A)
0.44
0.56
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Valdes, Francisco (S)
0.05
-
-
-
-
-
0.95
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
Name
Matheson, Thomas D. (A)
Mighell, Kenneth J. (S)
Najita, Joan R. (H)
10
11
Shaw, Richard A. (S)
Silva, David (D)
Smith, Malcolm G. (A)
12
Sprayberry, David (H)
10
Kenneth Mighell is 100% grant-funded with 35% coming from EPO for the REU grant and the remaining 65% from outside sources.
Joan Najita was on sabbatical during FY14 until 1 September 2014.
12
Malcolm Smith is a half-time employee.
11
82
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
Scientific Staff & Key Mgmt (excluding postdoctoral research associates)
NSSC
NSTC
Research
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO DIR
GRANTS/
1
OTHER
Total
-
0.33
0.67
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
0.32
0.51
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.83
Walker, Alistair R. (A)
0.10
0.82
-
-
-
-
-
0.02
-
-
0.00
0.06
-
-
-
1.00
Walker, Constance (S)
0.19
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.81
-
-
1.00
Sci Staff FTE Totals
6.91
6.85
1.25
4.73
-
4.21
2.11
3.27
0.33
1.23
0.00
0.90
2.34
2.08
4.37
40.58
Name
van der Bliek, Nicole S. (D)
Vivas, Kathy (A)
13
Postdoctoral Research Associates
NSSC
NSTC
Research
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO DIR
GRANTS/
OTHER14
Total
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.92
0.92
Everett, Mark (P)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Furlan, Elise (P)16
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.42
0.42
Hong, Sungryong (P)17
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.92
0.92
Inami, Hanae (P)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Kaleida, Catherine (P)
0.31
0.38
0.21
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.09
1.00
Narayan, Gautham (P)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.75
0.75
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Name
Atlee, David (P)
Dong, Hui (P)
15
Pforr, Janine (P)
18
Salyk, Colette (P)
13
Kathy Vivas started at NOAO 2 December 2013.
For the grant and other funding sources, see Table B-2.
Hui Dong left NOAO 29 August 2014.
16
Elise Furlan left NOAO 28 February 2014.
17
Sungryong Hong left NOAO 31 August 2014.
18
Janine Pforr left NOAO 27 June 2014.
14
15
83
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Postdoctoral Research Associates
NSSC
Name
Zenteno, Alfredo
19
Postdoc FTE Totals
NSTC
Research
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO DIR
GRANTS/
14
OTHER
Total
0.64
0.15
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.79
0.95
0.53
0.21
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
-
-
7.10
9.80
Technical, Engineering, and Other Staff with Outside (Other) Funding
NSSC
NSTC
Name
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO
DIR
GRANTS/
20
OTHER
Total
Alvarez, R B
0.37
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.44
-
-
-
-
0.19
1.00
Andrew, J R
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.34
-
-
-
0.66
1.00
Barr, J D
-
0.50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.21
-
-
-
0.29
1.00
Bonati, M A
0.46
-
0.02
-
-
-
-
-
0.39
0.01
-
-
-
0.13
1.00
Briones, J D
0.92
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.08
1.00
Cantarutti, R E
0.79
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.01
-
-
-
0.21
1.00
Cardemil, R C
0.15
0.69
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.04
-
0.13
1.00
Chandrasekharan, S
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.35
-
-
-
0.65
1.00
Cho, M K
-
-
0.30
-
-
-
-
-
0.04
0.17
-
-
-
0.49
1.00
Claver, J A
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Coil, K F
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.93
-
0.07
1.00
David, N M
0.76
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.24
1.00
Delgado, F M
0.02
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.65
-
-
-
0.33
1.00
DeVries, J R
-
-
0.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.69
-
-
-
0.31
1.00
Dunlop, P
-
-
0.88
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.12
1.00
19
20
Alfredo Zenteno started at CTIO in November 2013.
For the grant and other funding sources, see Table B-2.
84
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
Technical, Engineering, and Other Staff with Outside (Other) Funding
NSSC
NSTC
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO
DIR
GRANTS/
OTHER20
Total
-
-
-
-
-
0.79
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
0.85
0.69
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.03
-
-
-
0.28
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
0.33
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.67
1.00
0.02
0.86
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.12
1.00
-
-
-
0.02
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.16
0.05
0.23
Gressler, W J
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.36
-
-
-
0.64
1.00
Harris, R C
-
-
0.30
-
-
-
-
-
0.20
0.13
-
-
-
0.37
1.00
Hileman, E A
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Hughes, J B
-
0.52
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.48
1.00
0.00
0.57
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.42
1.00
-
-
0.13
-
-
-
-
-
0.01
-
-
-
-
0.86
1.00
0.17
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.33
0.01
-
-
-
0.48
1.00
Neill, D R
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.68
-
-
-
0.32
1.00
Newhouse, M A
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.90
-
0.10
1.00
Norris, P W
-
-
-
-
-
0.55
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.45
1.00
Ogalde, N H
0.95
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.05
1.00
Orrego, H A
0.92
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.08
1.00
Poczulp, G A
-
-
0.72
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
0.07
-
-
-
0.15
1.00
Repp, R A
-
-
0.60
0.00
-
-
-
-
0.07
0.05
-
-
-
0.27
1.00
Rojas, D E
0.94
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
1.00
Rojas, F J
0.94
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
1.00
Rojas, M C
0.06
0.87
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.01
-
-
-
-
0.06
1.00
Name
21
Economou, E
Estay, O J
Fitzpatrick, M J
Flores, S D
Gessner II, C J
22
Lambert, R R
Liang, M
Moore, P C
21
22
Efrossini (Frossie) Economou left NOAO during Q4 of FY14.
Charles (Chuck) Gessner left NOAO during Q1 of FY14.
85
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Technical, Engineering, and Other Staff with Outside (Other) Funding
NSSC
NSTC
CTIO
NS
KPNO
NN
SUS
SDM
SCD
TAC
SI
LSST
OS
EPO
NOAO
DIR
GRANTS/
OTHER20
Total
Schmidt, R E
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Schoening, W E
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
0.06
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.60
-
-
-
0.34
1.00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
Serrano, J E
0.70
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
-
-
-
0.25
1.00
Tighe, R J
0.94
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.06
1.00
Tirado, H A
0.91
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.09
1.00
Warner, C M
0.49
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.17
0.15
-
-
-
0.19
1.00
Wiecha, O M
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.00
1.00
11.25
4.02
2.95
0.02
-
1.68
-
-
1.74
4.57
-
0.94
0.16
16.79
44.11
Name
Schumacher, G R
Sebag, J
Tech/Engr FTE Totals
Table B-2
Sources for Grant and Other Funding FTEs Noted in Table B-1
Sources of Grants and Other Funding (Non-NSF Base)
Name
Position
AURA
LSSTC
NSO/
ATST/
Gemini
SOAR
WIYN
0.15
Las
Campanas
SMARTS
NASA
VAO
TMT/GSMT
University
Projects
0.04
Total
Alvarez, R B
Electronic Technician 2
0.19
Andrew, J R
Engineering Assoc
Atlee, D
Research Associate
Barr, J D
Site Architect LSST
Blum, R D
Deputy Director, NOAO
Bonati, M A
Computer Programmer 1
0.03
0.10
0.13
Briones, J D
Telescope Mechanics 1
0.07
0.01
0.08
Cantarutti, R E
Manager Computer Services
Cardemil, R C
Computer Programmer 3
0.66
0.66
1.00
1.00
0.29
0.29
0.11
0.11
0.13
0.08
0.13
0.21
0.13
86
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
Sources of Grants and Other Funding (Non-NSF Base)
Name
Position
AURA
LSSTC
NSO/
ATST/
Gemini
SOAR
WIYN
Las
Campanas
SMARTS
NASA
VAO
TMT/GSMT
University
Projects
0.65
Total
Chandrasekharan, S
Sr Software Engineer
0.65
Cho, M K
Principal Engineer
Claver, J A
Associate in Research
David, N M
Assistant Engineer
Delgado, F M
Sr. Software Developer
0.33
0.33
DeVries, J R
Engineer
0.31
0.31
Dey, A
Astronomer/Tenure
0.24
0.24
Dong, H
Research Associate
0.92
0.92
Dunlop, P
Engineer
Economou, E
LSST DM/EPO Technical Mgr
Estay, O J
Computer Programmer 3
Everett, M
Research Associate
Fitzpatrick, M J
Prncpl Sftwr Systems Engr
Flores, S D
Electronic Technician 3
Furlan, E
Research Associate
Gessner II, C J
Head of Safety LSST
0.05
0.05
Gressler, W J
Proj Mgr, LSST Telescope
0.64
0.64
Harris, R C
Technical Assoc II
0.08
Heathcote, S R
Director, CTIO
Hileman, E A
Senior Engineer
Hong, S
Research Associate
Hughes, J B
Sr Scientific Programmer
Inami, H
Research Associate
1.00
1.00
Kaleida, C C
Research Associate
0.09
0.09
Kartaltepe, J S
Assistant Scientist
1.00
1.00
0.49
0.49
1.00
1.00
0.24
0.24
0.12
0.05
0.01
0.06
0.28
0.28
1.00
1.00
0.67
0.02
0.12
0.01
0.67
0.09
0.42
0.09
0.42
0.20
0.01
0.12
0.37
0.01
1.00
1.00
0.92
0.48
87
0.92
0.48
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Sources of Grants and Other Funding (Non-NSF Base)
Name
Position
NSO/
ATST/
Gemini
SOAR
WIYN
Las
Campanas
SMARTS
NASA
VAO
TMT/GSMT
University
Projects
AURA
LSSTC
0.18
0.24
Total
0.42
0.86
0.86
Lambert, R R
Manager, CIS
Liang, M
Senior Engineer
Mighell, K J
Scientist
Moore, P C
Senior Engineer
Najita, J R
Head of Program-Science
0.47
0.47
Narayan, G S
Research Associate
1.00
1.00
Neill, D R
Principal Engineer
Newhouse, M A
Web Designer
Norris, P W
Test Engineer
Ogalde, N H
Electrical Technician 2
0.05
0.05
Orrego, H A
Assistant Engineer
0.08
0.08
Pforr, J
Research Associate
Poczulp, G A
Optics & Coatings Lab Spr
Pompea, S M
Head of Program EPO
Repp, R A
Instrmnt Shp Facil Sprvsr
Ridgway, S T
Astronomer/Tenure
Rojas, D E
Senior Engineer
0.06
0.06
Rojas, F J
Senior Engineer
0.06
0.06
Rojas, M C
Computer Programmer 3
Schmidt, R E
Senior Engineer
Schoening, W E
Technical Assoc II
1.00
1.00
Schumacher, G R
Manager Computer Services
0.34
0.34
Sebag, J
Principal Engineer
1.00
1.00
Serrano, J E
Senior Engineer Manager
0.25
0.25
Shaw, R A
Scientist
0.89
0.57
0.18
0.21
0.57
0.01
0.08
0.32
0.48
0.32
0.10
0.10
0.45
0.45
0.75
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.06
0.75
0.12
0.15
0.25
0.25
0.19
0.27
0.02
0.02
0.01
0.05
1.00
0.06
1.00
0.01
88
0.10
1.00
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
Sources of Grants and Other Funding (Non-NSF Base)
Name
Position
AURA
LSSTC
NSO/
ATST/
Gemini
SOAR
WIYN
Las
Campanas
SMARTS
NASA
VAO
TMT/GSMT
University
Projects
Total
Silva, D
Director, NOAO
0.13
0.13
Smith, R C
Astronomer/Tenure
0.52
0.52
Stobie, E B
Head of Program-SDM
Tighe, R J
Senior Engineer Manager
0.06
0.06
Tirado, H A
Observer Support Spec 2
0.09
0.09
Warner, C M
Senior Engineer
0.19
0.19
Wiecha, O M
Principal Engineer
1.00
1.00
Totals:
0.05
1.41
10.21
0.15
1.77
0.01
89
0.48
0.87
10.48
1.18
0.05
0.49
1.20
28.26
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
B.4 SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PLANS

New appointment in FY14

Non-NSF (external) funding

Term ended in FY14
TIMOTHY ABBOTT, Scientist
Research Interests
Telescopes; instrumentation; telescope operations; late stages of binary star evolution; dark energy
FY14 Accomplishments
As telescope scientist for the CTIO Blanco telescope, Abbott worked to ensure that CTIO and the Blanco
telescope and its instruments, including the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), the newly commissioned
COSMOS, and the forthcoming TripleSpec, serve the NOAO community with the best performance
possible. Abbott continued his participation in the Dark Energy Survey (DES), marked in part by the
appearance of scientific papers from data produced for that collaboration during the scientific verification
of DECam and the first season of DES. Abbott participates in community observing programs using
DECam and continues to pursue his interests in the late stages of binary star evolution, the latter marked by
a recent paper in MNRAS. Abbott attended the 2014 SPIE meeting in Montreal where he gave a
preentation on the successful conclusion of the Blanco f/8 secondary mirror recovery.
FY15 Plans
Abbott will continue to support CTIO in general and the Blanco telescope in particular as facilities of
excellence for astronomy. He will continue participation in DES.
HELMUT A. ABT, Astronomer Emeritus
Research Interests
Stellar evolution; stellar dynamics; publication studies
FY14 Accomplishments
Abt published in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific his findings about the use of
astronomical monographs that are used for research. He found that two-thirds of the 135 monographs
studied produced fewer than two citations per year. Abt published in Scientometrics a parallel study that
counted citations to monographs in chemistry, geophysics, physics, and social sciences. Abt supervised two
PhD thesis students at Peking University: one thesis shows that open clusters stretch out in galactic
longitude due to differential galactic rotation (AJ). Abt studied the longevity of astronomers and found that
astronomers live eight years longer than other people. He wrote a review of gaseous disks around rapidly
rotating A stars.
FY15 Plans
Abt and J. Fountain will be writing up their evidence that the Crab Nebula supernova erupted in April 1054
AD, not in July.
LORI ALLEN, Scientist (Associate Director for KPNO)
Research Interests
Star and planet formation; young stellar clusters; near-Earth objects; infrared instrumentation
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NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
FY14 Accomplishments
Allen was coauthor on eleven refereed publications in FY14. She is principal investigator (PI) of the
DECam Near-Earth Object (NEO) search program, which was credited with more than 30 new near-Earth
asteroid discoveries during FY14. Allen continued her collaboration with astronomers at Iowa State
University (S.Willis, M. Marengo) and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (H. Smith, Q.
Zhong) on infrared and sub-millimeter observations of massive star-forming regions, and with the Spitzer
YSO VAR Legacy Project, the Herschel HOPS Key Project, and the Spitzer Gould Belt Legacy Project (of
which she is PI).
FY15 Plans
Allen will continue the DECam NEO project, with more observing time in the spring of 2015.
DAVID ATLEE, Research Associate
Research Interests
Observational galaxy evolution; star formation; dust; galaxy morphologies
FY14 Accomplishments
Atlee worked on projects for the MIPS AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey (MAGES) and on his own
research. He was a co-author on two published journal articles and a third article that was accepted for
publication near the end of FY14. One of the published articles and the article accepted for publication used
MAGES data. Atlee also worked on four additional projects that are in various stages of completion. These
include two of his own projects using MAGES data, one of which measures the evolution of luminous starforming galaxies over cosmic time and another that examines the molecular gas content of nearby starforming galaxies. He also participated in the preparation of the MAGES data paper.
FY15 Plans
Atlee’s tenure with the MAGES project will end during FY15. Prior to the end of this period, he will
complete the on-going projects described above and assist in the completion of other ancillary, MAGESrelated projects.
TIMOTHY BEERS, Astronomer 
Research Interests
Discovery and analysis of early generation stars in the Milky Way and Local Group galaxies; stellar
populations; formation and evolution of the Milky Way; chemistry, structure, and kinematics of the Milky
Way; probing the first stars in the Universe with chemical abundances; nuclear astrophysics
FY14 Accomplishments
Beers stepped down as Associate Director for KPNO and took up a position as Astronomer at the start of
FY14. He continued his work with various observational projects, including those associated with JINA
(the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, an NSF-funded Physics Frontier Center), the Apache Point
Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) project in connection with SDSS-III, the Large Aperture MultiObject Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) project in China, and involvement with the ESO-Gaia project
AAOmega Evolution of Galactic Structure Survey (AEGIS), which is obtaining medium-and highresolution spectroscopy with the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT)
in support of the Gaia astrometry mission. Beers made use of the Mayall 4-m and SOAR telescopes to carry
out observations on a program to detect new carbon-enhanced metal poor (CEMP) stars from the
Hamburg/ESO survey and the HK survey. The Gemini telescopes were used to gather spectra for this same
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
program. Beers initiated new programs (with the Mayall and SOAR telescopes) to obtain mediumresolution spectra of bright (B < 12), very metal-poor stars discovered during the course of the Radial
Velocit Experiment (RAVE) survey. The medium-resolution spectra enable the identification of CEMP
stars in this sample, which will be used to populate high-resolution spectroscopic programs with the
Magellan 6.5-m and other large telescopes.
FY15 Plans
Beers left NOAO in June 2014 to take a position as an endowed professor (Notre Dame Chair in
Astrophysics) at the University of Notre Dame.
ROBERT DAVID BLUM, Astronomer (Deputy Director, NOAO)
Research Interests
Galactic star formation; resolved Stellar Populations in the Local Group
FY14 Accomplishments
Blum and collaborators C. Kemper, S. Srinivasan, H.-H. Ling, (ASIAA), and K. Volk (STScI) published
results of a study on near-infrared counterparts of Spitzer sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Blum and
A. Damineli (University of São Paulo) continued their work with Gemini multi-conjugate adaptive optics
science verification data in order to study the local star burst analog, R136, in the Large Magellanic Cloud
and the Milky Way massive star cluster toward Wd1. Blum participated in observing for the Survey of the
Magellanic Stellar History (SMASH) survey proposal with DECam on the Blanco telescope to study the
stellar populations in tidal fields of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (PIs: D. Nidever, University of
Michigan; and K. Olsen, NOAO). Blum participated in DECam observing for a new NOAO Survey
proposal DECaLS (PIs D. Schlegel, Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory; and A. Dey, NOAO) aimed at
deep galaxy counts over a very wide field of view. These data will support Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS) studies and a new dark energy experiment to be carried out with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic
Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall telescope.
FY15 Plans
In FY15, Blum will continue his work with Damineli using Gemini to study R136 and Wd1. Blum will
continue to participate in the DECam SMASH, Galactic bulge, and DECaLS projects. Blum will continue
collaborating with C. Barbosa (UNIVAP, Brazil), Damineli, and F. Navarete (University of São Paulo) on
high angular resolution spectroscopy and mid-infrared studies of massive star-forming regions in the
Galaxy.
CÉSAR BRICEÑO, Associate Scientist
Research Interests
Star Formation; young stellar populations in OB associations and star-forming regions; T Tauri stars;
young brown dwarfs; protoplanetary disks; large-scale photometric and spectroscopic surveys
FY14 Accomplishments
In his first year at CTIO, Briceño continued his studies of young, low-mass stellar populations in nearby
star-forming regions. With A. Tokovinin he carried out the science verification (SV) observations of the
SOAR Adaptive Optics Module (SAM). They observed ~5–10-Myr-old stars in the nearby Orion OB1
association to detect binary/multiple members down to ~0.3 arcsec (100 AU). Among the new discoveries
is a possible brown dwarf companion to CVSO-28, an M1-type T Tauri star located in the ~8-Myr-old 25
92
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
Ori cluster. These results were presented in the April 2014 Workshop on Herbig Ae/Be stars at the
European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Santiago, Chile.
Briceño worked on the commissioning of the Multi-Object Slit (MOS) mode of the Goodman
Spectrograph on SOAR and collaborated with J. Elias and S. Points in the MOS mode SV of KOSMOS and
COSMOS, resulting in the discovery of five T Tauri stars in Orion OB1. These new young stars, together
with ~2000 others found in Orion by Briceño and his collaborators during recent years, have been included
in a major article, of which he is first author, to be submitted by the end of 2014. Part of the Orion largescale study was presented by Briceño as a poster at the 18th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, in
Flagstaff, Arizona. Their findings show that regions like Orion form many groups of N ≿ 100 stars,
overlaid on a low-surface density population. Some of the older off-cloud groups like 25 Ori survive even
after ~10 Myr, though until now only the youngest, on-cloud clusters like the Trapezium and σ Ori were
known.
With collaborators at Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía (Venezuela), University of Michigan,
Boston University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma (Mexico), ESO-Garching, and Max-Planck-Institut für
Radioastronomie, Briceño co-authored four refereed papers: one on the subtellar population of the 25 Ori
cluster, a second on a spectroscopic census of the σ Ori cluster, a third on the evolution of disk accretion in
T Tauri stars, and a fourth on Very Large Array (VLA) observations of young stars in Orion. As a member
of the Young Exoplanet Transit Initiative (YETI) Collaboration, Briceño co-authored an article on a
transiting planet candidate in the Tr 37 cluster.
Additionally, Briceño tutored an undergraduate student in the CTIO Prácticas de Investigación en
Astronomía program during the summer in La Serena on a study of near-infrared (IR) variability in 5–10Myr-old stars in the Orion OB1 association, based on multi-epoch wide-field images obtained with
NEWFIRM at KPNO. The student will present this work at the January 2015 AAS meeting.
FY15 Plans
Briceño plans on completing his work with A.K. Vivas (CTIO) and other colleagues on the optical and
near-infrared variability of the 5–10-Myr-old populations in Orion OB1, combining data from the CIDA
Variability Survey of Orion, KPNO 0.9-m+Mosaic observations, and the ESO VISTA telescope. In
addition, he plans on submitting a paper on the evolution of dusty disks in Orion OB1, combining mid-IR
observations from Spitzer and WISE of the ~2000 T Tauri stars with ages of 5–10 Myr that have already
been identified and characterized with optical photometry and spectroscopy. Briceño plans on presenting
the results of these projects at the 2015 IAU General Assembly. Finally, he expects to initiate new projects
using time at CTIO and SOAR during the 2015A semester, specifically with SAM, in collaboration with
colleagues at CTIO.
ARJUN DEY, Astronomer
Research Interests
Galaxy formation and evolution; large-scale structure; AGN; observational cosmology
FY14 Accomplishments
Dey received a Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study (RIAS) at Harvard University. He
spent a sabbatical year at Harvard, with time split between RIAS and the Harvard-Smithsonian Institute for
Theory and Computation. His research focused on different aspects related to the study of galaxy evolution:
investigations of large, spatially extended Lyman-alpha “Blobs”; understanding the evolution and largescale structure traced by Lyman-alpha emitters at high redshift; studies of high-redshift clusters; and
investigating applications of network analyses to studies of large-scale structure and cosmology. The first
two studies resulted in the discovery of a very large rotating gaseous disk at z = 1.7 and the discovery of a
large protocluster at z = 3.8. The network analyses project is generating new tools for the analyses of large
survey data. Dey also studied the evolution of the Mg/Fe abundance ratio in quasi-stellar object (QSO)
93
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
absorption lines observed by the SDSS spectroscopic survey. He also participated in the scientific effort
associated with the DESI project. In particular, Dey and D. Schlegel (LBNL) were co-PIs on a proposal to
use DECam on the Blanco 4-m telescope to conduct a very large, public, 3-band imaging survey of the
SDSS footprint, currently named DECaLS (DECam Legacy Survey). This project, which will take 65
nights and provide a large fraction of the targeting required for the DESI survey, began at the end of FY14
with the first data release planned for March 2015. Dey participated in the discovery and follow-up of highredshift galaxy clusters in the Boötes field. Dey gave invited talks at the University of Massachusetts
Amherst, RIAS, and the Arepofest-2 workshop. He organized a workshop at NOAO for the DECaLS team
to investigate issues associated with the pipeline processing, calibration, and analyses of DECam data. Dey
supervised postdoctoral research associate S. Hong (NOAO) and Harvard undergraduate Ryan Gao. He
made public outreach presentations at the Putnam Avenue Upper School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
FY15 Plans
Dey will remain NOAO Project Scientist for the DESI project and will continue to be involved in many
scientific and technical aspects of the project. His primary scientific effort will be focused on DECaLS and
the pre-imaging effort for DESI. He will continue to work primarily on galaxy evolution and clustering,
using the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS) and related survey data. He plans to investigate the
Lyman-alpha emitter population at high redshift and investigate their utility in understanding galaxy
formation and clustering. He will continue projects studying the most ultraviolet-luminous galaxy
population at high-redshift, specifically the very bright star-forming galaxies at 3.5 < z < 5.5. He will
investigate the properties of the extremely dust-obscured galaxies at redshift z ~ 2 that were uncovered by
the Spitzer Space Telescope, the space density and physical properties of large Lyman-alpha emitting
nebulae, and the properties of a sample of z < 3 Lyman-alpha emitters. Dey is a co-PI of the DECaLS
project. He is also a co-I on the eBOSS project (part of SDSS IV) and a co-I on a NEWFIRM survey of the
Andromeda Galaxy.
MARK DICKINSON, Associate Astronomer
Research Interests
Galaxy formation and evolution; active galactic nuclei
FY14 Accomplishments
Dickinson’s research uses deep, multi-wavelength surveys to study galaxy formation and evolution. As one
of the originators of, he continued work on the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), and
the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), two multiwavelength
deep field observing programs using the premier space- and ground-based observatories. He worked as the
principle investigator (PI) for a large program of far-infrared (100 to 500 microns) observations of the
CANDELS fields with the Herschel Space Observatory. Dickinson supervised NOAO postdoctoral
researchers J. Pforr and H. Inami and was the NOAO staff contact for Hubble Fellow J. Kartaltepe.
Dickinson also supervised the research of University of Arizona graduate student K. Penner, who
completed his PhD in FY14. Dickinson was an author on 19 refereed papers that appeared during FY14,
including a review article about the cosmic star formation history (Madau & Dickinson 2014, ARAA, 52,
415), and a paper reporting spectroscopic confirmation of a galaxy at redshift z = 7.5 (Finkelstein et al.
2013, Nature, 502, 524). In April, he was the Beatrice Tinsley Centennial Visiting Professor at the
University of Texas at Austin.
FY15 Plans
Dickinson and his collaborators will continue analyzing the complete Hubble Space Telescope (HST) +
Herschel CANDELS data set, studying the evolution of the infrared luminosity function and cosmic star
formation history, and the relation between the mode of star formation (e.g., secularly evolving “main
94
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
sequence” galaxies versus merger-induced “starbursts”), galaxy morphology, and stellar population
properties, particularly at redshifts 1 < z < 3. He also will spend time analyzing data from a 2014A Keck
MOSFIRE observing program that obtained near-infrared spectroscopy of IR-luminous galaxy candidates
at higher redshifts, z > 3. Dickinson is also PI for another MOSFIRE project studying the kinematics of
star-forming IR-luminous galaxies at redshift z ≈ 1.5, for which new observations are planned in December
2014.
HUI DONG, Research Associate
Research Interests
Massive stars in the Galactic Center; stellar population in the galactic nuclear regions; extinction curve
FY14 Accomplishments
Dong worked with K. Olsen, T. Lauer, and A. Saha on the HST) Multi-Cycle Treasury program, the
Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury. Dong published a paper in The Astrophysical Journal about
the extinction curve in the M31 Bulge. He finished the analysis of the color magnitude diagram fitting of
the resolved stars in the M31 bulge to explain the star formation history there. The paper is in preparation.
Dong published a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society about using radial velocities
derived from Gemini GNIRS/NIFS to study the relationship between eight evolved massive stars in the
Galactic Center, nearby HII regions, and the Arches cluster.
FY15 Plans
Dong will continue his work with Olsen, Lauer, and Saha to finish the paper on the stellar population and
extinction distribution in the M31 bulge. Dong will continue working on identification of the young
massive stars in the Galactic Center through the spectral energy distribution method using multiwavelength HST observations.
JONATHAN H. ELIAS, Astronomer (SOAR Director as of 1 August 2014)
Research Interests
Star formation and evolution; Magellanic Clouds; supernovae and novae
FY14 Accomplishments
Elias’s functional responsibilities as manager of the NOAO North Engineering & Technical Services
program did not allow time for an active research program. He did, however, serve as a reviewer on several
external instrumentation-related panels. In August, he became director of the SOAR Telescope.
FY15 Plans
Elias expects his new management responsibilities during FY15 to again leave little time for personal
research and service activities.
MARK EVERETT, Research Associate
Research Interests
Exoplanet characterization; spectroscopy and high-resolution imaging
FY14 Accomplishments
Everett was a member of the NASA Kepler Mission Follow-up Observing Program (KFOP). KFOP is a
coordinated observing campaign to validate and characterize transiting exoplanets found by Kepler. Everett
95
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
has been conducting observations and managing the data reduction and analysis for two key follow-up
programs. One program is determining the properties of candidate planet host stars by modeling spectra
obtained with the Ritchey-Chrétien Spectrograph at the Mayall 4-m telescope. Stellar properties, especially
radii, are used to characterize the properties of transiting planets (e.g., planet radii). The second program
uses speckle imaging at WIYN, the Discovery Channel Telescope, and Gemini North to obtain high
resolution images toward planet host stars in order to detect and put limits on the presence of other nearby
stars. Speckle images are used to determine the origin of the transit signals and validate the planets
whenever possible. For planet host stars found to be double, corrections are found for excess stellar flux
blended into Kepler light curves, and binary planet host stars are identified and characterized.
FY15 Plans
Everett will continue working on the KFOP programs through 2015. A major area of effort will be to work
with the KFOP program to deliver final products for the close-out of the Kepler Mission.
ELISE FURLAN, Research Associate
KATY GARMANY, Associate Scientist (half-time)
Research Interests
Formation and evolution of massive stars; astronomy education
FY14 Accomplishments
Garmany submitted a first author paper with collaborators on a study of rotational velocities of B-type
stars. She co-taught elementary astronomy at Tohono O’odham Community College for a second semester.
She continued as deputy Press Officer for NOAO and was responsible for eight press releases in FY14.
FY15 Plans
Garmany will continue working to develop outreach opportunities for NOAO with the Tohono O’odham
Nation.
BROOKE GREGORY, Senior Scientist (half-time)
Research Interests
Infrared instrumentation; adaptive optics; cryogenic technology
FY14 Accomplishments
Gregory was involved in a project to implement a major increase in the active cooling to the Blanco dome,
to reduce “seeing.” That project is operative now, generally successful, and virtually complete.
FY15 Plans
Gregory’s plans for FY15 are dependent on the results of discussions regarding further infrastructure
improvement projects. Those discussions are on-going; and there are no firm plans or commitments as yet.
STEPHEN HEATHCOTE, Astronomer (Associate Director for NOAO South as of 1 February 2014)
Research Interests
Young stellar objects; Herbig-Haro outflows; supernova remnants
96
NOAO KEY MANAGEMENT & SCIENTIFIC STAFF ACTIVITY
FY14 Accomplishments
Effective 1 February 2014, Heathcote assumed the position of Associate Director for NOAO South; prior to
that he was on assignment to be Director of the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope. In
collaboration with A. Crotts (Columbia University) and S. Lawrence (Hofstra University), Heathcote
submitted a successful NOAO proposal for the 2014B semester to use the Goodman Spectrograph. The
observing proposal is to continue their program to monitor the close surroundings of SN1987A in the
Magellanic clouds, as the high speed ejecta from the supernova explosion overrun the circumstellar nebula
formed by mass loss from the progenitor star, giving birth to a supernova remnant (SNR). The resulting
low- and medium-resolution spectra will be combined with data being obtained with HST to probe the
physical conditions and kinematics of shock and extreme ultraviolet (EUV)-excited gas within the forming
SNR. Data was successfully obtained during a first observing run for this program in August, with further
nights scheduled in November.
FY15 Plans
In collaboration with C. Briceño (NOAO) and P. Hartigan (Rice University), Heathcote plans to use images
to be obtained with the SAM ground layer adaptive-optics system on SOAR to study the proper motions,
temporal evolution, and shock structure of Herbig-Haro outflows from young stars, extending his previous
work with various collaborators, using images from HST. A first proposal to study the prototypical HH
objects HH46/47 has been submitted for the 2015A call for proposals.
KENNETH H. HINKLE, Scientist
Research Interests
Peculiar and late-type stars; variable stars; circumstellar and interstellar matter; spectroscopy;
instrumentation
FY14 Accomplishments
In collaboration with R. Joyce (NOAO), Hinkle published a paper on the expanding circumstellar shell of
the post-asymptotic giant branch (AGB) final flash object V4334 Sgr. A paper on fluorine abundances in
the solar neighborhood of AGB stars was published in collaboration with H. Jonsson and N. Ryde (Lund
University), G. Harper (Trinity College), and M. Richter (University of California Davis). J. Mikolajewska,
C. Galan, and M. Schmidt (N. Copernicus Astronomical Center), and M. Gromadzki (Universidad de
Valparaiso) working with Hinkle published a paper on abundances of the giant star in two symbiotic binary
systems. A long-standing collaboration with T. Lebzelter (University of Vienna) and co-investigators W.
Nowotny (Vienna), S. Hofner and B. Aringer (Uppsala University) resulted in a paper on abundances in 47
Tuc red giants and AGB stars.
FY15 Plans
Hinkle is planning two publications based on Kepler results. One paper on Kepler observations of long
period variable stars with co-authors E. Hartig and T. Lebzelter (University of Vienna), J. Cash and D.
Walter (South Carolina State University) and K. Mighell (NOAO) is nearing completion. A second paper in
collaboration with Lebzelter, Hartig and J. Sokoloski (Columbia University) on Kepler observations of the
eclipsing symbiotic AGB star CH Cyg is in preparation. Both papers use precise Kepler photometry to
probe the origin of long secondary period pulsation. Hinkle plans to continue his research on AGB
circumstellar shells with T. Lebzelter and on post-AGB disks with R. Joyce, S. Brittain, R. Gehrz
(University of Minnesota), Lebzelter, S. Margheim (Gemini), J. Rajagopal (NOAO), and S. T. Ridgway
(NOAO). A project with C. Pilachowski (Indiana University) to measure abundances from archived FTS
spectra will continue into FY15.
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SUNGRYONG HONG, Research Associate
HANAE INAMI, Research Associate
Research Interests
Galaxy evolution and formation; luminous infrared galaxies; star-forming galaxies; active galactic nuclei
FY14 Accomplishments
Inami made far-infrared source catalogs based on the 70–500 µm deep imaging data taken under the
CANDELS-Herschel, GOODS-Herschel, PEP, and HerMES projects in the GOODS-South, North, Cosmic
Evolution Survey (COSMOS), and Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) fields. The catalogs have been used among
the team and papers that utilized the imaging data or catalogs have been submitted: Papovich et al. (2014)
to investigate the evolution of M* galaxy progenitors from z = 3 to z = 0.5, Schreiber et al. (2014) to
explore the existence and representativeness of the “main-sequence” of star formation in the infrared from z
= 4, Safarzadeh et al. (2014) to better verify the source extraction using prior information for Herschel
blended field images and offer a new technique that can overcome confusion noise. Inami combined all of
these Herschel catalogs with the CANDELS multiwavelength (< 8 µm) photometric catalogs,
photometric/spectroscopic redshift catalogs, stellar mass catalogs, and galaxy morphology/structure
catalogs to investigate correlations between infrared properties and other physical conditions that can be
obtained via the deepest optical/near-infrared data from the CANDELS project. She was awarded time as
PI for an observing program on the Subaru telescope to measure UV absorption features in dusty galaxies
at z ~ 1. Inami used the Keck Multi-Object Spectrograph for Infrared Exploration (MOSFIRE) to observe
candidate Herschel-selected galaxies at z > 3 (PI: M. Dickinson, NOAO). During the summer, she
supervised 2014 KPNO REU student Anna Payne (Wellesley College) on the project “Analyzing Hydrogen
Recombination Lines in the Infrared and Optical to Determine Extinction and SFRs of Local LIRGs.”
Inami was a member of the local organizing committee for the TMT Science Forum held in Tucson, and
she helped with some of the NOAO outreach programs.
FY15 Plans
Inami plans to publish papers on infrared luminosity functions and relations between infrared properties
and such as galaxy masses and structures, based on the Herschel and optical/near-infrared data discussed
above. She will accomplish full data analysis on the Subaru and Keck data and work on publications. She
will be continuously involved in the Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), a
future space mission, and a next-generation TMT instrument, MICHI (Mid-Infrared Camera Highdisperser, & IFU spectrograph).
DAVID JAMES, Assistant Astronomer
Research Interests
Stellar evolution; stellar masses and ages; rotation and lithium depletion on the main sequence;
gyrochronology; large-scale photometric and spectroscopic surveys; detection and properties of extrasolar
planets.
FY14 Accomplishments
James was active in several collaborative projects. Based on observations using the R-C Spectrograph on
the 1.9-m telescope at the South African Astronomical Observatory in September 2013, James and
collaborator E. Gaidos (University of Hawai’i) published an all-sky spectroscopic catalog of bright Mdwarfs, useful for searches of Earth-size exoplanets by future space-based transit missions and groundbased Doppler radial velocity surveys. They used the M-dwarf cataloger to search for ultraviolet emission
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signatures among those stars for which good low-resolution spectra were obtained, and produced a nearultraviolet luminosity function for young, early-type M-dwarfs (Ansdell et al. 2014, submitted). As coinvestigator, James recently completed a gyrochronology (rotation age) survey of the Blanco 1 open cluster
using the Kilo-Degree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT-South), which he and his team built and installed
at the South African Astronomical Observatory some six years ago. Their gyrochronology age of the
cluster was published during FY14. During this period, the same team worked on Gemini South lowresolution spectra (GMOS) of Blanco 1‘s very low mass stars to identify the lithium depletion boundary
age. There results were accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
As part of a team led by L. Allen, James continued to participate in a dedicated search for near-Earth
objects using DECam. Many Minor Planet Center circulars were released this year with details of the
team’s discoveries. As a member of L. Rebull‘s YSOVAR team at the Spitzer Science Center, James
published an extensive catalog of Spitzer near-infrared time-series photometry describing the variable
infrared properties of 29,000 very young stars in 12 star-forming regions, including the Orion Nebula
Cluster.
James joined A. Rest‘s (STScI) “light-echoes from supernovae” group and participated in several
DECam observing runs to study the time-evolution of the photometric and spectroscopic properties of Eta
Carina—a cornerstone exemplar of an historically prominent supernova. The group’s initial results were
published in an Astrophysical Journal letter (PI: Prieto, J.). James was awarded “builder status” of the
DES. He also was awarded full member status of the Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring
Survey (TERMS), which aims to detect photometric transits of intermediate-long period exoplanets.
James attended the spring 2015 DES collaboration meeting in Urbana-Champagne, Illinois, and gave
an invited-presentation seminar that week at Illinois Wesleyan University. He also presented an invited talk
on behalf of the DES at the “Science Results from Pan-STARRS1” meeting at the Space Telescope Science
Institute in June 2014.
FY15 Plans
James will attend the next DES collaboration meeting in March 2015. He will complete the analysis of the
wide-field photometric and spectroscopic survey of the Blanco 1 open cluster, leading to its publication in
FY15. Exploiting CHIRON spectra from a successful 2013B proposal, he will contribute heavily to
characterizing the brightest stars in the southern sky, in support of the proposal team’s high-cadence, high
precision photometric observations, currently being performed by the BRITE nano-satellites, for which
project he serves as a member on its International Advisory Science Team.
James will remain heavily active in his collaborative projects including the Eta Carina light-echoes
monitoring campaign and near-Earth objects survey, both with the DECam. His photometric monitoring of
transiting exoplanet hosts campaign is on-going, with analysis underway of the three most promising
exoplanet candidates. James will work on a new collaboration of an Australian group, led by I.
Konstantopoulos (Australian Astronomical Observatory), to perform photometric and spectroscopic
characterization of hierarchical compact galaxy groups, with the specific goal of understanding the origin
and evolution of these dense groupings. James will lead the DECam photometric survey, which was started
in March 2014 and will continue into 2015.
Collaborating with NSF AAG-grant awardee A. Aarnio (University of Michigan) and PhD candidate
Alex Richert (Penn State), James established the ages and masses of young solar-type stars in the Rho
Ophiuchus and Chamaeleon star-forming regions. Exploiting BVIc photometry, obtained using the CTIO
1-m telescope, 2MASS JHK and WISE W1->W4 magnitudes, the team produced spectral energy
distributions for each star in order to search for optically thick circumstellar disks around these young stars,
for which James is currently finalizing a Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society paper.
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RICHARD R. JOYCE, Scientist
Research Interests
Late-type stars; mass loss; infrared detector and instrumentation development
FY14 Accomplishments
Joyce continued a long-term project with K. Hinkle (NOAO), F. Fekel (Tennessee State University), and P.
Wood (Australian National University) to determine orbits of symbiotic stars by measurement of their
radial velocities at infrared wavelengths, emphasizing the largely unstudied southern sky. Orbital
parameters for several of the stars are sufficiently complete to permit publications. Astrometry of HST
images of the final flash object V4334 Sgr prior to its optical disappearance in 2001 confirm that the team
has detected the ejecta cloud in their 2010 and 2013 Altair+NIRI K band observations using Gemini North;
GNIRS spectroscopy has confirmed the expansion of the ejecta and detected emission from [He I] and [C I]
resulting from the high-velocity wind from this object; these results have been published. The initial results
of the pilot program for the “SweetSpot” near-infrared survey of Type Ia supernovae also have been
published.
FY15 Plans
With the retirement of the Coudé Feed telescope and the upcoming retirement of the infrared spectrograph
Phoenix, the observational portion of the infrared radial velocity measurements of the southern symbiotic
stars will be effectively completed, and the orbital parameters for the current program stars will be
submitted for publication. As a member of the “SweetSpot” Survey Team, Joyce with be involved in their
three-year program of near-infrared monitoring of Type 1a supernovae using WHIRC on the WIYN
telescope. He has submitted a proposal to continue monitoring the expansion of the ejecta from V4334 Sgr
using Altair+NIRI on Gemini North. He will continue to act as a liaison with the DESI project, dealing
primarily with issues of interfacing the instrument to the Mayall telescope and improving the delivered
image quality and mechanical performance of the telescope. Joyce is also a member of the WIYN Science
Steering Committee and Board.
CATHERINE KALEIDA, Research Associate (CTIO REU/PIA Student Coordinator)
Research Interests
Star clusters, stellar associations, and stellar populations in nearby galaxies; galaxy formation, evolution,
and structure; space debris; targets of opportunity including near-Earth objects, novae, supernovae, and
Gamma-ray bursts
FY14 Accomplishments
Kaleida continued to explore star clusters and stellar associations in nearby galaxies, with specific interest
in their disruption times. The stellar groupings in NGC 4214 were identified using the automated method
outlined in Kaleida et al. 2013 (in preparation). This method will be used to identify and study stellar
groupings in a statistically significant set of ~50 galaxies. Kaleida mentored two students in FY14: Union
College term abroad student Vaishali Parkash, who returned to Chile for an additional 10 weeks to
complete her undergraduate thesis project producing near-IR radial color profiles of nearby galaxies using
data from the PISCES infrared imager; and 2014 CTIO REU student Shane Loeffler (University of
Minnesota-Duluth), in a similar project using data from the ISPI infrared imager on Cerro Tololo. These
two students worked together to reduce IR images and produce radial profiles for galaxies in the Nearby
Fields Galaxy Survey (R, Jansen 2000). Kaleida took observations for three research projects for which she
is a PI or collaborator, “Comparing Stellar Populations of Galaxies across the Hubble Sequence” (PI: C.
Kaleida), “Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History – SMASH” (PI: D. Nidever), and “A Search for
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Optically Faint Space Debris at GEO” (PI: P. Seitzer). These projects are ongoing, and results will
published in subsequent years.
FY15 Plans
Kaleida plans to complete her work on producing an automated method for selecting star clusters and
stellar associations in NGC 4214 and then submit the results for publication in the Astronomical Journal.
Once this automated method is published, it can be used to identify stellar groupings in ~50 nearby galaxies
and study the disruption times of these groupings. She also plans to complete the reduction of near-IR
images for 23 galaxies in the Nearby Field Galaxy Survey (R. Jansen 2000) and produce radial profiles for
these galaxies in collaboration with R. Jansen (Arizona State University), V. Parkash (Union College), and
S. Loeffler. An NOAO observing proposal (“Comparing Stellar Populations of Galaxies across the Hubble
Sequence”, PI: C. Kaleida) has been submitted to obtain data for 20 more galaxies, to add to the 23 galaxies
for which the project already has data. These two projects will bring new insights to the fields of galaxy
formation and evolution.
JEYHAN KARTALTEPE, Research Associate (Hubble Fellow)
Research Interests
Galaxy evolution; galaxy mergers and interactions; luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies; nearinfrared spectroscopy; galaxy morphology
FY14 Accomplishments
As the leader of the CANDELS Structure and Morphology working group, Kartaltepe coordinated 65
people in a visual classification effort and produced morphology catalogs. A paper on this project was
submitted. She completed a low-resolution, near-infrared spectroscopic survey of infrared galaxies in the
COSMOS field and has two papers almost ready for submission: one on the survey itself and one on the
“Baldwin, Phillips & Terlevich” (BPT) diagram for luminous infrared galaxies at high redshift. Kartaltepe
continued her work investigating the morphological properties of infrared-selected galaxies from GOODSHerschel and CANDELS-Herschel. Together with M. Dickinson (NOAO), she obtained MOSFIRE
observations for a sample of GOODS-Herschel and CANDELS-Herschel galaxies to study the kinematic
properties of this sample at high redshift. Analysis of this sample is underway.
FY15 Plans
Kartaltepe plans to begin a new HST program to investigate the morphologies of high redshift HyLIRGs in
the COSMOS field. She was awarded 30 orbits for this program. In addition, she was awarded two nights
on Keck to use the Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS) to spectroscopically confirm
galaxy pairs in COSMOS and UDS and will continue the above kinematics program. The high-resolution
Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph (FMOS) survey is underway, and Kartaltepe will continue to lead the
sample selection and observing effort. In addition, she will complete the morphological analysis of galaxies
in GOODS-Herschel and CANDELS-Herschel and submit a paper on the results.
TOM KINMAN, Astronomer Emeritus
Research Interests
Galactic structure; Galactic halo; Horizontal Branch Stars; RR Lyrae stars; Galaxy Evolution Explorer
(GALEX) variables
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FY14 Accomplishments
Kinman provided RR Lyrae candidates and their ephemerides for a spectroscopic program that led to the
discovery of seven more CEMP-s RR Lyrae stars (Kennedy et al., 2014). Only two of these stars were
known previously. Kinman identified 15 new RR Lyrae and Delta Scuti among 110 of these variables,
which comprise 22% of the first two GALEX variability catalogs. An additional 11 new optical variables
were found in the catalog of GALEX variables of Gezari et al. (2013). These data, together with a
discussion of the use of GALEX variables to define the red edge of the instability gap, are being published
in Kinman & Brown (2014).
FY15 Plans
Kinman will continue studying non-pulsating stars in these catalogs of GALEX variables with particular
emphasis on M dwarfs. Several new optical variables have been found.
TOD R. LAUER, Astronomer
Research Interests
Extragalactic astronomy; normal galaxies; nuclear black holes; stellar populations; cosmology;
astronomical image processing; space-based dark energy investigations
FY14 Accomplishments
Lauer conducted several research programs on external galaxies, based on HST and Gemini observations.
With co-investigators M. Postman (STScI) and M. Strauss (Princeton University), Lauer completed a major
paper on the global properties of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), based on CTIO and KPNO imaging and
spectroscopy. Lauer continued work on the HST “PHAT” survey of M31, developing a method of using
principal components analysis to characterize M31 color-magnitude diagrams. Lastly, Lauer joined the
New Horizons Hazard Detection team and developed a new method to search for faint companions to Pluto
as advance reconnaissance for the mission’s 2015 encounter with Pluto. Lauer supported the NOAO role as
the conduit for LSST to the community and served on the WIYN Board of Directors.
FY15 Plans
Lauer will continue his work on the NOAO-based survey of BCGs in the nearby Universe. After the first
paper is published in early FY15, other papers will relate the BCGs to normal giant ellipticals, measure
their ongoing interaction rates, and estimate the local peculiar velocity of the Local Group using a reference
frame defined from the BCGs. Lauer will continue to work with his collaborators in mapping the local
population of black holes in galaxy centers. Lauer also will assist the New Horizons Hazard Detection
science team with the detection of new satellites around Pluto as the spacecraft approaches Pluto. Lauer
will chair the NOAO meeting “Tools for Astronomical Big Data” in March, and work to develop the
workshop program in advance of the meeting. Lauer is also working with the associate director for KPNO
on assisting NOAO in developing a potential new science program for the WIYN telescope in collaboration
with NASA and NSF.
ROGER LYNDS, Astronomer Emeritus
Research Interests
Cosmology; galaxy interactions; star bursts; quantum mechanics of structure formation; biopoiesis
(abiogenesis)
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FY14 Accomplishments
Lynds continued his study of NGC 6745, a spiral galaxy that has experienced encounters by two lesser
galaxies. The current and ongoing interaction has resulted in a luminous V-shaped structure of young stars.
The star formation in this structure is thought to have been triggered by ram pressure shocking that has
occurred as a result of the collision between the interstellar clouds of the two galaxies. There also may have
been gravity wave shocking to explain the bow wave shape of the structure. Momentum balance between
the interstellar media of the two galaxies may be playing a role as well. An earlier interaction involving a
much more distant galaxy is revealed by a neutral hydrogen tail that has been detected between the two
galaxies. This tail was at first thought to be an entrainment distribution created by the passage of the
interacting galaxy through the disk of NGC 6745, but is now seen to be a more turbulent distribution
fostered by gravitational perturbation. The recovery of archival data (as referenced in the previous year’s
report) relating to these interactions from magneto-optical media and 7-track tapes is coming to a close.
Further effort in this area is deemed to be too costly in time and funds.
FY15 Plans
Lynds plans to invest further in acquiring a better understanding of the molecular-level processes that
may be critical to a more complete narrative of star formation. Further, Lynds suspects that the
physical chemistry of the formation of particulates and larger concretions of material may be
important for the necessary cooling and shedding of angular momentum in the collapse of the prestellar configurations. Such material may be synonymous with proto-planetary disks and, as such, the
supply of preconfigured molecular structures for biopoiesis.
THOMAS MATHESON, Associate Astronomer
Research Interests
Supernovae; novae; gamma-ray bursts; transient phenomena; cosmology
FY14 Accomplishments
Matheson was co-author on seven refereed publications in FY14. Two of them (Graur et al. 2014, Rodney
et al. 2014) reported on supernova rates deduced from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) CANDELS
(Cosmic Assembly Near Infra-red Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey) and CLASH programs. An
additional paper used CLASH data and spectroscopy from the Gemini Observatory to find three lensed
supernovae behind clusters (Patel et al. 2014). The first paper resulting from the NOAO SweetSpot Survey
program appeared in FY14. Weyant et al. (2014) describe SweetSpot, a three-year NOAO survey using the
WIYN High-Resolution Infra-red Camera to observe Type Ia supernovae in the Hubble flow. They also
present results from the pilot program, including 13 new infra-red light curves. Modjaz et al. (2014)
published a large collection of spectra of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae. These spectra were
obtained by the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) supernova group using the 60-in
telescope at the F.L. Whipple Observatory and the MMT Observatory. It is the largest collection of such
spectra since the Matheson et al. (2001) paper. Matheson was a co-investigator on an HST program (PI: A.
Filippenko) to observe SN 1993J. Using these observations, Fox et al. (2014) report on an analysis that
uncovered direct evidence of the companion star to the SN 1993J progenitor. Matheson was also the lead
author of a report on the results of the “Spectroscopy in the Era of LSST” meeting (Matheson et al. 2013,
astro-ph 1311.2496).
FY15 Plans
Matheson will continue to work on spectroscopic studies of the light echoes of ancient SNe, including Cas
A and Tycho’s SN in our Galaxy, as well as light echoes of eta Carina. Matheson will work on low-redshift
Type Ia SNe looking for spectroscopic correlations with intrinsic luminosity. There will be other studies of
general properties of low-redshift supernovae. Matheson will continue to work on the SweetSpot survey.
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Matheson also is directing spectroscopic observations of white dwarfs observed with the HST (PI: A. Saha)
that will be used to develop a network of faint spectrophotometric standards.
KENNETH J. MIGHELL, Scientist (KPNO REU Site Director)
Research Interests
Stellar populations in Local Group galaxies; precision stellar photometry and astrometry; parallel-processing
astronomical image-analysis applications
FY14 Accomplishments
Mighell was Site Director for the 2014 KPNO Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program (details
about the FY14 participants are in section 5.2). In collaboration with E. Hartig (University of Vienna), J. Cash
(University of South Carolina), K. H. Hinkle (NOAO), T. Lebzelter (University of Vienna), and D. K. Walter
(University of South Carolina), Mighell completed a paper on Kepler Space Telescope observations of AGB
stars (Hartig et al., AJ, in press). In collaboration with S. T. Ridgway (NOAO), T. Matheson (NOAO), and K. A.
Olsen (NOAO), Mighell completed a paper on the variable sky of deep synoptic surveys (Ridgway et al., ApJ, in
press). Mighell developed a fast, parallel-processing, period-finding application called BFPS, which he used to
analyze the periods of non-Blazhko ab-type RR Lyrae variable stars; BFPS can find the periods of such RR
Lyraes with a measurement error of about 1.5 seconds from a single quarter of Kepler long-cadence
observations. As part of work conducted for the US National Virtual Observatory project, Mighell developed
user-friendly, C access functions for the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) Support Interfaces
standard and the IVOA Universal Worker Service Pattern interface standard. Mighell was a design consultant to
Honeywell International, Inc. on their Phase I grant for the US Air Force/NASA Next Generation Space
Processor project.
FY15 Plans
Mighell will manage the 2015 KPNO REU Site program that will have six bright undergraduate students from
around the country. As part of his NASA-funded Astrophysics Data Analysis Program research, Mighell will
improve the precision of stellar photometry of Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) Warm Mission observations of
transiting exoplanets. Mighell plans on completing a paper with N. Lewis (MIT) on an astrophysical analysis of
the Saturn-sized exoplanet HD 149026b based on Spitzer Space Telescope IRAC observations. Mighell will
continue his development work of the computational framework of his CRBLASTER cosmic-ray rejection
application on Beowulf clusters and multicore processors.
JOAN NAJITA, Astronomer
Research Interests
Star and planet formation; circumstellar disks; infrared spectroscopy; chemistry and evolution of
circumstellar disks
FY14 Accomplishments
Najita was on sabbatical leave at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). As one of the
science highlights of the leave, Najita and S. Kenyon (CfA) found that current inventories of planets and
protoplanetary discs are now sensitive enough to place basic constraints on the timescale and efficiency of
the planet formation process. A comparison of planet detection statistics and the measured solid reservoirs
in T Tauri discs suggests that planet formation is likely already underway at the few Myr age of the discs in
Taurus-Auriga, with a large fraction of solids having been converted into large objects with low millimeter
opacity and/or sequestered at small disc radii where they are difficult to detect at millimeter wavelengths.
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FY15 Plans
Najita will continue her research with A. Glassgold and M. Adamkovics (University of California
Berkeley) on the thermal-chemical properties of protoplanetary disks, in particular expanding existing
models to the lower temperature regions where freeze out is important. Several ongoing projects involving
infrared spectroscopy with the Spitzer Space Telescope and TEXES on Gemini are advancing toward
publication.
GAUTHAM NARAYAN, Research Associate
DARA NORMAN, Associate Scientist
Research Interests
Quasars and their environments; galaxy evolution; large-scale structure
FY14 Accomplishments
Norman was an active member of the Resolved Spectroscopy Of a Local VolumE (RESOLVE)
collaboration, PI: S. Kannappan (University of North Carolina), and helped to obtain observing time for the
project through the NOAO Survey program. She is a co-I on an in-press paper, led by C. Klein (UC
Berkeley) on data obtained through DECam science verification. Norman mentored a student participating
in the 2014 KPNO REU program, who will present her work at the January 2015American Astronomical
Society (AAS) meeting. Norman continued her tenure as an AAS councilor and Demographics Committee
member. She continued as co-chair of the ASTRO committee for the National Society of Black Physicists
(NSBP). She was invited to be a Howard University ADVANCE-Institutional Transformation Grant Fellow
in 2015.
FY15 Plans
Norman plans to take a sabbatical from January through June 2015 at Howard University where she plans
to work with students on research projects. She will begin organizing ASTRO sessions for the next NSBP
meeting in Feb, 2015.
KNUT A. G. OLSEN, Associate Astronomer (Head of Program, SCD)
Research Interests
Stellar populations and star formation histories of nearby galaxies; star clusters; Magellanic Clouds
FY14 Accomplishments
Olsen continued his participation, along with T. Lauer, A. Saha, and postdoc H. Dong (NOAO), in the
Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) project, an 825-orbit HST multicycle treasury survey
of the disk and bulge of M31. Olsen was Dong’s primary supervisor. Olsen worked with Dong on papers to
measure the extinction curve in the M31 bulge and on the star formation history of the bulge. Olsen and PI
D. Nidever (University of Michigan) led a team of 26 investigators in carrying out the first year of the
SMASH survey, an NOAO Survey program of the Magellanic Clouds and their distant periphery. Olsen
bore responsibility for one of the calibration efforts for the survey, as well as for planning observations,
analyzing processed results, and several aspects of survey management. Olsen was co-author of three
papers published in FY14.
FY15 Plans
Olsen will work with Dong on completing three papers using PHAT data of M31. Olsen also will continue
co-leading the SMASH survey.
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JANINE PFORR, Research Associate
Research Interests
Stellar populations of galaxies, specifically stellar masses and star formation rates; galaxy evolution; SEDfitting
FY14 Accomplishments
Pforr continued her work with M. Dickinson (NOAO), K. Penner (University of Arizona, student of M.
Dickinson), J. Kartaltepe, and H. Inami (NOAO) on CANDELS HST and CANDELS Herschel data,
including her own publications. She contributed to photometric redshift and stellar mass estimates and the
corresponding publications. Some CANDELS and BOSS publications that she co-authored were submitted
and are in the refereeing process and some were published. Pforr led the Education and Public Outreach
working group in CANDELS and was co-organizer of the CANDELS outreach blog. Pforr organized the
weekly, Friday FLASH seminars at NOAO and participated as a mentor in a graduate student mentoring
program. She also was active in Project ASTRO within NOAO and partnered with Donaldson School,
which included four visits to two 4th-grade classes. Pforr submitted several NOAO observation proposals
as PI, including a Large Program for Gemini, as well as contributed to other proposals as co-investigator.
Her two PI proposals for GMOS spectroscopy of Herschel sources for ~35 hours each on Gemini North and
South were granted time and are being observed. Her KPNO 2013 REU undergraduate student received an
honorable mention for her poster contribution at the 2014 winter AAS meeting.
FY15 Plans
Pforr took a new postdoctoral position at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Marseille,
France, to work on VUDS data, as of 1 July 2014.
SEAN D. POINTS, Associate Scientist
Research Interests
Interstellar medium; Magellanic Clouds; evolved stars; astronomical instrumentation; data pipelines
FY14 Accomplishments
Points continued his work calibrating the data obtained by the Magellanic Cloud Emission Line Survey
(MCELS) with R. C. Smith and L. Paredes (NOAO/CTIO) and A. Rest (STScI). These data are in the
process of having their final flux calibration determined, continuum-subtracted, and mosaiced. Points was
an active member of a team performing an X-ray survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using the
XMM-Newton satellite led by F. Haberl. Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE). This Xray survey, in conjunction with MCELS data, led to three peer-reviewed articles in FY14: (1) a
multiwavelength study of DEM L 299 in the LMC, MCSNR J0527-7104 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
(PI: G. Warth, University of Tübingen; (2) a multiwavelength investigation of an iron rich SNR in the LMC
(PI: L. Bozzetto, University of Western Sydney); and (3) four new X-ray selected SNRs in the LMC (PI: P.
Maggi, MPE).
FY15 Plans
Points plans to continue his work in obtaining the final flux calibration of the MCELS data set and his
collaboration with Haberl in determining the physical properties of supernova remnants in the LMC. Points
also will work with L. Paredes and P. F. Winkler (Middlebury College) in examining selected MCELS
fields containing previously identified LMC planetary nebulae (PNe). They will use these data to determine
color-color diagnostics that may be used to identify previously unknown PNe in the LMC. Finally, Points
will work with T. Beers (Notre Dame University) and V. Placco (Gemini North) to perform a spectroscopic
investigation of carbon-enhanced, metal-poor stars in the Milky Way.
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STEPHEN POMPEA, Observatory Scientist (Head of Program, EPO)
Research Interests
Inquiry- and research-based science education; science identity formation; astronomical instrumentation;
illumination engineering
FY14 Accomplishments
Pompea continued his research work on the spectral characterization of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting
and on spectrally selective surfaces for stray light control. He served as founding chair of the NSFsponsored Thirty Meter Telescope Workforce, Education, and Public Outreach Advisory Group and on the
LSST National Outreach Advisory Board. Pompea was active as a Fellow of both the Optical Society of
America and SPIE–The International Society for Optics and Photonics. Pompea is the co-PI of the NSF
Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings “Collaborative Research Project
STEAM: Integrating Art with Science to Build Science Identities among Girls,” which has now run four
summer academies. He also serves as PI of the Galileoscope Star Party Program and co-director of an IAU
project to develop teaching kits on quality lighting, which will be distributed worldwide.
FY15 Plans
Pompea will continue his service work in science education and work to support the implementation of the
Next Generation Science Standards in Arizona. He will continue to support various other national
initiatives in science education, including work exploring how best to work with Native Americans in
science education settings. He will continue his research work on the formation of science identities in
middle-school girls in support of Project STEAM and his research on high contrast/low stray light imaging
and spectroscopic systems. Pompea will assist in protecting dark skies around observatories through a
better understanding of LED street lighting spectral characteristics.
RONALD G. PROBST, Scientist
Research Interests
Instrumentation for large telescopes; star formation; telescope image quality improvement
FY14 Accomplishments
Probst, together with G. Stringfellow (University of Colorado), continued an observational program
“variability studies of protostars and young stellar objects in star forming regions,” with the WIYN 0.9-m
telescope on Kitt Peak. Probst was a co-investigator on several NEWFIRM programs on the Mayall 4-m
telescope. Together with J. Bally (U. Colorado) and others, he co-authored a paper on jets and shocks in the
North America/Pelican Nebula region based on NEWFIRM data. He served as an external reviewer for
proposals to CONICYT-Chile in the areas of instrument and observatory development.
FY15 Plans
Probst will continue the WIYN 0.9-m telescope program mentioned above. He will be a co-investigator on
NEWFIRM programs focused on (1) young stellar objects and (2) galaxy evolution at high redshift. He will
continue to serve as a reviewer for CONICYT.
JAYADEV RAJAGOPAL, Assistant Scientist
Research Interests
Circumstellar dust disks; high angular resolution techniques in optical/infrared; wide-field imaging of
asteroids and comets
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FY14 Accomplishments
Rajagopal continued a study of Active Asteroids (asteroids that show commae and tails, indicating mass
loss) on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope using the optical One Degree Imager (ODI). The side field and high
resolution offered by ODI has enabled deep imaging of extended structure. The program has also yielded
light curves to investigative the mechanism of mass loss in these objects. Rajagopal collaborated with D.
Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles) and S. E. Ridgway (NOAO) on this program. He also
mentored 2014 KPNO REU student S. Brunker who worked on this project. Rajagopal is a member of the
team led by L. Allen (NOAO) that used the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) wide-field imager on the
Blanco 4-m telescope at CTIO to initiate a three-year survey targeting near Earth objects (NEOs).
Rajagopal is the PI for a proposed (to the NASA NEOO program) three-year, 33-night, follow-up study of
NEOs to be carried out with the ODI imager.
FY15 Plans
Rajagopal will continue the investigation of the Active Asteroids and publish the results. He also will
participate in the NEO search program using DECam and, in particular, aid the data analysis and
publication of the first results from there. This will include an ancillary science goal to investigate
pervasive low-level mass loss from Main Belt asteroids incidentally detected in the search fields. He will
continue the study, at high angular resolution, of circumstellar material around evolved (post-AGB) stars
using interferometric techniques and extreme adaptive optics.
STEPHEN T. RIDGWAY, Astronomer
Research Interests
LSST survey design and follow-up; stellar physics and exoplanetary systems; transients and variables; high
contrast imaging; high angular-resolution techniques
FY14 Accomplishments
Ridgway worked with the LSST Operations Simulator group on simulator development and on postprocessing design and algorithms. He represented the LSST metrics development effort at the SPIE, and at
the 2013 Fall Collaboration Meeting of the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (December 2013). He
contributed use cases and requirements for a new Metrics Analysis Framework (MAF), and presented MAF
at the SPIE. He led development of Science Requirements for LSST Scheduling and the Merged Scheduler
Requirements document. He was co-organizer for the NOAO-LSST Cadence Workshop. He was lead
author of an extensive study, The Variable Sky of Deep Synoptic Surveys, presented at the Hot-wiring the
Transient Universe IV conference and at the fourth Gaia Science Alerts workshop. The study was accepted
by The Astrophysical Journal. Ridgway concentrated his personal research activities in the area of optical
interferometry, primarily with collaborators at the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy
(CHARA) observatory, with publications in The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics.
He continued service on a NASA Technical Advisory Panel for the Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets
Coronagraph and on the Meudon Observatory Haut Comité Scientifique.
FY15 Plans
Ridgway will work with the NOAO LSST Science Working Group and the NOAO System Science Center,
developing NOAO plans and capabilities. He will serve as an NOAO contact to LSST in the communityoriented areas of scheduling and performance metrics. He will continue his research with optical
interferometry and as a collaborator in adaptive optics implementation at the CHARA interferometer.
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SUSAN RIDGWAY, Assistant Astronomer
Research Interests
High redshift AGN and their host galaxies; populations of obscured AGNs; the formation and evolution of
galaxies and the SMBH population; active asteroids
FY14 Accomplishments
Ridgway, with collaborator Mark Lacy (NRAO) and others, studied the redshift-luminosity distribution of
mid-infrared (mid-IR) selected AGN and derived luminosity functions for these obscured and unobscured
quasars. They found significantly more high luminosity quasars than seen in optical or X-ray surveys.
Obscured quasars also seem to peak in space density at higher redshifts than the unobscured quasars;
obscured and unobscured quasars may evolve differently. The paper detailing the quasar luminosity
function results was submitted to The Astrophysical Journal and is under review and revision. In
collaboration with J. Rajagopal (NOAO), D. Jewitt (UCLA), and S. Brunker (KPNO REU student from the
University of Kansas), Ridgway analyzed images of active asteroids taken with pODI at the WIYN
telescope. In the case of the active asteroid MBC P/2010 A2, the team derived radial profiles that extend
about 1 million km and are fitting dust ejection models made by collaborator M. Ishiguro (Seoul National
Observatory).
FY15 Plans
Ridgway will finish analysis of GEMS/GSAOI images of several moderate redshift blazars in order to
determine host galaxy properties, using analysis techniques to remove geometric distortion from stacked
multi-conjugate adaptive optics guided imaging data. These targets have optical HST imaging at
comparable spatial scales; using these data will allow derivation of probable star formation rates in these
hosts. Ridgway will use the mid-IR selected quasar sample to derive an active quasar duty cycle by massmatching these quasar hosts (as derived from spectral energy distribution fits) to samples of inactive
galaxies from deep surveys at similar redshifts. Ridgway will continue to participate in studies of active
asteroid fields with the pODI camera on WIYN, concentrating on studying new ones as they are
discovered, in order to derive information about dust content and ejection mechanisms in this class of solar
system objects.
ABHIJIT SAHA, Astronomer
Research Interests
Stellar populations; extragalactic distance scale; RR Lyrae stars, Cepheids, and long period pulsating
variables; photometry and spectrophotometry; Magellanic Clouds; Galactic bulge; Galactic structure.
FY14 Accomplishments
Saha continued to lead a team of collaborators at NOAO, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL), Harvard, and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) to calibrate
17th to 19th magnitude DA white dwarfs as standard spectral energy distribution (SED) sources. This work
is being done using photometry above the terrestrial atmosphere with the Hubble Space Telescope, as well
as spectroscopy with Gemini. The first results for three DA white dwarfs show photometry residuals with
rms scatter of 0.004 mag, spanning the wavelength range from 330 nm to 1600 nm, which is of an order of
magnitude improvement over currently existing methods. Such standards are necessary for the calibration
of current and future surveys that seek to characterize dark energy. Based on the above-mentioned success,
Saha and his collaborators began an expanded program to establish a network of over 20 such calibrators
around the celestial equator and northern declinations. Saha also leads a synoptic survey of the Galactic
bulge with DECam on the Blanco telescope, which is yielding on order of a thousand variable stars
between the 17th and 23rd mag per square degree. Saha successfully implemented photometry and variable
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star analysis “pipelines,” automating as much of the workflow as possible. New techniques for mitigating
aliasing in period analysis were successfully implemented. Saha also continued work on the NOAO “Outer
Limits” survey (OLS) data, investigating the structure and formation of the two Magellanic Clouds, as well
as testing hypotheses for the formation of the tidal features associated with them. In particular, Saha
supervised the work of an Indiana University graduate student on the stellar population analysis of the outer
regions of the Magellanic Clouds using Hess diagram synthesis modeling techniques. Saha was an active
participant in the SMASH collaboration, which follows where OLS left off. Work on the photometry of
stars in nearby dwarf galaxies obtained with HST using special filters in the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)
with the goal to derive the metallicity distribution function in these galaxies was brought to near
completion.
FY15 Plans
Saha will place first priority on establishing DA white dwarfs as standard SED sources, as described above.
New HST data are already arriving, and will continue to do so through FY14. Spectroscopic data from
Gemini (and other telescopes) also are expected over the same period. Saha will lead the preparation of a
paper demonstrating the feasibility of this method, based on the early results. At the same time, the analysis
of the Synoptic Survey of the Galactic Bulge will continue. Specifically, color information on the RR Lyrae
stars from the multiband data will be used to derive line of sight reddening and extinction, which in turn
will be used to obtain de-reddened color magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and Hess diagrams using stars
around the RR Lyrae positions. These “intrinsic” CMDs are expected to reflect the star formation and
chemical enrichment histories of the bulge and delineate differences between the bar and spheroidal
components. Saha will continue supervision of a graduate student working on population synthesis to
match data from the OLS survey, and will continue to participate in the SMASH collaboration, which
extends the goals of the OLS study.
COLETTE SALYK, Research Associate (Leo Goldberg Fellow)
Research Interests
Protoplanetary disks; chemistry and physics of star and planet formation; infrared and millimeter
spectroscopy
FY14 Accomplishments
Colette Salyk continued her studies of protoplanetary disks. She was an invited speaker at the Space
Telescope Science Institute meeting “Habitable Worlds across Space and Time,” and was invited to speak
about protoplanetary disks and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array at the “ALMA and the Brazilian
Community” workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Salyk also presented a poster at the Thirty Meter
Telescope meeting in Tucson, Arizona. She published a first author paper in The Astrophysical Journal
(ApJ), “ALMA Observations of the T Tauri Binary System AS 205.” A press release on this paper was
covered by The Washington Post, Astronomy Magazine, Universe Today, and others. Salyk also published
an ApJ paper with graduate student J. Stone (University of Arizona), which utilized observations from the
MMT, and contributed to the review paper “Volatiles in Protoplanetary Disks,” published in Protostars and
Planets VI by the University of Arizona press. Finally, Salyk obtained observations of protoplanetary disks
using TEXES on Gemini North.
FY15 Plans
Colette Salyk has several ongoing projects, which should result in publications in the near future. She is
working with graduate student K. Zhang (Caltech) to study the effects of forming planets on their
environments. She is analyzing spectra of protoplanetary disks obtained with the Herschel Space
Observatory, as well as with the TEXES spectrograph on Gemini North, to study how disk chemistry may
affect and be affected by the formation of planets. Finally, she is working with J. Najita (NOAO) to study
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whether chemistry can be used as a tracer of planet formation and transport of solids in protoplanetary
disks.
RICHARD A. SHAW, Scientist
Research Interests
Late stages of stellar evolution; planetary nebulae; Magellanic Clouds; astrophysical plasmas; variable and
transient phenomena; astronomical software and data standards; processing, archiving and analysis of
massive datasets
FY14 Accomplishments
Shaw and collaborators Q. Parker and others (Macquarie University) obtained HST images of a new
planetary nebula (PN) in a distant Galactic cluster, which will help to constrain the total stellar mass lost
during AGB evolution. Shaw and collaborators R. Dufour (Rice University), R. Henry (Oklahoma
University), B. Balick (Univsity of Washington), and K. Kwitter (Williams College) have obtained long-slit
spectroscopy with the HST Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) of ten Galactic PNe to conduct a
detailed study of abundances and interstellar medium (ISM) enrichment mechanisms. The initial focus is on
elemental abundance yields and validating direct abundance measurement techniques. Shaw, along with
collaborators V. Luridiana (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) and C. Morrissete (Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México) released the PyNeb package, which is the successor to the popular nebular analysis
package in the Space Telescope Science Data Analysis System (STSDAS).
FY15 Plans
Shaw, with PI L. Stanghellini (NOAO) and others, will continue collecting data and analyzing an extensive
imaging and IR spectroscopic survey of angularly small Galactic PNe. They are collaborating with T.-H.
Lee (Western Kentucky University) to analyze deep optical spectra of these nebulae. These spectra, along
with archival HST images and Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph spectra will allow them to understand the
earliest phase of PN evolution and, in particular, explore alpha-element yields in low-mass PN progenitors.
Shaw, with R. Henry (Oklahoma University) and B. Balick (University of Washington), will model
ionization stratification within PNe they observed at sub-arcsecond resolution with HST/STIS to test the
applicability of 1-D photoionization codes to real nebulae.
DAVID SILVA, Senior Scientist (Director, NOAO)
Research Interests
Formation and evolution of early-type galaxies; extragalactic stellar populations; host stars of exoplanets;
digital stellar spectroscopic libraries; observatory operations; end-to-end data management systems
FY14 Accomplishments
Silva remained part of a collaboration to construct the X-Shooter Spectral Library (XSL), a moderate
resolution (R ~ 10,000), wide-wavelength (0.3–2.4 μm) digital stellar library broadly covering TZG
parameter space. Silva was a co-author on several publications during FY14. XSL Data Release 1 was
published during FY14 (Chen et al. 2014, A&A, 565, 117). Szkody et al. (2014, AJ, 148, 63) published
time-resolved spectroscopy of 35 potential cataclysmic variables from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the
Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, and vsnet alerts. These spectra were used to characterize the physical
nature of these interacting binary systems. Everett et al. (2014, AJ, in press; arXiv:1411.3621) used highresolution near-IR AO and optical speckle imaging of 18 KOI (Kepler Object of Interest) stars that host a
total of 28 planets and candidate planets to confirm 12 planets (five for the first time) and determine that
seven of the KOI are close binary star systems. Howell et al. (2014, AJ, submitted) present complete stellar
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characteristics for 221 Kepler-confirmed and candidate exoplanet host stars. Among other things, Howell et
al. note that discovery of the smallest exoplanets preferentially occurs for the photometrically quietest host
stars and that Kepler’s broad, visible light observations are insensitive to any chromospheric activity that
may be present in the observed stars. Finally, Silva is a member of the team developing the NOAO Data
Lab (Fitzpatrick et al., 2014, Proc. SPIE, 9149, in press).
FY15 Plans
Silva will continue data collection, analysis, and publication or the XSL and Kepler follow-up programs
described above. He also will continue participating in a study of the stellar populations and dynamics of
nucleated early-type galaxies in the Virgo galaxy cluster, led by M. Lyubenova. Silva will remain active in
the conceptual scientific and technical design of the NOAO Data Lab. As time permits, Silva also aspires
to: (a) finish a long-term project with R. Hanuschik (ESO), the publication of a digital library of high
spectral resolving power (R ~ 40 000), wide-band (0.35–1.1 μm) spectra obtained with VLT/UVES for
more than 300 NGSL (Next Generation Spectral Library) stars previously observed at low spectral
resolving power with HST STIS; and (b) to complete a paper describing the radial behavior of near-IR
spectral features in early-type galaxies within the Fornax galaxy cluster (with H. Kuntscher, ESO, and
others). Finally, Silva joined the DESI Science Collaboration, where he will participate in the Data
Distribution Working Group as well as the NOAO team executing a z-band survey of the North Galactic
Cap using the KPNO Mayall 4-m telescope.
MALCOLM SMITH, Astronomer (half-time)
Research Interests
Global environmental impact of light pollution; Galaxy and quasar formation and evolution
FY14 Accomplishments
Smith wrote a chapter (upon invitation) for Volume 2 on the history of Vicuña’s culture. The chapter
covers a scientist’s perspective on the development of astronomy in the Elqui Valley of Chile. The
launching ceremony for the book included a videographed interview with Smith (in Spanish), which was
exhibited to the public in Vicuña. Smith was elected to the organizing committees of two Focus Groups,
which have been selected for next year’s IAU General Assembly in Hawaii.
FY15 Plans
Smith will continue to help move (with International Dark-Sky Association support) toward the production
of norma-compliant, “astronomy friendly” light-emitting diodes that can be demonstrated in northern Chile.
He will continue to move to obtain IAU Division B support for work through the new International
Scientific Committee on Astronomical Heritage (created by the International Council on Monuments and
Sites and the IAU) in its effort to support a “Serial Nomination” to UNESCO that includes the
observatories in northern Chile.
R. CHRIS SMITH, Astronomer (AURA Head of Mission in Chile)
Research Interests
Supernovae; dark energy; optical transients; supernova remnants; the interstellar medium
FY14 Accomplishments
Smith followed through on his participation in the Dark Energy Survey (DES): implementation of the DES
supernova survey, refinement of the details of the supernova discovery, and follow up aspects of the
survey. Smith co-authored several DES papers based on data taken during DECam science verification
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(SV), many of those papers will be submitted over the first months of FY15. Smith continued his work on
studies of supernova (SN) remnants, both in our Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. Together with S.
Points and S. Heathcote (NOAO), Smith worked with 2013 REU student B. Chinn on the study of a bubble
in the Vela supernova remnant, an investigation that was presented by Chinn at the January 2014 AAS.
Smith continued to support the study of light echoes of Galactic supernovae discovered by a large-scale
observational project targeted mostly at young, Galactic supernova remnants (Rest et al. 2008, ApJL; Rest
et al. 2011, ApJ). Smith’s other major scientific emphasis was on the detection and study of astronomical
transients. In addition to his work on the DES supernova survey, Smith worked with F. Forster and G.
Cabrera (University of Chile) on their search for supernova shock breakouts with rapid cadence
observations using DECam.
FY15 Plans
With the DES initiating its survey observations, Smith will strive to be fully engaged in the DES SN survey
operations, particularly the analysis of the supernovae that the survey will discover. Smith will continue to
participate in the search for light echoes from ancient supernovae—in our own Galaxy particularly—using
the DECam to cover more area faster, thus improving the possibilities of discovering these faint echoes in
the confused regions of the Galactic plane. Smith plans to push forward with his study of supernova
remnants by completing the study of Vela and by mining the MCELS data set. Smith also will continue to
participate in the supernova working groups of the LSST Project and the planning for various aspects of
LSST data management.
VERNE V. SMITH, Astronomer (Associate Director for NSSC)
Research Interests
High-resolution spectroscopy; cosmochemistry; nuclear astrophysics; chemical evolution; stellar
populations; stellar atmospheres; stellar evolution
FY14 Accomplishments
Smith continued to work extensively on the SDSS III program entitled the Apache Point Observatory
Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). Smith participated in several projects within APOGEE and is
leader on two of these projects. He was co-author on a number of APOGEE papers, among which were
ones that derived chemical abundance gradients in both open clusters and field populations of the Milky
Way, as well as a paper producing large-scale chemical maps of the Galactic disk. Smith became science
leader of the APOGEE spectral linelist, which is used to produce the theoretical stellar spectral grids that
are then matched to observed spectra to derive stellar parameters and chemical abundances. This linelist is
updated regularly with improved atomic and molecular data. Another of Smith’s major research areas
involves studies of planet-hosting stars in which accurate stellar parameters and chemical abundance
distributions are derived. He helped mentor a University of Arizona graduate student whose PhD thesis
work was to derive accurate carbon-to-oxygen ratios (which can play a role in the types of planets that may
form around a parent star) in stars that host giant transiting planets; this student graduated in May 2014 and
went on to a Carnegie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Smith also
worked on stellar rotation and lithium in red giant branch stars to study the possibility of sub-stellar mass
accretion onto red giants as they evolve up the giant branch.
FY15 Plans
Smith will continue to spend a significant fraction of his research time working on APOGEE, with his plan
being to lead much of the work in deriving chemical abundances in open and globular clusters that will be
used to test the derived abundances generated by the APOGEE analysis pipeline. He will help the
APOGEE team prepare for a major data release (DR12), which will contain the first detailed abundance
distributions of the 100,000 red giants observed in the APOGEE-1 survey. He also will continue to
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vigorously pursue research on correlating detailed stellar chemistry in planet-hosting stars with their
planetary-system architectures, with much of this work being in the Kepler field.
DAVID SPRAYBERRY, Senior Scientist
Research Interests
Instrument development and construction; technology development; galaxy population statistics and
evolution; large-scale structure of the Universe
FY14 Accomplishments
Sprayberry served as a member of the design review panel for a Director’s Review of the LSST Camera
project at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in April 2014. The remainder of Sprayberry’s
time was entirely consumed by program-related activity as Head of the NOAO System Technology Center,
Project Manager for NOAO’s DESI preparation efforts, and (as of July 2014) Manager of NOAO North
Engineering & Technical Services.
FY15 Plans
Sprayberry expects to be fully committed to program-related activities during FY15.
LETIZIA STANGHELLINI, Associate Astronomer
Research Interests
Stellar structure and evolution; Galactic and extragalactic planetary nebulae (PNe); stellar populations
FY14 Accomplishments
Stanghellini and collaborators completed the analysis of Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph narrow-band
images and emission-line target spectra of the spiral galaxies NGC 7793 and NGC 4945. The team
determined radial metallicity gradients, based on HII region abundance analysis. The derived gradients
appear to be similar to those of other spiral galaxies already studied, which confirms the almost universality
of the oxygen gradient slope in isolated star-forming galaxies (a paper is in preparation). T.-H. Lee
(Western Kentucky University), R. Shaw (NOAO), and Stanghellini observed Galactic PNe with SOAR
and, together with the infrared spectra available from Spitzer, determined the PN abundances, doubling the
sample size of metallicity probes available to date. Stanghellini, as Chair of the IAU PN Working Group,
submitted a proposal for a focus meeting (FM) on Extragalactic PNe at the IAU General Assembly, which
was approved.
FY15 Plans
Stanghellini and M. Haywood (GEPI, Observatoire Meudon) will revise the results on Galaxy structure
based on PNe. Stanghellini will chair the Scientific Organizing Committees of both the IAU FM on
extragalactic PNe, and the next general IAU PN Symposium. Stanghellini plans to extend the study of the
radial metallicity gradients in star-forming galaxies at higher redshift, both with space- and ground-based
observations. Stanghellini and Shaw with E. Villaver (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) will complete an
atlas of Galactic PN images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
STEPHEN STROM, Astronomer Emeritus
Research Interests
Formation of stars and planetary systems; astronomical outreach
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FY14 Accomplishments
Strom continued as a consultant to the World Wide Telescope team. He provided suggestions for outreach
activities that make use of the “ambassadors program.”
FY15 Plans
Strom will consult with members of the NOAO staff regarding the evolution of the NOAO Data Lab and
planned spectroscopic capabilities at the WIYN telescope.
ANDREI TOKOVININ, Astronomer
Research Interests
Statistics and formation of binary and multiple stars; adaptive optics; site testing
FY14 Accomplishments
Tokovinin published a statistical analysis of hierarchical multiplicity of ~5000 solar-type stars (2014, AJ,
86 and 87). The main results showed that a statistical model to describe multiplicity is developed and that
the fraction of hierarchies with three or more components is 13 ±1%. In parallel, observational programs on
stellar multiplicity were pursued using high-resolution imaging (e.g., using the SOAR Adaptive-optics
Module (SAM) and speckle interferometry at SOAR, see 2014, AJ, 148, 72) and spectroscopy (2014
MNRAS, 443, 3082). Commissioning and science verification of SAM were completed.
FY15 Plans
Tokovinin will pursue observations of binaries and hierarchical systems using speckle interferometry at
SOAR, spectroscopy with CHIRON, and other facilities. He will determine and publish new orbital
elements and explore the formation mechanisms of multiple systems.
FRANCISCO VALDES, Scientist
Research Interests
Cosmology; gravitational lensing; stellar spectroscopy; search for solar system objects; astronomical
software
FY14 Accomplishments
Valdes was a primary co-investigator on two DECam survey programs: the DECam NEO Survey and the
DECam Legacy Survey, which started taking data during FY14. The remainder of Valdes’ time was
program related as the lead for the SDM pipeline group, which is responsible for the DECam community,
NEWFIRM, MOSAIC, and ODI pipelines and providing to support the IRAF science applications.
FY15 Plans
Valdes will continue with his program-related responsibilities as the NOAO Pipeline Scientist. He will
continue his research on the DECam survey programs.
NICOLE VAN DER BLIEK, Scientist (Deputy Director for NOAO South as of 1 February 2014)
Research Interests
Instrumentation; young stars; cool stars
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FY14 Accomplishments
The first half of FY14, van der Bliek continued as interim associate director for NOAO South, after which
she became the acting head of the Facilities Operations department of NOAO South. Only a very small
amount of time was left for research, which was focused on an ongoing project to study multiplicity of
Herbig Ae/Be stars and the immediate surroundings of some of these multiple systems. These projects are
collaborations with B. Rodgers (Gemini Observatory) and S. Thomas (Lick Observatory). Van der Bliek
also continued the study of two star formation regions, Musca and the Witch Head Nebula, IC2118,
working together with T. Prusti (ESTEC/ESA), L. Spezzi (ESO) and S. Vincente (University of
Groningen).
FY15 Plans
Van der Bliek will continue as acting head of the Facilities Operations department of NOAO South for the
first months of FY15, after which she will take on again the roll of deputy director CTIO. Her scientific
efforts will continue to be focused on Herbig Ae/Be stars, multiplicity, and the surroundings of these
multiple systems. Van der Bliek also will continue to pursue the research with T. Prusti and collaborators at
ESTEC/ESA on the two star-forming regions Musca and IC 2118, for which optical and near-infrared data
have been obtained.
A. KATHERINA VIVAS, Assistant Astronomer
Research Interests
Variable stars; stellar populations in the Milky Way and its satellites; Galactic halo; stellar streams
FY14 Accomplishments
In her first year at CTIO, Vivas led a project aimed at studying the faint population of variable stars in the
Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The team obtained observations for this project with the Dark Energy
Camera (DECam) at the Blanco telescope and began analyzing the data in FY14. In addition, Vivas was
involved in several large collaborations including the Survey of the Magellanic Stellar History (SMASH;
PI: D. Nidever, University of Michigan) and the Blanco DECam Bulge Survey (BDBS; PI: M. Rich,
UCLA). She participated in observing campaigns with DECam for both projects. Together with her former
Master student J. G. Fernández-Trincado (University of Besançon) and others, she submitted a paper on a
search for the debris of the progenitor galaxy of the globular cluster Omega Centauri using RR Lyrae
variable stars as tracers. Her team reported no debris, which puts constraints on the origin of this peculiar
object. That work was partly based on observations from the SMARTS 1.5-m telescope at CTIO. Vivas
developed a method for finding sub-structure in phase-space in the Galactic halo, which was applied to a
data set of RR Lyrae stars in the Virgo region. This work was published in A&A with collaborator S.
Duffau (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile) and others. The technique will soon be applied to a much
larger data set of stars from the Catalina survey, as part of a collaboration with M. Catelan (PUC, Chile)
and others. For this work, Vivas has been in charge of obtaining and analyzing spectra data of RR Lyrae
stars from the Goodman Spectrograph on the SOAR telescope. Finally, Vivas mentored a Research
Experiences for Undergraduates student during the summer in La Serena in a project aimed at estimating
radial velocities of RR Lyrae stars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra for studies of sub-structures in
the Galactic halo.
FY15 Plans
Vivas expects to conclude the search for faint variable stars in the Sextans and Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal
galaxies during FY15 and to write the relevant publications. She plans to present the results of these
projects at the 2015 IAU General Assembly. The results of these projects may lead to the development of
new proposals for spectroscopic follow-up at the end of FY15. Vivas will continue working on the
collaborations started during FY14. In addition, she will start working with A. Saha (NOAO) in a project
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related to calibrating colors at minimum light of RR Lyrae stars in the globular cluster M5. Vivas will work
toward entering the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration as a provisional member.
ALISTAIR WALKER, Astronomer
Research Interests
Stellar populations; the Magellanic Clouds; the distance scale; astronomical instrumentation
FY14 Accomplishments
Walker was an author on several publications relating to the study of variable stars—chiefly RR Lyrae
variables—in globular clusters in our galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and the Carina dwarf
spheroidal galaxy. The variable stars are of considerable value in deciphering the early evolution of the
systems that contain them. Results were published from a project led by J. Holtzman (New Mexico State
University) that demonstrates the best Wide Field Camera 3 filters of the Hubble Space Telescope for
measuring metallicities of clusters with a wide range of age and abundance.
FY15 Plans
Walker is an active member of the DES Collaboration. His particular interest is in galactic structure and
nearby, faint, low surface-brightness galaxies that are expected to be discovered in large numbers with
DECam. As a member of the DES working group on Milky Way studies, Walker will participate in the
analysis and interpretation of the first year of DES stellar observations. Walker is a team member (PI D.
Nidever, University of Michigan) of a project to study the structure and star formation history of the
Magellanic Clouds using DECam on the Blanco 4-m telescope. The data obtained in FY14 will be analyzed
during FY15. Walker will continue the analysis of CCD photometry for the halo globular cluster NGC
5824, with S. Cassisi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania) and G.
Andreuzzi (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica,- Telescopio Nazionale Galileo).
CONSTANCE E. WALKER, Associate Scientist
Research Interests
Development of educational activities, research projects, and best pedagogical practices related to dark
skies preservation issues; monitoring and modeling sources of light pollution locally and near observatories
FY14 Accomplishments
Walker worked with a 2013 KPNO REU student, a special projects assistant, a 2014 REU student in the
University of Arizona’s Integrated Optics for Undergraduate Native Americans program, and a teacher in
the STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) program to provide interesting outcomes on monitoring and
analyzing light pollution in and around Tucson, characterize the performance of the Sky Quality Meter
Data Loggers, and compare various methods for measuring the night-sky brightness. Results were reported
during at the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), Artificial Light at Night, and Blinded by the Light
conferences. The first two students (R. Nydegger and W. Roddy) were awarded IDA Dark Sky Defenders
Awards for their efforts. Two papers were written on light pollution research, one with J. Birriel on
“Analysis of Seven Years of Globe at Night Data” and the other with C. Kyba on “Citizen Science Provides
Valuable Data for Monitoring Global Night Sky Luminance.”
Walker continued to foster discussion among astronomers on light pollution issues by organizing the
second annual (January) AAS splinter session with R. Green, as well as being awarded and planning for a
second two-day Focus Meeting at the IAU GA in FY15. Walker continued as an officer of IDA and IAU
Commission 50 and president-elect of the ASP Board of Directors, as well as chairing the IDA Education
Committee and the Dark Skies Awareness programs for Global Astronomy Month.
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Walker explored the tools and partners needed to allow online analysis by the public of the nine years
of light pollution data from Globe at Night, which is now every month. Through a grant awarded by IAU,
Walker and S. Pompea (NOAO) are developing a Quality Lighting Kit for the 2015 International Year of
Light (IYL2015). The kit will be based on the IAU Dark Skies Africa kit, a project overseen by Walker that
ended during FY14.
FY15 Plans
Walker will continue to serve on the various boards and committees, becoming president of the ASP Board
of Directors in February 2015. She will continue her light pollution research and production of the Quality
Lighting Kit for IYL2015. Walker hopes to partner with an organization to produce online tools for the
public to compare Globe at Night data with other data sets. She plans to organize the third annual AAS
splinter session in January and the second triennial IAU GA Focus Meeting in August on light pollution
issues.
LLOYD WALLACE, Astronomer Emeritus
Research Interests
Planetary atmospheric structure; stellar atmospheres
FY14 Accomplishments
Wallace began an analysis of a section of the Earth’s infrared spectrum from 8.1 to 13.5 microns to assist in
interpretation of stellar spectra above Kitt Peak.
FY15 Plans
Wallace will continue his analysis of a section of the Earth’s infrared spectrum from 8.1 to 13.5 microns.
SIDNEY WOLFF, Astronomer Emerita
Research Interests
Star formation; evolution of disks around pre-main sequence stars; astronomy education research
FY14 Accomplishments
Wolff continued to work with the LSST Project through the Final Design Review in December 2014 and to
consult on the draft operations plan through February. A construction start was officially authorized in late
summer of 2014. Wolff also served on a number of external committees, including the University of
California Observatory Board and the final review panel for the Mid-Scale Innovation Program. She also
chaired the Hubble Fellowship selection panel.
FY15 Plans
Wolff and co-authors will try to obtain from the publisher the copyright to their introductory college
textbook, which was last published six years ago. The textbook is titled “Voyages Through the Universe,”
and authored by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, and Sidney Wolff. If successful, the authors will revise
the textbook and make it available for free on the Web through an agreement with OpenStax College.
ALFREDO ANDRES ZENTENO VIVANCO, Research Associate
Research Interests
Observational cosmology; galaxy clusters; galaxy evolution; photometric redshifts
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FY14 Accomplishments
Zenteno was active in several projects: consolidating his work in endeavors such as the South Pole
Telescope (SPT), planning new projects to combine SPT and DES data, and fostering new collaborations
with astronomers in Chilean institutions and abroad. Among the publications co-authored by Zenteno in
FY14 is Bleem at al. (2014), “Galaxy Clusters Discovered via the Sunyaev-Zel‘dovich Effect in the 2500square-degree SPT-SZ Survey,“ which uses observations and photometric techniques that were an
important part of Zenteno‘s PhD thesis. To foster collaboration with astronomers abroad and present his
work, Zenteno attended several collaboration meetings and conferences, e.g., the spring 2014 Dark Energy
Survey collaboration meeting in Urbana-Champagne, Illinois;, “Galaxies in 3D across the universe,“ in
Vienna, Austria; “Zeldovich 100“ in Moscow, Russia; and the SPT collaboration meeting in Chicago,
Illinois. Zenteno was made a group lead on Armin Rest‘s (STScI) study of light-echoes from historical
supernovae. Zenteno participated in DECam observing runs to study the time-evolution of the photometric
properties of Eta Carina, and initial results were published in an Astrophysical Journal letter (PI: J. Prieto).
FY15 Plans
Zenteno will publish part of his PhD thesis work on the optical properties of SPT clusters using SPT
follow-up data. A natural extension of this work is to use DES data. Two publications in FY15 are
expected from this work. Zenteno also expects the collaboration with Dr. George Hau (ESO Santiago),
to study kinematically decoupled cores in galaxies, will produce at least one publication during the
same period of time.
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
C NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
NOAO Scientific Staff were authors and or editors on a total of 201 publications in FY1423
Abbott, T.M.C., Probst, R.G., … Elias, J., et al. 2014, Proc. SPIE 9145, eds. L.M. Stepp, R. Gilmozzi,
H.J. Hall (SPIE), 914542, “Save Our Secondary: Recovering a Broken 1.3-m Mirror”
Abt, H.A. 2014, PASP, 126, 409, “The Research Use of Astronomical Monographs”
Ádámkovics, M., Glassgold, A.E., Najita, J.R. 2014, ApJ, 786, 135, “Shielding by Water and OH in FUV
and X-ray Irradiated Protoplanetary Disks”
Ahn, C.P., … Beers, T.C., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, ApJS, 211, 17, “The Tenth Data Release of the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Apache Point Observatory Galactic
Evolution Experiment”
Alberts, S., … Atlee, D.W., … Dey, A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 437, “The Evolution of Dust-Obscured
Star Formation Activity in Galaxy Clusters Relative to the Field over the Last 9 Billion Years”
Allende Prieto, C., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, A&A, 568, A7, “Deep SDSS Optical Spectroscopy of
Distant Halo Stars. I. Atmospheric Parameters and Stellar Metallicity Distribution”
Anders, F., … Beers, T.C., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, A&A, 564, A115, “Chemodynamics of the Milky
Way. I. The First Year of APOGEE Data”
Ashby, M.L.N., … Dey, A., et al. 2013, ApJS, 209, 22, “The Spitzer South Pole Telescope Deep Field:
Survey Design and Infrared Array Camera Catalogs”
Avenhaus, H., … Najita, J.R. 2014, ApJ, 790, 56, “HD100546 Multi-epoch Scattered Light Observations”
Balog, Z., … Furlan, E., et al. 2014, ApJL, 789, L38, “The Extraordinary Far-Infrared Variation of a
Protostar: Herschel/PACS Observations of LRLL54361”
Baron, F., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 46, “CHARA/MIRC Observations of Two M
Supergiants in Perseus OB1: Temperature, Bayesian Modeling, and Compressed Sensing Imaging”
Beifiori, A., … Pforr, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 789, 92, “Redshift Evolution of the Dynamical Properties of
Massive Galaxies from SDSS-III/BOSS”
23
Author Name in bold = NOAO Scientific Staff member; Author Name underlined = Undergraduate student in Research
Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program or Prácticas de Investigación en Astronomía (PIA) program.
120
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Béthermin, M., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, A&A, 567, A103, “Clustering, Host Halos, and
Environment of z ~ 2 Galaxies as a Function of Their Physical Properties”
Birriel, J.J., Walker, C.E., Thornsberry, C.R. 2014, JAVSO, 42, 219, “Analysis of Seven Years of Globe at
Night Data”
Bovy, J., … Beers, T.C., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 127, “The APOGEE Red-Clump Catalog:
Precise Distances, Velocities, and High-Resolution Elemental Abundances over a Large Area of the Milky
Way’s Disk”
Boyajian, T., … Ridgway, S. et al. 2014, ASP Conf. 487, eds. M.J. Creech-Eakman, J.A. Guzik, R.E.
Stencel (ASP), 247, “Dwarf Diameters”
Boyajian, T.S., … Ridgway, S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 92, “Erratum: ‘Stellar Diameters and Temperatures.
III. Main Sequence A, F, G, and K Stars: Additional High-Precision Measurements and Empirical
Relations’”
Boyajian, T.S., … Ridgway, S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 166, “Erratum: ‘Stellar Diameters and Temperatures.
II. Main-Sequence K- and M-Stars’”
Bozzetto, L.M., … Points, S., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1110, “Multi-frequency Study of a New Fe-Rich
Supernova Remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, MCSNR J0508-6902”
Brittain, S.D., … Najita, J.R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 791, 136, “NIR Spectroscopy of the HAeBe Star HD
100546. III. Further Evidence of an Orbiting Companion?”
Brodwin, M., … Dey, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 138, “The Era of Star Formation in Galaxy Clusters”
Broekhoven-Fiene, H., … Allen, L.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 37, “The Spitzer Survey of Interstellar Clouds
in the Gould Belt. VI. The Auriga-California Molecular Cloud Observed with IRAC and MIPS”
Burke, D.L., Saha, A., … Claver, C., … Smith, C.R., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 19, “All-Weather Calibration
of Wide-Field Optical and NIR Surveys”
Cargile, P.A., … James, D., et al. 2014, ApJ, 782, 29, “Evaluating Gyrochronology on the Zero-Age-MainSequence: Rotation Periods in the Southern Open Cluster Blanco 1 from the KELT-South Survey”
Carollo, D., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 180, “Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars: CEMP-s and
CEMP-no Subclasses in the Halo System of the Milky Way”
Carr, J.S., Najita, J.R. 2014, ApJ, 788, 66, “The Oh Rotational Population and Photodissociation of H2O in
DG Tauri”
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Chavarría, L., Allen, L., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 3719, “A Multiwavelength Study of Embedded
Clusters in W5-East, NGC 7538, S235, S252 and S254-S258”
Che, X., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2013, JAI, 2, 40007, “Optical and Mechanical Design of the CHARA
Array Adaptive Optics”
Chen, Y.-P., … Silva, D.R., et al. 2014, A&A, 565, A117, “The X-Shooter Spectral Library (XSL). I. DR1:
Near-Ultraviolet through Optical Spectra from the First Year of the Survey”
Close, L.M., … Najita, J., et al. 2014, ApJL, 781, L30, “Discovery of Hα Emission from the Close
Companion inside the Gap of Transitional Disk HD 142527”
Close, L.M., … Najita, J., et al. 2014, IAU Symp. 299, eds. M. Booth, B.C. Matthews, J.R. Graham
(Cambridge University Press), 32, “Visible AO Observations at Halpha for Accreting Young Planets”
Cody, A.M., … Allen, L., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 82, “CSI 2264: Simultaneous Optical and Infrared Light
Curves of Young Disk-Bearing Stars in NGC 2264 with CoRoT and Spitzer—Evidence for Multiple
Origins of Variability”
Connolly, A.J., … Ridgway, S.T., Saha, A., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9150, eds. G.Z. Angeli, P. Dierickx
(SPIE), 915014, “An End-to-End Simulation Framework for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope”
Dahlen, T., … Pforr, J., … Dickinson, M.E., et al. 2013, ApJ, 775, 93, “A Critical Assessment of
Photometric Redshift Methods: A CANDELS Investigation”
de Boer, T.J.L., Belokurov, V., Beers, T.C., Lee, Y.S. 2014, MNRAS, 443, 658, “The α-Element Knee of
the Sagittarius Stream”
Decarli, R., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 782, 78, “A Molecular Line Scan in the Hubble Deep Field
North”
Delgado, F., Saha, A., … Ridgway, S. 2014. Proc. SPIE 9150, eds. G.Z. Angeli, P. Dierickx, 915015, “The
LSST Operations Simulator”
DeWitt, C., … Blum, R., Olsen, K., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 109, “Three New Galactic Center X-ray Sources
Identified with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy”
Dey, A., Valdes, F. 2014, PASP, 126, 296, “The Delivered Image Quality with the MOSAIC Cameras at
the Kitt Peak 4m Mayall and Cerro Tololo 4m Blanco Telescopes”
Díaz-Santos, T., … Inami, H., et al. 2014, ApJL, 788, L17, “Extended [C II] Emission in Local Luminous
Infrared Galaxies”
122
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Diehl, H.T., Abbott, T.M.C, … James, D., … Kunder, A., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc.
9149, eds. A.B. Peck, C.R. Benn, R.L. Seaman (SPIE), 91490V, “The Dark Energy Survey and Operations:
Year 1”
Doel, P., … Sprayberry, D. 2014. Proc. SPIE 9147, eds. S.K. Ramsay, I.S. McLean, H. Takami (SPIE),
91476R, “The DESI Wide Field Corrector Optics”
Dong, H., … Lauer, T.R., Olsen, K., Saha, A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 136, “The Panchromatic Hubble
Andromeda Treasury. VII. The Steep Mid-ultraviolet to Near-Infrared Extinction Curve in the Central 200
pc of the M31 Bulge”
Dong, H., et al. 2014, IAU Symp. 303, eds. L. Sjouwerman, J. Ott, C. Lang (Cambridge University Press),
230, “Unveiling the Massive Stars in the Galactic Center”
Duffau, S., Vivas, A.K., et al. 2014, A&A, 566, A118, “A Comprehensive View of the Virgo Stellar
Stream”
Elvis, M., Allen, L., … Najita, J., et al. 2014, Lunar and Planetary Science Conf., 45, 1047, “LINNAEUS:
Boosting Near-Earth Asteroid Characterization Rates”
Epstein, C.R., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJL, 785, L28, “Testing the Asteroseismic Mass Scale Using
Metal-Poor Stars Characterized with APOGEE and Kepler”
Errmann, R., … Briceño, C., et al. 2014, Astronomische Nachrichten, 335, 345, “Investigation of a
Transiting Planet Candidate in Trumpler 37: An Astrophysical False Positive Eclipsing Spectroscopic
Binary Star”
Farrell, S.A., … Pforr, J., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 1208, “Combined Analysis of Hubble and VLT
Photometry of the Intermediate Mass Black Hole ESO 243-49 HLX-1”
Fedele, D., … Salyk, C., … Najita, J.R., et al. 2013, A&A, 559, A77, “DIGIT Survey of Far-Infrared
Lines from Protoplanetary Disks. I. [O I], [C II], OH, H2O, and CH+”
Finkelstein, S.L., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2013, Natur, 502, 524, “A Galaxy Rapidly Forming Stars 700
Million Years after the Big Bang at Redshift 7.51”
Fitzpatrick, M.J., Olsen, K., … Beers, T.C., Dickinson, M., … Saha, A., … Silva, D.R., … Valdes, F.
2014, SPIE Proc. 9149, eds. A.B. Peck, C.R. Benn, R.L. Seaman (SPIE), 91491T, “The NOAO Data
Laboratory: A Conceptual Overview”
Flaherty, K.M., … Furlan, E. 2014, ApJ, 793, 2, “Connecting X-ray and Infrared Variability among
Young Stellar Objects: Ruling out Potential Sources of Disk Fluctuations”
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Foley, R.J., … Narayan, G., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 29, “Possible Detection of the Stellar Donor or
Remnant for the Type Iax Supernova 2008ha”
Fox, O.D., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 17, “Uncovering the Putative B-Star Binary Companion
of the SN 1993J Progenitor”
Frinchaboy, P.M., … Beers, T.C., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2013, ApJL, 777, L1, “The Open Cluster
Chemical Analysis and Mapping Survey: Local Galactic Metallicity Gradient with APOGEE Using SDSS
DR10”
Furlan, E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 26, “On the Nature of the Deeply Embedded Protostar OMC-2 FIR 4”
Gaidos, E., … James, D., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 443, 2561, “Trumpeting M Dwarfs with CONCH-SHELL:
A Catalogue of Nearby Cool Host-Stars for Habitable Exoplanets and Life”
Galan, C., … Hinkle, K.H., et al. 2014, Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae VI Conf., eds. C. Morisset, G.
Delgado-Inglada, S. Torres-Peimbert (UNAM), 25, “Chemical Abundance Analysis of Symbiotic Giants.
RW Hya, SY Mus, BX Mon, and AE Ara”
Gilli, R., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, A&A, 562, A67, “ALMA Reveals a Warm and Compact Starburst
around a Heavily Obscured Supermassive Black Hole at z = 4.75”
Gopu, A., … Boroson, T., … Shaw, R., … Rajagopal, J., et al. 2014, SPIE Conf. 9152, eds. G. Chiozzi,
N.M. Radziwill (SPIE), 91520E, “ODI - Portal, Pipeline, and Archive (ODI-PPA): A Web-Based
Astronomical Compute[r] Archive, Visualization, and Analysis Service”
Gorynya, N.A, Tokovinin, A. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 2316, “Spectroscopic Orbits of Ten Nearby Solar-Type
Dwarfs”
Graur, O., … Dickinson, M.E., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 28, “Type-Ia Supernova Rates to
Redshift 2.4 from CLASH: The Cluster Lensing and Supernova Survey with Hubble”
Gültekin, K., … Lauer, T.R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 112, “The Black Hole Mass and the Stellar Ring in
NGC 3706”
Gurton, S., Baldridge, A., Walker, C., Whyte, L. 2014, ASP Conf. 483, eds. J.G. Manning, J.B. Jensen,
M.K. Hemenway, M.G. Gibbs (ASP), 29, “Science for All Citizens: Many Ways to Make a Difference”
Hansen, T., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 162, “Exploring the Origin of Lithium, Carbon,
Strontium, and Barium with Four New Ultra Metal-Poor Stars”
Harbeck, D.R., Boroson, T., … Rajagopal, J., et al. 2014, SPIE Conf. 9147, eds. S.K. Ramsay, I.S.
McLean, H. Takami (SPIE), 91470P, “The WIYN One Degree Imager 2014: Performance of the Partially
Populated Focal Plane and Instrument Upgrade Path”
124
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Hartman, J.D., … Everett, M., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 128, “HAT-P-44b, HAT-P-45b, and HAT-P-46b:
Three Transiting Hot Jupiters in Possible Multi-planet Systems”
Hattori, K., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 153, “Possible Evidence for Metal Accretion onto the
Surfaces of Metal-Poor Main-Sequence Stars”
Hayden, M.R., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 116, “Chemical Cartography with APOGEE: LargeScale Mean Metallicity Maps of the Milky Way Disk”
Hinkle, K.H., Joyce, R.J., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9151, eds. R. Navarro, C.R. Cunningham, A.A. Barto
(SPIE), 91514A, “Astronomical Near-Infrared Echelle Gratings”
Hinkle, K.H., Joyce, R.R. 2014, ApJ, 785, 146, “The Spatially Resolved Bipolar Nebula of Sakurai’s
Object”
Hong, S., Calzetti, D., Dickinson, M. 2014, PASP, 126, 79, “Quantitative Method for the Optimal
Subtraction of Continuum Emission from Narrow-Band Images: Skewness Transition Analysis”
Hong, S., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 63, “Constraining Stellar Feedback: Shock-Ionized Gas in Nearby
Starburst Galaxies”
Howell, S.B., … Najita, J.R., et al. 2014, PASP, 126, 398, “The K2 Mission: Characterization and Early
Results”
Hung, C.-L., … Kartaltepe, J.S., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 129, “The Role of Galaxy Interaction in the SFRM * Relation: Characterizing Morphological Properties of Herschel-Selected Galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.5”
Hung, C.-L., … Kartaltepe, J.S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 791, 63, “A Comparison of the Morphological
Properties between Local and z ~ 1 Infrared Luminous Galaxies: Are Local and High-z (U)LIRGs
Different?”
Inami, H., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 156, “Mid-infrared Atomic Fine-Structure Emission-Line Spectra of
Luminous Infrared Galaxies: Spitzer/IRS Spectra of the GOALS Sample”
Ingleby, L., … Briceño, C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 471, “The Evolution of Accretion in Young Stellar
Objects: Strong Accretors at 3–10 Myr”
Ivezić, Ž., Beers, T.C., et al. 2014. IAU Symp. 298, eds. S. Feltzing, G. Zhao, N.A. Walton, P.A.
Whitelock (Cambridge University Press), 281, “What Did We Learn about the Milky Way during the Last
Decade, and What Shall We Learn Using Gaia and LSST?”
Jeon, Y.-B., Nemec, J.M., Walker, A.R., Kunder, A.M. 2014, AJ, 147, 155J, “B, V Photometry for
~19,000 Stars in and around the Magellanic Cloud Globular Clusters NGC 1466, NGV 1841, NGC 2210,
NGC 2257, and Reticulum”
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Johansson, J., … Pforr, J., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 1680, “SN Ia Host Galaxy Properties from Sloan
Digital Sky Survey-II Spectroscopy”
Jones, R.L., … Ridgway, S.T. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9149, eds. A.B. Peck, C.R. Benn, R.L. Seaman (SPIE),
91490B, “The LSST Metrics Analysis Framework (MAF)”
Jönsson, H., … Hinkle, K.H. 2014, ApJL, 789, L41, “Fluorine in the Solar Neighborhood: Is It All
Produced in Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars?”
Jönsson, H., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, A&A, 564, A122, “Chemical Evolution of Fluorine in the Bulge.
High-Resolution K-Band Spectra of Giants in Three Fields”
Juneau, S., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 88, “Active Galactic Nuclei Emission Line
Diagnostics and the Mass-Metallicity Relation up to Redshift z ~ 2: The Impact of Selection Effects and
Evolution”
Jurcsik, J., … Saha, A., et al. 2013, ApJL, 778, L27, “What Is the Difference? Blazhko and Non-Blazhko
RRab Stars and the Special Case of V123 in M3”
Kane, S.R., … Everett, M.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 93, “Limits on Stellar Companions to Exoplanet Host
Stars with Eccentric Planets”
Kashino, D., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, L8, “The FMOS-COSMOS Survey of Star-Forming
Galaxies at z ~ 1.6. I. Hα-based Star Formation Rates and Dust Extinction”
Kashino, D., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2014, ApJL, 785, L37, “Erratum: ‘The FMOS-COSMOS Survey of
Star-Forming Galaxies at z ~ 1.6. I. Hα-Based Star Formation Rates and Dust Extinction’”
Kennedy, C.R., … Beers, T.C., Kinman, T.D., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 6, “Seven New Carbon-Enhanced
Metal-Poor RR Lyrae Stars”
Kervella, P., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2014, A&A, 564, A88, “An Edge-on Translucent Dust Disk around
the Nearest AGB Star, L2 Puppis. VLT/NACO Spectro-imaging from 1.04 to 4.05 μm and VLTI
Interferometry”
Kounkel, M., … Briceño, C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 49, “The Gould’s Belt Very Large Array Survey. III.
The Orion Region”
Kraus, S., … Ridgway, S., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9146, eds. J.K. Rajagopal, M.J. Creech-Eakman, F.
Malbet (SPIE), 914611, “The Science Case for the Planet Formation Imager (PFI)”
Kunder, A., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 119, “The RR Lyrae Variables and Horizontal Branch
of NGC 6656 (M22)”
126
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Kyba, C.C.M., … Walker, C.E., et al. 2013, Scientific Reports, 3, 1835, “Citizen Science Provides
Valuable Data for Monitoring Global Night Sky Luminance”
Lacy, M., Ridgway, S.E., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 24, “The Spitzer Mid-infrared Active Galactic Nucleus
Survey. I. Optical and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Obscured Candidates and Normal Active Galactic
Nuclei Selected in the Mid-infrared”
Lagioia, E.P., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 782, 50, “On the Kinematic Separation of Field and
Cluster Stars across the Bulge Globular NGC 6528”
Lanzuisi, G., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 105, “Active Galactic Nucleus X-ray Variability in
the XMM-COSMOS Survey”
Lebzelter, T., … Hinkle, K., et al. 2014, A&A, 567, A143, “Abundance Analysis for Long-Period
Variables. II. RGB and AGB Stars in the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae”
Lee, J., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2014, ApJS, 210, 6, “Toward a Better Understanding of the Distance Scale
from RR Lyrae Variable Stars: A Case Study for the Inner Halo Globular Cluster NGC 6723”
Lee, N., … Kartaltepe, J.S., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 131, “Multi-wavelength SEDs of Herschel-Selected
Galaxies in the COSMOS Field”
Lee, Y.S., Beers, T.C., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 132, “Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars in SDSS/SEGUE. I.
Carbon Abundance Estimation and Frequency of CEMP Stars”
Lee, Y.S., Suda, T., Beers, T.C., Stancliffe, R.J. 2014, ApJ, 788, 131, “Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars
in SDSS/SEGUE. II. Comparison of CEMP-Star Frequencies with Binary Population-Synthesis Models”
Liu, G., … Hong, S., et al. 2013, ApJL, 778, L41, “Extinction and Dust Geometry in M83 H II Regions:
An Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 Study”
Lu, N., … Inami, H., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, L23, “Warm Molecular Gas in Luminous Infrared Galaxies”
Madau, P., Dickinson, M. 2014, ARA&A, 52, 415, “Cosmic Star-Formation History”
Maggi, P., … Points, S.D., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A76, “Four New X-ray-Selected Supernova Remnants
in the Large Magellanic Cloud”
Majewski, S.R., … Beers, T.C., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2013, ApJL, 777, L13, “Discovery of a Dynamical
Cold Point in the Heart of the Sagittarius dSph Galaxy with Observations from the APOGEE Project”
Mamajek, E.E., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 154, “The Solar Neighborhood. XXX. Fomalhaut C”
127
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Manchado, A., Stanghellini, L., … Shaw, R., et al. 2014, Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae VI Conf., eds.
C. Morisset, G. Delgado-Inglada, S. Torres-Peimbert (UNAM), 56, “Subarcsecond Knots and Filaments in
the Molecular Hydrogen of the Bipolar PN NGC 2346”
Maraston, C., Pforr, J., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 2764, “Stellar Masses of SDSS-III/BOSS Galaxies at z
~ 0.5 and Constraints to Galaxy Formation Models”
Marcy, G.W., … Everett M., et al. 2014, ApJS, 210, 20, “Masses, Radii, and Orbits of Small Kepler
Planets: The Transition from Gaseous to Rocky Planets”
Marion, G.H., … Everett, M.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 69, “Type IIb Supernova SN 2011dh: Spectra and
Photometry from the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared”
Martini, P., Elias, J., Points, S., Sprayberry, D., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9147, eds. S.K. Ramsay, I.S.
McLean, H. Takami (SPIE), 91470Z, “KOSMOS and COSMOS: New Facility Instruments for the NOAO
4-meter Telescopes”
McAlister, H.A., … Ridgway, S.T. 2014 SPIE Proc. 9146, eds. J.K. Rajagopal, M.J. Creech-Eakman, F.
Malbet (SPIE), 91460D, “Making the CHARA Array, Part I: Founding CHARA, the Audacity of Hope”
Meeus, G., Salyk, C., et al. 2013, A&A, 559, A84, “DIGIT Survey of Far-Infrared Lines from
Protoplanetary Discs. II. CO”
Mendigutía, I., … Najita, J.R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 21, “Stellar Parameters and Accretion Rate of the
Transition Disk Star HD 142527 from X-Shooter”
Mennesson, B., … Ridgway, S. 2013, JAI, 2, 40010, “Expanding the CHARA/FLUOR Hot Disks Survey”
Mészáros, Sz., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 133, “Calibrations of Atmospheric Parameters
Obtained from the First Year of SDSS-III APOGEE Observations”
Mikołajewska, J., … Hinkle, K., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 3016, “Chemical Abundance Analysis of
Symbiotic Giants – I. RW Hya and SY Mus”
Modjaz, M., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 99, “Optical Spectra of 73 Stripped-Envelope CoreCollapse Supernovae”
Monnier, J.D., … Ridgway, S., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9146, eds. J.K. Rajagopal, M.J. Creech-Eakman,
F. Malbet (SPIE), 914610, “Planet Formation Imager (PFI): Introduction and Technical Considerations”
Murata, K., … Inami, H., et al. 2014, A&A, 566, A136, “Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Feature
Deficit of Starburst Galaxies in the AKARI North Ecliptic Pole Deep Field”
128
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Palladino, L.E., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 7, “Hypervelocity Star Candidates in the SEGUE G
and K Dwarf Sample”
Patel, B., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 9, “Three Gravitationally Lensed Supernovae behind
CLASH Galaxy Clusters”
Pforr, J., Maraston, C., Tonini, C. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 1389, “Recovering Galaxy Stellar Population
Properties from Broad-Band Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting—II. The Case with Unknown Redshift”
Placco, V.M., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 40, “Metal-Poor Stars Observed with the Magellan
Telescope. II. Discovery of Four Stars with [Fe/H] ≤ –3.5”
Placco, V.M., Beers, T.C., … Smith, V.V. 2014, ApJ, 790, 34, “Hubble Space Telescope Near-Ultraviolet
Spectroscopy of the Bright CEMP-No Star BD+44°493”
Pompea, S.M., … Walker, C.E. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9289, eds. M.F.P.C. Martins Costa, M. Zghal (SPIE),
92892K, “The Hands-On Optics Project: A Demonstration of Module 3-Magnificent Magnifications”
Pompea, S.M., … Walker, C.E., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9289, eds. M.F.P.C. Martins Costa, M. Zghal
(SPIE), 92892F, “The Galileoscope Project: Community-Based Technology Education in Arizona”
Pompea, S.M., Walker, C.E., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9289, eds. M.F.P.C. Martins Costa, M. Zghal
(SPIE), 92890U, “The Evolution of Optics Education at the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory”
Prieto, J.L., … Matheson, T., … James, D., … Smith, R.C., … Zenteno, A. 2014, ApJL, 787, L8, “Light
Echoes from η Carinae’s Great Eruption: Spectrophotometric Evolution and the Rapid Formation of
Nitrogen-Rich Molecules”
Quintana, E.V., … Everett, M.E., et al. 2014, Sci, 344, 277, “An Earth-Sized Planet in the Habitable Zone
of a Cool Star”
Rajagopal, J., Ridgway, S., Hinkle, K. 2014, ASP Conf. 487, eds. M.J. Creech-Eakman, J.A. Guzik, R.E.
Stencel (ASP), 353, “Near-IR Sizes of Circumbinary Disks”
Rajagopal, J.K., Creech-Eakman, M.J., Malbet, F., eds. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9146, “Optical and Infrared
Interferometry IV”
Rajagopal, J.K., et al. 2014, SPIE Conf. 9152, eds. G. Chiozzi, N.M. Radziwill, (SPIE), 91521Z,
“Improving the WIYN Telescope’s Pointing and Tracking Performance with a Star Tracker Camera”
Richardson, N.D., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9146, eds. J.K. Rajagopal, M.J. CreechEakman, F. Malbet (SPIE), 91460G, “MWC 314: Binary Results from Optical Interferometry Compared
with Spectroscopy and Photometry”
129
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Ridgway, S.E., et al. 2014, IAU Symp. 304, ed. A.M. Mickaelian, D.B. Sanders (Cambridge University
Press), 61, “Redshift Distribution and Luminosity Functions of Obscured and Unobscured Quasars”
Ridgway, S.T. 2014, ASP Conf. 487, eds. M.J. Creech-Eakman, J.A. Guzik, R.E. Stencel (ASP), 365,
“Perspective on Interferometry Facilities and Community Access”
Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9146, eds. J.K. Rajagopal, M.J. Creech-Eakman, F. Malbet (SPIE),
91460E, “Making the CHARA Array, Part II: Project Management: 15 Years on Thin Ice”
Riechers, D.A., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 31, “Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and Midinfrared Continuum Emission in a z > 4 Submillimeter Galaxy”
Rodney, S.A., … Dickinson, M.E., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 13, “Type Ia Supernova Rate
Measurements to Redshift 2.5 from CANDELS: Searching for Prompt Explosions in the Early Universe”
Roederer, I.U., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 791, 32, “New Detections of Arsenic, Selenium, and Other
Heavy Elements in Two Metal-Poor Stars”
Ross, T.L., … Saha, A., Walker, A. 2014, AJ, 147, 4, “Measuring Metallicities with Hubble Space
Telescope/Wide-Field Camera 3 Photometry”
Saha, A., Matheson, T., Narayan, G., et al. 2014, Proc. SPIE 9149, eds. A.B. Peck, C.R. Benn, R.L.
Seaman (SPIE), 914908, “ANTARES: A Prototype Transient Broker System”
Salyk, C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 68, “ALMA Observations of the T Tauri Binary System AS 205: Evidence
for Molecular Winds and/or Binary Interactions”
Santos, J.S., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 2565, “Star Formation in the Cluster
CLG0218.3-0510 at z = 1.62 and Its Large-Scale Environment: The Infrared Perspective”
Sargent, B.A., … Furlan, E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 83, “Emission from Water Vapor and Absorption from
Other Gases at 5–7.5 μm in Spitzer-IRS Spectra of Protoplanetary Disks”
Schlawin, E., … Probst, R., Sprayberry, D., … James, D., et al. 2014. Proc. SPIE 9147, eds. S.K.
Ramsay, I.S. McLean, H. Takami (SPIE), 91472H, “Design Updates and Status of the Fourth Generation
TripleSpec Spectrograph”
Schlesinger, K.J., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 791, 112, “The Vertical Metallicity Gradient of the
Milky Way Disk: Transitions in [α/Fe] Populations”
Schultheis, M., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 24, “Extinction Maps toward the Milky Way Bulge:
Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Tests with APOGEE”
130
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Scoville, N., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 84, “The Evolution of Interstellar Medium Mass
Probed by Dust Emission: ALMA Observations at z = 0.3–2”
Shim, H., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2013, ASP Conf. 477, eds. W.-H. Sun, Y. Kang, K.-C. Leung (ASP),
185, “The Unusual and Ubiquitous Population of Hα Emitters at z ~ 4: Where Are All the Mergers?”
Siqueira Mello, C., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, A&A, 565, A93, “High-Resolution Abundance Analysis of
Very Metal-Poor R-I Stars”
Smith, M.G. 2014, Erque, Elqui, Vicuña—Anales de su Historia, Tomo 2, Seccion 3, “La Astronomía en
Elqui, El Cielo Está Más Cerca”
Sprayberry, D., … Allen, L., Elias, J., Probst, R., Joyce, R., Dey, A., … Blum, R., Abbott, T.M.C.,
Walker, A., et al. 2014, Proc. SPIE 9145, eds. L.M. Stepp, R. Gilmozzi, H.J. Hall (SPIE), 91453Y,
“Planning the Installation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument on the Mayall Telescope”
Stancliffe, R.J., … Beers, T.C. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 698, “Modelling the Nucleosynthetic Properties of
Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor RR Lyrae Stars”
Stanghellini, L., Magrini, L., Casasola, V., Villaver, E. 2014, A&A, 567, A88, “The Radial Metallicity
Gradient and the History of Elemental Enrichment in M 81 through Emission-Line Probes”
Stevenson, K.B., … Bergmann, M., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 161, “Transmission Spectroscopy of the Hot
Jupiter Wasp-12b from 0.7 to 5 μm”
Stierwalt, S., … Inami, H., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 124, “Mid-infrared Properties of Luminous Infrared
Galaxies. II. Probing the Dust and Gas Physics of the GOALS Sample”
Stone, J. M., … Salyk, C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 56, “Variable Accretion Processes in the Young BinaryStar System UY Aur”
Straatman, C.M.S., … Dickinson, M., … Inami, H., et al. 2014, ApJL, 783, L14, “A Substantial
Population of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z ~ 4 from ZFOURGE”
Szkody, P., … Everett, M.E., et al. 2013, PASP, 125, 1421, “A Study of the Unusual Z Cam Systems IW
Andromedae and V513 Cassiopeia”
Tan, Q., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2013, ApJL, 776, L24, “A Deep Search for Molecular Gas in Two
Massive Lyman Break Galaxies at z = 3 and 4: Vanishing CO-Emission Due to Low Metallicity?”
Tan, Q., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, 569, A&A, A98, “Dust and Gas in Luminous Proto-cluster
Galaxies at z = 4.05: The Case for Different Cosmic Dust Evolution in Normal and Starburst Galaxies”
131
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
ten Brummelaar, T., … Ridgway, S., et al. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9148, eds. E. Marchetti, L.M. Close, J.-P.
Véran (SPIE), 91484Q, “CHARA Array Adaptive Optics II: Non-common-path Correction and
Downstream Optics”
ten Brummelaar, T.A., … Ridgway, S. 2014, SPIE Proc. 9146, eds. J.K. Rajagopal, M.J. Creech-Eakman,
F. Malbet (SPIE), 91460F, “Making the CHARA Array, Part III: Engineering Decisions. To Build or Not to
Build”
ten Brummelaar, T.A., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2013, JAI, 2, 40004, “The Classic/Climb Beam Combiner
at the CHARA Array”
Teske, J., … Smith, V. 2014, Search for Life beyond the Solar System: Exoplanets, Biosignatures &
Instruments conference, P2, 17, “Investigating Host Star Abundances as Signatures of Terrestrial Planets”
Teske, J.K., … Smith, V.V. 2013, ApJ, 778, 132, “Carbon and Oxygen Abundances in Cool Metal-Rich
Exoplanet Hosts: A Case Study of the C/O Ratio of 55 Cancri”
Teske, J.K., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 39, “C/O Ratios of Stars with Transiting Hot Jupiter
Exoplanets”
Teske, J.K., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, IAU Symp., 299, eds. M. Booth, B.C. Matthews, J.R. Graham
(Cambridge University Press), 307, “The Role of Oxygen Abundances in Exoplanet Host Star C/O Ratios:
A Case Study of 55 Cnc”
Tissera, P.B., Beers, T.C., Carollo, D., Scannapieco, C. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 3128, “Stellar Haloes in
Milky Way Mass Galaxies: From the Inner to the Outer Haloes”
Tokovinin, A. 2014, AJ, 147, 86, “From Binaries to Multiples. I. Data on F and G Dwarfs within 67 pc of
the Sun”
Tokovinin, A. 2014, AJ, 147, 87, “From Binaries to Multiples. II. Hierarchical Multiplicity of F and G
Dwarfs”
Tokovinin, A., et al. 2013, PASP, 125, 1336, “CHIRON—A Fiber Fed Spectrometer for Precise Radial
Velocities”
Tokovinin, A., Mason, B.D., Hartkopf, W.I. 2014, AJ, 147, 123, “Speckle Interferometry at SOAR in 2012
and 2013”
Touhami, Y., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2014, ASP Conf. 487, eds. M.J. Creech-Eakman, J.A. Guzik, R.E.
Stencel (ASP), 395, “AB Dor Moving-Group Stars Resolved with the CHARA Array”
Valdes, F., Gruendl, R., DES Project. 2014, ASP Conf. 485, eds. G. Manset, P. Forshay (ASP), 379, “The
DECam Community Pipeline”
132
NOAO SCIENTIFIC STAFF PUBLICATIONS
van Belle, G., Ridgway, S., ten Brummelaar, T. 2014, “Improving the Performances of Current Optical
Interferometers & Future Designs colloquim proceedings, 7, “2013 Interferometry Forum Report”
Villaver, E., Garcia-Segura, G., Manchado, A., Stanghellini, L. 2014, Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae VI
Conf., eds. C. Morisset, G. Delgado-Inglada, S. Torres-Peimbert (UNAM), 110, “Nature versus Nurture:
The Influence of the Environment in the Formation of Asymmetries”
Villforth, C., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 3342, “Morphologies of z ~ 0.7 AGN Host
Galaxies in CANDELS: No Trend of Merger Incidence with AGN Luminosity”
Vivas, A.K., Mateo, M. 2014, AJ, 146, 141, “A Comprehensive, Wide-Field Study of Pulsating Stars in the
Carina Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy”
von Braun, K., … Ridgway, S., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 2413, “Stellar Diameters+G52 and
Temperatures – V. 11 Newly Characterized Exoplanet Host Stars”
Walter F., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 782, 78, “A Molecular Line Scan in the Hubble Deep Field
North: Constraints on the CO Luminosity Function and the Cosmic H2 Density”
Warth, G., … Points, S., et al. 2014, A&A, 567, 136, “Multi-frequency Study of DEM L299 in the Large
Magellanic Cloud”
Weyant, A., … Allen, L., … Joyce, R., Matheson, T. 2014, ApJ, 784, 105, “SweetSpot: Near-Infrared
Observations of 13 Type Ia Supernovae from a New NOAO Survey Probing the Nearby Smooth Hubble
Flow”
White, R.J., … Ridgway, S.T., et al. 2014, ASP Conf. 487, eds. M.J. Creech-Eakman, J.A. Guzik, R.E.
Stencel (ASP), 407, “AB Dor Moving-Group Stars Resolved with the CHARA Array”
Wiklind, T., … Dickinson, M.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 111, “Properties of Submillimeter Galaxies in the
CANDELS GOODS-South Field”
Willis, S., … Allen, L., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 96, “A Wide-Field Near- and Mid-Infrared Census of Young
Stars in NGC 6334”
Xue, X.-X., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 170, “The SEGUE K Giant Survey. II. A Catalog of
Distance Determinations for the SEGUE K Giants in the Galactic Halo”
Yamashita, T., … Inami, H., et al. 2013, ASP Conf. 476, eds. R. Kawabe, N. Kuno, S. Yamamoto (ASP),
297, “12CO (J=1–0) Survey with NRO 45 m of GOALS Luminous Infrared Galaxies: Star Formation
Efficiency against Galactic Merger and AGN Activity”
Yan, H., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2014, ApJS, 213, “Optical-Faint, Far-Infrared-Bright Herschel Sources in
the CANDELS Fields: Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxies at z > 1 and the Effect of Source Blending”
133
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Yang, Y., … Dey, A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 171, “Pinpointing the Molecular Gas within an Lyα Blob at z ~
2.7”
Zahid, H. J., … Kartaltepe, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, “The FMOS-COSMOS Survey of Star-Forming
Galaxies at z ~ 1.6. II. The Mass-Metallicity Relation and the Dependence on Star Formation Rate and Dust
Extinction”
Zasowski, G., … Smith, V., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 81, “Target Selection for the Apache Point Observatory
Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE)”
Zeimann, G.R., … Dey, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 137, “Hα Star Formation Rates of z > 1 Galaxy Clusters
in the IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey”
Zheng, Z., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJL, 785, L23, “The First Hypervelocity Star from the LAMOST
Survey”
Ziparo, F., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 434, 3089, “The Lack of Star Formation Gradients in
Galaxy Groups up to z ~ 1.6”
Ziparo, F., … Dickinson, M., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 458, “Reversal or No Reversal: The Evolution of
the Star Formation Rate-Density Relation up to z ~ 1.6”
134
D PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
# of Publications in FY14
120
100
100
80
60
40
88
76
59
49
51
40
35 32
20
7
0
6
2
0
0
0
0
Telescopes/Data
D.1 TELESCOPES AT CERRO TOLOLO INTER-AMERICAN OBSERVATORY
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 165 publications used data taken at the CTIO telescopes (includes
the Blanco, SOAR, and others) for which NOAO allocates observing time:
Adams, E.R., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 55, “De-biased Populations of Kuiper Belt Objects from the Deep Ecliptic
Survey”
Alberts, S., … Atlee, D.W., … Dey, A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 437, “The Evolution of Dust-Obscured Star
Formation Activity in Galaxy Clusters Relative to the Field over the Last 9 Billion Years”
Amigo, P., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 130, “Time-Series BVI Photometry for the Globular Cluster NGC 6981”
Asa’d, R.S., Hanson, M. M., Ahumada, Andrea V. 2013, PASP, 125, 1304, “An Investigation of the Use of
Synthetic Spectra to Find the Ages of Stellar Clusters”
Ascaso, B., Wittman, D., Dawson, W. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1980, “Optical Galaxy Clusters in the Deep Lens
Survey”
Barber, C., Courteau, S., Roediger, J.C., Schiavon, R.P. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 2953, “Validation of Optimized
Population Synthesis through Mock Spectra and Galactic Globular”
Belli, S., Newman, A.B., Ellis, R.S., Konidaris, N.P. 2014, ApJL, 788, L29, “MOSFIRE Absorption Line
Spectroscopy of z > 2 Quiescent Galaxies: Probing a Period of Rapid Size Growth”
Berger, E., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 18, “A Search for Fast Optical Transients in the Pan-STARRS1 Medium-Deep
Survey: M-Dwarf Flares, Asteroids, Limits on Extragalactic Rates, and Implications for LSST”
135
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Bochanski, J.J., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 76, “Hunting the Most Distant Stars in the Milky Way: Methods and Initial
Results”
Borissova, J., et al. 2014, A&A, 569, A24, “New Galactic Star Clusters Discovered in the VVV Survey. Candidates
Projected on the Inner Disk and Bulge”
Bouy, H., et al. 2014, A&A, 564, A29, “Orion Revisited. II. The Foreground Population to Orion A”
Brodwin, M., … Dey, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 138, “The Era of Star Formation in Galaxy Clusters”
Brown, M.J.I., et al. 2014, ApJS, 212, 18, “An Atlas of Galaxy Spectral Energy Distributions from the Ultraviolet
to the Mid-infrared”
Brownsberger, S., Romani, R.W. 2014, ApJ, 784, 154, “A Survey for Hα Pulsar Bow Shocks”
Bufano, F., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1807, “SN 2011hs: A Fast and Faint Type IIb Supernova from a Supergiant
Progenitor”
Burke, D.L., Saha, A., … Claver, C., … Smith, C.R., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 19, “All-Weather Calibration of WideField Optical and NIR Surveys”
Cáceres, C., et al. 2014, A&A, 565, A7, “Ground-Based Transit Observations of the Super-Earth GJ 1214 b”
Calura, F., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 2765, “The Dust Content of QSO Hosts at High Redshift”
Canning, R.E.A., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 1108, “A Multiwavelength View of Cooling Versus AGN Heating in
the X-ray Luminous Cool-Core of Abell 3581”
Carraro, G., Giorgi, E.E., Costa, E., Vázquez, R.A. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 36, “NGC 4337: An Overlooked Old
Cluster in the Inner Disc of the Milky Way”
Caso, J.P., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 891, “Ultracompact Dwarfs around NGC 3268”
Cavichia, O., Mollá, M., Costa, R.D.D., Maciel, W.J. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 3688, “The Role of the Galactic Bar in
the Chemical Evolution of the Milky Way”
Chakraborty, A., et al. 2014, PASP, 123, 133, “The PRL Stabilized High-Resolution Echelle Fiber-Fed
Spectrograph: Instrument Description and First Radial Velocity Results”
Chernyakova, M., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 432, “Multiwavelength Observations of the Binary System PSR
B1259-63/LS 2883 around the 2010–2011 Periastron Passage”
Choi, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 9, “The Assembly Histories of Quiescent Galaxies since z = 0.7 from Absorption
Line Spectroscopy”
Chung, S.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 54, “A UV to Mid-IR Study of AGN Selection”
Clem, J.L., Landolt, A.U. 2013, AJ, 146, 88, “Faint UBVRI Standard Star Fields”
136
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Clements, D.L., Wardlow, J., Zemcov, M., de Zotti, G. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1193, “Herschel Multitiered
Extragalactic Survey: Clusters of Dusty Galaxies Uncovered by Herschel and Planck”
Cohen, Judith G., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 56, “Normal and Outlying Populations of the Milky Way Stellar Halo at
[Fe/H] < –2”
Cordero, M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 94, “Detailed Abundances for a Large Sample of Giant Stars in the Globular
Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)”
Davison, C.L., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 26, “The Closest M-Dwarf Quadruple System to the Sun”
de Carvalho, S.M., Rotondo, M., Rueda, J.A., Ruffini, R. 2014, PhRvC, 89a5801D, “Relativistic FeynmanMetropolis-Teller Treatment at Finite Temperatures”
Degenaar, N., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 122, “Multi-wavelength Coverage of State Transitions in the New Black Hole
X-ray Binary Swift J1910.2-0546”
Dessauges-Zavadsky, M., Verdugo, C., Combes, F., Pfenniger, D. 2014, A&A, 566, A147, “CO Map and Steep
Kennicutt-Schmidt Relation in the Extended UV Disk of M 63”
DeWitt, C., … Blum, R., Olsen, K., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 109, “Three New Galactic Center X-ray Sources
Identified with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy”
Dey, A., Valdes, F. 2014, PASP, 126, 296, “The Delivered Image Quality with the MOSAIC Cameras at the Kitt
Peak 4m Mayall and Cerro Tololo 4m Blanco Telescopes”
Dias, B., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A106, “Self-Consistent Physical Parameters for Five Intermediate-Age SMC
Stellar Clusters from CMD Modelling”
Dieterich, S.B., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 94, “The Solar Neighborhood. XXXII. The Hydrogen Burning Limit”
Doran, E.I., et al. 2013, A&A, 558, A134, “The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XI. A Census of the Hot
Luminous Stars and Their Feedback in 30 Doradus”
Duffau, S., Vivas, A.K., et al. 2014, A&A, 566, A118, “A Comprehensive View of the Virgo Stellar Stream”
Durret, F., et al. 2013, A&A, 560, A78, “The Merging Cluster of Galaxies Abell 3376: An Optical View”
Faisst, A.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 87, “Spectroscopic Observation of Lyα Emitters at z ~ 7.7 and Implications on
Re-ionization”
Fornasier, S., et al. 2014, A&A, 568, L11, “The Centaur 10199 Chariklo: Investigation into Rotational Period,
Absolute Magnitude, and Cometary Activity”
French, L., et al. 2013, MPBu, 40, 198, “A Troop of Trojans: Photometry of 24 Trojan Asteroids”
Fritz, A., et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A92, “The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS): A Quiescent
Formation of Massive Red-Sequence Galaxies over the Past 9 Gyr”
Furusawa, K., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 91, “MOA-2010-BLG-328Lb: A Sub-Neptune Orbiting Very Late M Dwarf?”
137
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gahm, G.F., et al. 2013, A&A, 560, A57, “Face to Phase with RU Lupi”
Gamen, R., et al. 2014, A&A, 562A, 13, “WR 35a: A New Double-Lined Spectroscopic Binary”
Geier, S., et al. 2014, A&A, 562, A95, “Orbital Solutions of Eight Close sdB Binaries and Constraints on the
Nature of the Unseen Companions”
Geller, M.J., et al. 2014, ApJS, 213, 35, “SHELS: A Complete Galaxy Redshift Survey with R ≤ 20.6”
Graham, M.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 163, “Clues to the Nature of SN 2009ip from Photometric and Spectroscopic
Evolution to Late Times”
Gruen, D., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 1507, “Weak Lensing Analysis of SZ-Selected Clusters of Galaxies from the
SPT and Planck Surveys”
Grupe, D., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 78, “Strong UV and X-ray Variability of the Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy WPVS
007—on the Nature of the X-ray Low State”
Guennou, L., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A112, “Structure and Substructure Analysis of DAFT/FADA Galaxy Clusters
in the [0.4–0.9] Redshift Range”
Guo, H., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 2398, “The Clustering of Galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey: Modelling of the Luminosity and Colour Dependence in the Data Release 10”
Hainich, R., et al. 2014, A&A, 565, A27, “The Wolf-Rayet Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. A Comprehensive
Analysis of the WN Class”
Hansen, T., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 162, “Exploring the Origin of Lithium, Carbon, Strontium, and
Barium with Four New Ultra Metal-Poor Stars”
Harrison, T.E., Gelino, D.M., Buxton, M., Fost, T. 2014, AJ, 148, 22, “Herschel Observations of Circinus X-1
during Outburst and Quiescence”
Hinshaw, G., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 19, “Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
Observations: Cosmological Parameter Results”
Hirota, A., et al. 2014, PASJ, 66, 46, “Wide-Field 12CO (J = 1–0) Imaging of the Nearby Barred Galaxy M 83 with
NMA and Nobeyema 45 m Telescope: Molecular Gas Kinematics and Star Formation along the Bar”
Holoien, T.W.–S., et al. 2014, ApJL, 785, L35, “Discovery and Observations of ASASSN-13db, an EX Lupi-Type
Accretion Event on Low-Mass T Tauri Star”
Hong, S., Calzetti, D., Dickinson, M. 2014, PASP, 126, 79, “Quantitative Method for the Optimal Subtraction of
Continuum Emission from Narrow-Band Images: Skewness Transition Analysis”
Huitson, C.M., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 434, 3252, “An HST Optical-to-Near-IR Transmission Spectrum of the Hot
Jupiter WASP-19b: Detection of Atmospheric Water and Likely Absence of TiO”
Hynes, R.I., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 11, “CXOGBS J173620.2-293338: A Candidate Symbiotic X-ray Binary
Associate with a Bulge Carbon Star”
138
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Isler, J.C., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 100, “A Time-Resolved Study of the Broad-Line Region in Blazar 3C 454.3”
Jain, H.-Y., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 109, “Probability Friends-of-Friends (PFOF) Group Finder: Performance Study
and Observational Data Applications on Photometric Surveys”
Jao, W.-C., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 21, “The Solar Neighborhood. XXXI. Discovery of an Unusual Red+White Dwarf
Binary at ~25 pc via Astrometry and UV Imaging”
Jeon, Y.-B., Nemec, J.M., Walker, A.R., Kunder, A.M. 2014, AJ, 147, 155J, “B, V Photometry for ~19,000 Stars
in and around the Magellanic Cloud Globular Clusters NGC 1466, NGV 1841, NGC 2210, NGC 2257, and
Reticulum”
Kaplan, D.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 789, 119, “A 1.05 M☉ Companion to PSR J2222-0137: The Coolest Known White
Dwarf?”
Keel, W.C., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 44, “The Ultraviolet Attenuation Law in Backlit Spiral Galaxies”
Kepler, S.O., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 2278, “Discovery of a New PG 1159 (GW Vir) Pulsator”
Koptelova, E., Chiueh, T., Chen, W.P., Chan, H.H. 2014, A&A, 566, A36, “New Near-Infrared Observations and
Lens-Model Constraints for UM673”
Kunder, A., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 119, “The RR Lyrae Variables and Horizontal Branch of NGC
6656 (M22)”
Lacy, M., Ridgway, S.E., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 24, “The Spitzer Mid-infrared Active Galactic Nucleus Survey. I.
Optical and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Obscured Candidates and Normal Active Galactic Nuclei Selected in the
Mid-infrared”
Lee, J., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2014, ApJS, 210, 6, “Toward a Better Understanding of the Distance Scale from
RR Lyrae Variable Stars: A Case Study for the Inner Halo Globular Cluster NGC 6723”
Lee, N., … Kartaltepe, J.S., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 131, “Multi-wavelength SEDs of Herschel-Selected Galaxies in
the COSMOS Field”
Lee, S.-K., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 81, “Steadily Increasing Star Formation Rates in Galaxies Observed at 3 ≲ z ≲ 5
in the CANDELS/GOODS-S Field”
Libralato, M., et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A80, “Ground-Based Astrometry with Wide Field Imagers. V. Application to
Near-Infrared Detectors: HAWK-I@VLT/ESO”
Luhman, K.L., Sheppard, S.S. 2014, ApJ, 787, 126, “Characterization of High Proper Motion Objects from the
Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer”
MacDonald, R.K.D., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 2, “The Black Hole Binary V4641 Sagitarii: Activity in Quiescence and
Improved Mass Determinations”
Maggi, P., … Points, S.D., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A76, “Four New X-ray-Selected Supernova Remnants in the
Large Magellanic Cloud”
139
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Maguire, K., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 222, “A Statistical Analysis of Circumstellar Material in Type Ia
Supernovae”
Maia, F.F.S., Piatti, A.E., Santos, J.F.C. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 2005, “Mass Distribution and Structural Parameters
of Small Magellanic Cloud Star Clusters”
Majaess, D., et al. 2013, A&A, 560, A22, “Anchors for the Cosmic Distance Scale: The Cepheids U Sagittarii, CF
Cassiopeiae, and CEab Cassiopeiae”
Majaess, D., et al. 2014, A&A, 567, A1, “On the Crucial Cluster Andrews-Lindsay 1 and a 4% Distance Solution
for Its Planetary Nebula”
Mamajek, E.E., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 154, “The Solar Neighborhood. XXX. Fomalhaut C”
Mann, R.K., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 82, “ALMA Observations of the Orion Proplyds”
Margutti, R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 21, “A Panchromatic View of the Restless SN 2009ip Reveals the Explosive
Ejection of a Massive Star Envelope”
Marocco, F., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 161, “Parallaxes of Southern Extremely Cool Objects (PARSEC). II.
Spectroscopic Follow-up and Parallaxes of 52 Targets”
Masetti, N., et al. 2013, A&A, 559, A58, “BL Lacertae Identifications in a ROSAT-Selected Sample of Fermi
Unidentified Objects”
Mason, E., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 212, “On the Nature of CP Pup”
Meschin, I., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 1067, “Spatially Resolved LMC Star Formation History - I. Outside in
Evolution of the Outer LMC Disc”
Mineo, S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 132, “The Radial Distribution of X-ray Binaries and Globular Clusters in NGC
4649 and Their Relation with the Local Stellar Mass Density”
Monroe, T.R., Pilachowski, C.A., Rebull, L. 2013, ASP Conf. 472, eds. M. Chavez, E. Bertone, O. Vega, V. de la
Luz (ASP), 111, “Metallicities of Solar-Type Stars in Young Open Clusters”
Morgan, A.N., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 1810, “Evidence for Dust Destruction from the Early-Time Colour
Change of GRB 120119A”
Morii, M., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 118, “Extraordinary Luminous Soft X-ray Transient MAXI J0158-744 as an
Ignition of a Nova on a Very Massive O-Ne White Dwarf”
Mužić, K., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 159, “Substellar Objects in Nearby Young Clusters (SONYC). VIII. Substellar
Population in Lupus 3”
Nicholls, D.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 155, “Metal-Poor Dwarf Galaxies in the SIGRID Galaxy Sample. I. H II
Region Observations and Chemical Abundances”
Nicholls, D.C., Jerjen, H., Dopita, M.A., Basurah, H. 2014, ApJ, 790, 88, “Nebular Metallicities in Two Isolated
Local Void Dwarf Galaxies”
140
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Nidever, D.L., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 145, “A Tidally Stripped Stellar Component of the Magellanic Bridge”
Norris, M.A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 443, 1151, “The AIMSS Project—I. Bridging the Star Cluster-Galaxy Divide”
Pan, Z., Kong, X., Fan, L. 2014, ApJ, 776, 14, “Green Galaxies in the COSMOS Field”
Parisi, M.C., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 71, “Age Determination of 15 Old to Intermediate-Age Small Magellanic Cloud
Star Clusters”
Park, H., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 134, “Gravitational Binary-Lens Events with Prominent Effects of Lens Orbital
Motion”
Park, H., et al. 2014 ApJ, 787, 71, “OGLE-2012-BLG-0455/MOA-2012-BLG-206: Microlensing Event with
Ambiguity in Planetary Interpretations Caused by Incomplete Coverage of Planetary Signal”
Phillips, M.M., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 38, “On the Source of the Dust Extinction in Type Ia Supernovae and the
Discovery of Anomalously Strong Na I Absorption”
Piatti, A.E. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 3091, “Disentangling the Physical Reality of Star Cluster Candidates Projected
towards the Inner Disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud”
Placco, V.M., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 40, “Metal-Poor Stars Observed with the Magellan Telescope.
II. Discovery of Four Stars with [Fe/H] ≤ –3.5”
Plazas, A.A., Bernstein, G.M., Sheldon, E.S. 2014, JInst, 9C4001P, “Transverse Electric Fields’ Effects in the Dark
Energy Camera CCDs”
Prieto, J.L., … Matheson, T., … James, D., … Smith, R.C., … Zenteno, A. 2014, ApJL, 787, L8, “Light Echoes
from η Carinae’s Great Eruption: Spectrophotometric Evolution and the Rapid Formation of Nitrogen-Rich
Molecules”
Puzia, T.H., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 78, “Wide-Field Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Globular Cluster
System in NGC 1399”
Rabinowitz, D.L., Benecchi, S.D., Grundy, W.M., Verbiscer, A.J. 2014, Icar, 236, 72, “The Rotational Light Curve
of (79360) Sila-Nunam, an Eclipsing Binary in the Kuiper Belt”
Rahoui, F., et al. 2014, A&A, 568, A54, “Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of 20 New Chandra Sources in the Norma
Arm”
Ramos Almeida, C., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 997, “The Environments of Luminous Radio Galaxies and Type-2
Quasars”
Rauber, A.B., Copetti, M.V.F., Krabbe, A.C. 2014, A&A, 563, A42, “Spectroscopic Mapping of the Planetary
Nebula NGC 6302”
Rawle, T.D., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 196, “Star Formation in the Massive Cluster Merger Abell 2744”
Rest, A., et al. 2014, IAU Symp., eds. A. Ray, R.A. McCray (Cambridge University Press), 296, 126, “Light
Echoes of Historic Transients”
141
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Ribeiro, A.O., et al. 2014, P&SS, 92, 57, “The First Confirmation of V-Type Asteroids among the Mars Crosser
Population”
Riedel, A.R., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 85, “The Solar Neighborhood. XXXIII. Parallax Results from the CTIOPI 0.9 m
Program: Trigonometric Parallaxes of Nearby Low-Mass Active and Young Systems”
Romero, A.D., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 58, “Asteroseismological Study of Massive ZZ Ceti Stars with Fully
Evolutionary Models”
Salaris, M., et al. 2013, A&A, 559, A57, “The Horizontal Branch of the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy”
Santos, F.P., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 1, “Optical/Near-Infrared Polarization Survey of Sh 2-29: Magnetic Fields,
Dense Cloud Fragmentations, and Anomalous Dust Grain Sizes”
Scalzo, R., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 1498, “Type Ia Supernova Bolometric Light Curves and Ejected Mass
Estimates from the Nearby Supernova Factory”
Sheng, Zhen-Ya, et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1101, “Lyα Equivalent Width Distribution of Lyα Emitting Galaxies at
Redshift z ~ 4.5”
Shivvers, I., Bloom, J.S., Richards, J.W. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 343, “The Highly Eccentric Detached Eclipsing
Binaries in ACVS and MACC”
Stadnik, M., Romani, R.W. 2014, ApJ, 784, 151, “Imaging Redshift Estimates or Fermi BL Lac Objects”
Stephens, I.W., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 147, “Spitzer Observations of Dust Emission from H II Regions in the Large
Magellanic Cloud”
Stocke, J.T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 791, 128, “Absorption-Line Detections of 105–106 K Gas in Spiral-Rich Groups of
Galaxies”
Strader, J., et al. 2014, ApJL, 788, L27, “1FGL J0523.5-2529: A New Probable Gamma-ray Pulsar Binary”
Stritzinger, M.D., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A146, “Optical and Near-IR Observations of the Faint and Fast 2008haLike Supernova 2010ae”
Suenaga, T., et al. 2014, PASJ, 66, 33, “Multi-object and Long-Slit Spectroscopy of Very Low Mass Brown
Dwarfs in the Orion Nebular Cluster”
Surina, F., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 107, “A Detailed Photometric and Spectroscopic Study of the 2011 Outburst of the
Recurrent Nova T Pyxidis from 0.8 to 250 Days after Discovery”
Sweet, S.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 782, 35, “Choirs H I Galaxy Groups: The Metallicity of Dwarf Galaxies”
Sweet, S.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 75, “Erratum: ‘Choirs H I Galaxy Groups: The Metallicity of Dwarf Galaxies’”
Takáts, K., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 368, “SN 2009N: Linking Normal and Subluminous Type II-P SNe”
Tang, S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 61, “An Accreting White Dwarf near the Chandrasekhar Limit in the Andromeda
Galaxy”
142
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Taranu, D., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 1934, “Quenching Star Formation in Cluster Galaxies”
Thorat, K., Saripalli, L., Subrahmanyan, R. 2013, MNRAS, 434, 2877, “Environments of Extended Radio Sources
in the Australia Telescope Low-Brightness Survey”
Tokovinin, A. 2014, AJ, 147, 86, “From Binaries to Multiples. I. Data on F and G Dwarfs within 67 pc of the Sun”
Tokovinin, A., et al. 2013, PASP, 125, 1336, “CHIRON—A Fiber Fed Spectrometer for Precise Radial Velocities”
Tokovinin, A., Mason, B.D., Hartkopf, W.I. 2014, AJ, 147, 123, “Speckle Interferometry at SOAR in 2012 and
2013”
Tomsick, J.A. 2014, ApJ, 785, 4, “NuSTAR J163433-4738.7: A Fast X-ray Transient in the Galactic Plane”
Torres, M.A.P., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 365, “Identification of 23 Accreting Binaries in the Galactic Bulge
Survey”
Traulsen, I., et al. 2014, A&A, 562, A42, “Phase-Resolved X-ray Spectroscopy and Spectral Energy Distribution of
the X-ray Soft Polar RS Caeli”
Trujillo, C.A., Sheppard, S.S. 2014, Natur, 507, 471, “A Sedna-Like Body with a Perihelion of 80 Astronomical
Units”
Tsai, C.-W., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 41, “WISE J233237.05-505643.5: A Double-Peaked, Broad-Lined Active
Galactic Nucleus with a Spiral-Shaped Radio Morphology”
Tsapras, Y., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 48, “A Super-Jupiter Orbiting a Late-Type Star: A Refined Analysis of
Microlensing Event OGLE-2012-BLG-0406”
Utsumi, Y., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 93, “Reducing Systematic Error in Weak Lensing Cluster Surveys”
Vaduvescu, O., et al. 2014, A&A, 535, A118, “Searching for Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies in the Antila Cluster”
Valdes, F., Gruendl, R., DES Project. 2014, ASP Conf. 485, eds. G. Manset, P. Forshay (ASP), 379, “The DECam
Community Pipeline”
Van der Horst, A.J., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 2625, “Broad-Band Monitoring Tracing the Evolution of the Jet and
Disc in the Black Hole Candidate X-ray Binary MAXI J1659-152”
VandenBerg, D.A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 110, “Three Ancient Halow Subgiants: Precise Parallaxes, Compositions,
Ages, and Implications for Globular Clusters”
Vanderbeke, J., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 734, “ G2C2—I. Homogeneous Photometry for Galactic Globular
Clusters in SDSS Passbands”
Vardanyan, V., Weedman, D., Sargsyan, L. 2014, ApJ, 790, 88, “Seeking the Epoch of Maximum Luminosity for
Dusty Quasars”
Viaux, N., et al. 2013, A&A, 558, A12, “Particle-Physics Constraints from the Globular Cluster M5: Neutrino
Dipole Moments”
143
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Vivas, A.K., Mateo, M. 2014, AJ, 146, 141, “A Comprehensive, Wide-Field Study of Pulsating Stars in the Carina
Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy”
Wang, S., Ma, J., Wu, Z., Zhou, X. 2014, AJ, 148, 4, “New 2MASS Near-Infrared Photometry for Globular
Clusters in M31”
Werner, N., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 2291, “The Origin of Cold Gas in Giant Elliptical Galaxies and Its Role in
Fuelling Radio-Mode AGN Feedback”
Willis, S., … Allen, L., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 96, “A Wide-Field Near- and Mid-Infrared Census of Young Stars in
NGC 6334”
Winkler, P.F., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 65, “A High-Resolution X-Ray and Optical Study of SN 1006: Asymmetric
Expansion and Small-Scale Structure in a Type Ia Supernova Remnant”
Wittman, D., Dawson, W., Benson, B. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 3578, “Shedding Light on the Matter of Abell 781”
Yang, H., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 35, “A z ~ 5.7 Lyα Emission Line with an Ultrabroad Red Wing”
Zacharias, N., Zacharias, M.I. 2014, AJ, 147, 95, “Radio-Optical Reference Frame Link Using the U.S. Naval
Observatory Astrograph and Deep CCD Imaging”
Zhang, B., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 122, “The Narrow X-ray Tail and Double Hα Tails of ESO 137-002 in A3627”
Zheng, Z.-Y., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1101, “Lyα Equivalent Width Distribution of Lyα Emitting Galaxies at
Redshift z ∼ 4.5”
D.2 TELESCOPES AT KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 168 publications used data taken at the KPNO telescopes (includes
the Mayall, WIYN24, 1.2-m, and others) for which NOAO allocates observing time:
Abramson, A., Kenney, J.D.P. 2014, AJ, 147, 63, “Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Decoupled Dust Clouds in
the Ram Pressure Stripped Virgo Spirals NGC 4402 and NGC 4522”
Adams, E.R., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 55, “De-biased Populations of Kuiper Belt Objects from the Deep Ecliptic
Survey”
Adams, J.J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 789, 63, “Dwarf Galaxy Dark Matter Density Profiles Inferred from Stellar and Gas
Kinematics”
Alberts, S., … Atlee, D.W., … Dey, A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 437, “The Evolution of Dust-Obscured Star
Formation Activity in Galaxy Clusters Relative to the Field over the Last 9 Billion Years”
Amigo, P., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 130, “Time-Series BVI Photometry for the Globular Cluster NGC 6981”
Amorín, R., et al. 2014, ApJL, 788, L4, “Evidence of Very Low Metallicity and High Ionization State in a Strongly
Lensed, Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxy at z = 3.417”
24
WIYN data may have resulted from time allocated by other than the NOAO TAC.
144
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Anthony-Twarog, B.J., Deliyannis, C.P., Twarog, B.A. 2014, AJ, 148, 51, “A uvbyCaHβ Analysis of the Old Open
Cluster, NGC 6819”
Ascaso, B., Wittman, D., Dawson, W. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1980, “Optical Galaxy Clusters in the Deep Lens
Survey”
Bassett, R., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 3206, “DYNAMO—II. Coupled Stellar and Ionized-Gas Kinematics in Two
Low-Redshift Clumpy Discs”
Beaver, J., Kaltcheva, N., Briley, M., Piehl, D. 2013, PASP, 125, 1412, “Strömgren-Hβ Photometry of the Rich
Open Cluster NGC 6705 (M 11)”
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Calura, F., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 2765, “The Dust Content of QSO Hosts at High Redshift”
Cannon, J.M., et al. 2014, ApJL, 787, L1, “Discovery of a Gas-Rich Companion to the Extremely Metal-Poor
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PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Duffau, S., Vivas, A.K., et al. 2014, A&A, 566, A118, “A Comprehensive View of the Virgo Stellar Stream”
Faisst, A.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 87, “Spectroscopic Observation of Lyα Emitters at z ~ 7.7 and Implications on
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Fan, Z., de Grijs, R. 2014, ApJS, 211, 22, “Star Clusters in M33: Updated UBVRI Photometry, Ages, Metallicities,
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Fraeman, A.A., et al. 2014, Icar, 229, 196, “Spectral Absorptions on Phobos and Deimos in the Visible/Near
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Frith, J., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 21, “A Catalogue of Bright (K < 9) M Dwarfs”
Fritz, A., et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A92, “The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS): A Quiescent
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Gagné, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 121, “BANYAN. II. Very Low Mass and Substellar Candidate Members to
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Gagne, J.P., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 72, “Spatially Resolved Spectra of the ‘Teacup’ Active Galactic Nucleus:
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Garcia, E.V., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 39, “A Strict Test of Stellar Evolution Models: The Absolute Dimensions of the
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Geller, M.J., et al. 2014, ApJS, 213, 35, “SHELS: A Complete Galaxy Redshift Survey with R ≤ 20.6”
Goulding, A.D., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 40, “Tracing the Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei Host Galaxies over the
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Graham, M.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 163, “Clues to the Nature of SN 2009ip from Photometric and Spectroscopic
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Grunhut, J.H., Bolton, C.T., McSwain, M.V. 2014, A&A, 563, A1, “Orbit and Properties of the Massive X-ray
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Guo, H., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 2398, “The Clustering of Galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation
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Hagen, A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 59, “Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of HETDEX Pilot Survey Lyα Emitters
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Haines, C.P., et al. 2013, ApJ, 775, 126, “LoCuSS: The Steady Decline and Slow Quenching of Star Formation in
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Hansen, T., … Beers, T.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 162, “Exploring the Origin of Lithium, Carbon, Strontium, and
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Hayes, C.R., Friel, E.D. 2014, AJ, 147, 69, “Radial Velocities of Three Poorly Studied Clusters and the Kinematics
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Hillenbrand, L.A., Hoffer, A.S., Herczeg, G.J. 2013, AJ, 146, 85, “An Enhanced Spectroscopic Census of the Orion
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Hinshaw, G., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 19, “Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
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Honeycutt, R.K., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 105, “The 1991–2012 Light Curve of the Old Nova HR LYRAE”
Huang, S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 793, 40, “HIghMass-High H I Mass, H I-Rich Galaxies at z ~ 0 Sample Definition,
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Hutton, S., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 150, “A Panchromatic Analysis of Starburst Galaxy M82: Probing the Dust
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PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Kangas, T., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 3464, “Spatial Distributions of Core-Collapse Supernovae in Infrared-Bright
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Kannan, R., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, “The MaGICC Volume: Reproducing Statistical Properties of HighRedshift Galaxies”
Keel, W.C., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 44, “The Ultraviolet Attenuation Law in Backlit Spiral Galaxies”
Kelson, D.D., Williams, R.J., Dressler, A., McCarthy, P.J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 110, “The Carnegie-SpitzerIMACS Redshift Survey of Galaxy Evolution since z = 1.5. I. Description and Methodology”
Kenney, J.D.P., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 119, “Transformation of a Virgo Cluster Dwarf Irregular Galaxy by Ram
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Kettula, K., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 74, “Weak Lensing Calibrated M-T Scaling Relation of Galaxy Groups in the
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Kim, J.-W., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 825, “Clustering of Extremely Red Objects in Elais-N1 from the UKIDSS
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Kobulnicky, H.A., et al. 2014, ApJS, 213, 34, “Toward Complete Statistics of Massive Binary Stars: Penultimate
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Kostov, V.B., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 14, “Kepler-413b: A Slightly Misaligned, Neptune-Size Transiting
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Landolt, A.U. 2013, AJ, 146, 131, “UBVRI Photometric Standard Stars around the Sky at +50 deg Declination”
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Laycock, S., Cappallo, R., Oram, K., Balchunas, A. 2014, ApJ, 789, 64, “A Transient Supergiant X-ray Binary in
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Lee, C.-H., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 11, “Properties of M31. IV. Candidate Luminous Blue Variables from
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Lee, J.H., Lee, M.G. 2014, ApJ, 786, 130, “A New Optical Survey of Supernova Remnant Candidates in M31”
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Leighly, K.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 123, “Evidence for Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback in the Broad
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Lillo-Box, J., Barrado, D., Bouy, H. 2014 A&A, 566, A103, “High-Resolution Imaging of Kepler Planet Host
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NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Lucy, A.B., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 58, “Tracing the Outflow of a z = 0.334 FeLoBAL: New Constraints from LowIonization Absorbers in FBQS J1151+3822”
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150
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Newman, A.B., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 51, “Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Rich z = 1.80 Galaxy Cluster JKCS
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Reed, M.D., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 3809, “Analysis of the Rich Frequency Spectrum of KIC 10670103
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Romani, R.W., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 149, “A Multi-wavelength Study of the Host Environment of SMBHB
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Runnoe, J.C., Brotherton, M.S., DiPompeo, M.A., Shang, Z. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 3263, “The Behaviour of Quasar
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Schechtman-Rook, A., Bershady, M.A. 2014, ASP Conf. 480, eds. M.S. Seigar, P. Treuthardt (ASP), 85,
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Seeliger, M., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 304, “Transit Timing Analysis in the HAT-P-32 System”
151
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Sheffield, A.A., et al. 2014 ApJ, 793, 62S, “Exploring Halo Substructure with Giant Stars. XIV. The Nature of the
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PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Vardanyan, V., Weedman, D., Sargsyan, L. 2014, ApJ, 790, 88, “Seeking the Epoch of Maximum Luminosity for
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Formation Rate Indicators with Optically Derived Quantities”
Zacharias, N., Zacharias, M.I. 2014, AJ, 147, 95, “Radio-Optical Reference Frame Link Using the U.S. Naval
Observatory Astrograph and Deep CCD Imaging”
Zeimann, G.R., … Dey, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 137, “Hα Star Formation Rates of z > 1 Galaxy Clusters in the
IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey”
Zhao, Y., Hall, P.B., Delaney, P., Sandal, J. 2013, JAVSO, 41, 338, “The Naked-Eye Optical Transient OT
120926”
153
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
D.3 GEMINI TELESCOPES (NOAO SYSTEM SCIENCE CENTER)
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 100 publications used data taken at the Gemini telescopes:
Bailey, V., et al. 2014, ApJL, 780, L4, “HD 106906 b: A Planetary-Mass Companion outside a Massive Debris
Disk”
Balogh, M.L., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 443, 2679, “The GEEC2 Spectroscopic Survey of Galaxy Groups at 0.8 < z <
1”
Bassett, R., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 3206, “DYNAMO—II. Coupled Stellar and Ionized-Gas Kinematics in Two
Low-Redshift Clumpy Discs”
Bayliss, M.B., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 41, “Line-of-Sight Structure toward Strong Lensing Galaxy Clusters”
Bayliss, M.B., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 144, “The Physical Conditions, Metallicity and Metal Abundance Ratios in a
Highly Magnified Galaxy at z = 3.6252”
Berg, D.A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 775, 128, “New Radial Abundance Gradients for NGC 628 and NGC 2403”
Berthier, J., et al. 2014, Icar, 239, 118, “Physical and Dynamical Properties of the Main Belt Triple Asteroid (87)
Sylvia”
Biller, B.A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 160, “The Gemini/NICI Planet-Finding Campaign: The Frequency of Planets
around Young Moving Group Stars”
Blair, W.P., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 55, “An Expanded HST/WFC3 Survey of M83: Project Overview and Targeted
Supernova Remnant Search”
Boccaletti, A., et al. 2013, A&A, 560, A20, “Multiple Spiral Patterns in the Transitional Disk of HD 100546”
Bochanski, J.J., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 76, “Hunting the Most Distant Stars in the Milky Way: Methods and Initial
Results”
Bussmann, R.S., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 25, “Gravitational Lens Models Based on Submillimeter Array Imaging of
Herschel-Selected Strongly Lensed Sub-millimeter Galaxies at z > 1.5”
Caballero-Nieves, S.M., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 40, “A High Angular Resolution Survey of Massive Stars in Cygnus
OB2: Results from the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors”
Chesneau, O., et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A71, “The Yellow Hypergiant HR 5171 A: Resolving a Massive Interacting
Binary in the Common Envelope Phase”
Chornock, R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 44, “The Ultraviolet-Bright, Slowly Declining Transient PS1-11af as a Partial
Tidal Disruption Event”
Couto, G.S., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 2982, “Kinematics and Excitation of the Nuclear Spiral in the Active
Galaxy Arp 102B”
Cucchiara, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 94, “Gemini Spectroscopy of the Short-Hard Gamma-ray Burst GRB 130603B
Afterglow and Host Galaxy”
154
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Currie, T., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 15, “A Combined Very Large Telescope and Gemini Study of the Atmosphere of
the Directly Imaged Planet,  Pictoris b”
De Rosa, R.J., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 1216, “The VAST Survey—III. The Multiplicity of A-Type Stars within
75 pc”
de Ugarte Postigo, A., et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A62, “Spectroscopy of the Short-Hard GRB 130603B: The Host
Galaxy and Environment of a Compact Object Merger”
Dupree, A.K., et al. 2014, ApJ, 789, 27, “Structure and Dynamics of the Accretion Process and Wind in TW Hya”
Esquej, P., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 86, “Nuclear Star Formation Activity and Black Hole Accretion in Nearby Seyfert
Galaxies”
Fletcher, L.N., et al. 2014, Icar, 231, 146, “Neptune at Summer Solstice: Zonal Mean Temperatures from GroundBased Observations, 2003–2007”
Fong, W., Berger, E. 2013, ApJ, 776, 18, “The Locations of Short Gamma-ray Bursts as Evidence for Compact
Object Binary Progenitors”
Fong, W., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 118, “Short GRB 130603B: Discovery of a Jet Break in the Optical and Radio
Afterglows, and a Mysterious Late-Time X-ray Excess”
Fraser, M., et al. 2014, MNRASL, 439, L56, “On the Progenitor of the Type IIP SN 2013ej in M74”
Gizis, J.E., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 172, “Kepler Monitoring of an L Dwarf I. The Photometric Period and White
Light Flares”
Graham, M.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 163, “Clues to the Nature of SN 2009ip from Photometric and Spectroscopic
Evolution to Late Times”
Graur, O., … Dickinson, M.E., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 28, “Type-Ia Supernova Rates to Redshift
2.4 from CLASH: The Cluster Lensing and Supernova Survey with Hubble”
Greene, J.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 91, “Near-Infrared Spectra and Intrinsic Luminosities of Candidate Type II
Quasars at 2 < z < 3.4”
Guennou, L., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A112, “Structure and Substructure Analysis of DAFT/FADA Galaxy Clusters
in the [0.4–0.9] Redshift Range”
Guidorzi, C., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 752, “New Constraints on Gamma-ray Burst Jet Geometry and Relativistic
Shock Physics”
Hainline, K.N., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 65, “Gemini Long-Slit Observations of Luminous Obscured Quasars: Further
Evidence for an Upper Limit on the Size of the Narrow-Line Region”
Herrero-Illana, R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 156, “A Multi-wavelength View of the Central Kiloparsec Region in the
Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC 1614”
Hinkle, K.H., Joyce, R.R. 2014, ApJ, 785, 146, “The Spatially Resolved Bipolar Nebula of Sakurai’s Object”
155
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Howell, D.A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 98, “Two Superluminous Supernovae from the Early Universe Discovered by
the Supernova Legacy Survey”
Hwang, N., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 49, “Spectroscopic Study of Extended Star Clusters in Dwarf Galaxy NGC 6822”
Jao, W.-C., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 21, “The Solar Neighborhood. XXXI. Discovery of an Unusual Red+White Dwarf
Binary at ~25 pc via Astrometry and UV Imaging”
Jönsson, H., … Smith, V.V., et al. 2014, A&A, 564, A122, “Chemical Evolution of Fluorine in the Bulge. HighResolution K-Band Spectra of Giants in Three Fields”
Kane, S.R., … Everett, M.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 93, “Limits on Stellar Companions to Exoplanet Host Stars
with Eccentric Planets”
Kaplan, D.L., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 167, “Properties of an Eclipsing Double White Dwarf Binary NLTT 11748”
Kartha, S.S., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 273, “The SLUGGS Survey: The Globular Cluster Systems of Three EarlyType Galaxies Using Wide-Field Imaging”
Lacy, M., Ridgway, S.E., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 24, “The Spitzer Mid-infrared Active Galactic Nucleus Survey. I.
Optical and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Obscured Candidates and Normal Active Galactic Nuclei Selected in the
Mid-infrared”
Laskar, T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 1, “GRB 120521C at z ~ 6 and the Properties of High-Redshift γ-ray Bursts”
Levan, A.J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 13, “A New Population of Ultra-long Duration Gamma-ray Bursts”
Levitan, D., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 114, “PTF1 J191905.19+481506.2—A Partially Eclipsing AM CVn System
Discovered in the Palomar Transient Factory”
Liu, G., Zakamska, N.L., Greene, J.E. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 1303, “Similarity of Ionized Gas Nebulae around
Unobscured and Obscured Quasars”
Liu, G., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 2576, “Observations of Feedback from Radio-Quiet Quasars—II. Kinematics of
Ionized Gas Nebulae”
Liu, J.-F., et al. 2013, Natur, 503, 500, “Puzzling Accretion onto a Black Hole in the Ultraluminous X-ray Source
M 101 ULX-1”
Maksym, W.P., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 444, 866, “Deep Spectroscopy of the MV ~ –14.8 Host Galaxy of a Tidal
Disruption Flare in A1795”
Males, J.R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 32, “Magellan Adaptive Optics First-Light Observations of the Exoplanet  PIC
b. I. Direct Imaging in the Far-Red Optical with MagAO+VisAO and in the Near-IR with NICI”
Matrozis, E., Ryde, N., Dupree, A.K. 2013, A&A, 559, A115, “Galactic Chemical Evolution of Sulphur: Sulphur
Abundances from the [S1] λ1082 nm Line in Giants”
Maund, J.R., Mattila, S., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., Eldridge, J.J. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 1577, “A New Precise Mass for the
Progenitor of the Type IIP SN 2008bk”
156
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Mazoyer, J., et al. 2014, A&A, 569, A29, “Is the HD 15115 Inner Disk Really Asymmetrical?”
Melis, C., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 12, “Copious Amounts of Hot and Cold Dust Orbiting the Main Sequence A-Type
Stars HD 131488 and HD 121191”
Menezes, R.B., Steiner, J.E., Ricci, T.V. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 2597, “A Treatment Procedure for Gemini
North/NIFS Data Cubes: Application to NGC 4151”
Meshkat, T., et al. 2013, ApJL, 775, L40, “Further Evidence of the Planetary Nature of HD 95086 b from
Gemini/NICI H-Band Data”
Messias, H., et al. 2014, A&A, 568, A92, “Herschel-ATLAS and ALMA: HATLAS J142935.3-002836, a Lensed
Major Merger at Redshift 1.027”
Milis, C., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 12, “Copious Amounts of Hot and Cold Dust Orbiting the Main Sequence A-Type
Stars HD 131488 and HD 121191”
Modjaz, M., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 99, “Optical Spectra of 73 Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse
Supernovae”
Mok, A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 3070, “Star Formation and Environmental Quenching of GEEC2 Group
Galaxy at z ~ 1”
Moran, P., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 436, 401, “Optical Observations of PSR J0205+6449—the Next Optical Pulsar?”
Müller, C., et al. 2014, A&A, 562, A4, “The Unusual Multiwavelength Properties of the Gamma-ray Source PMN
J1603–4904”
Naud, M.-E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 787, 5, “Discovery of a Wide Planetary-Mass Companion to the Young M3 Star GU
PSC”
Nielsen, E.L., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 4, “The Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign: The Frequency of Giant
Planets around Young B and A Stars”
Ofek, E.O., et al. 2014, ApJ, 789, 104, “Precursors Prior to Type IIn Supernova Explosions Are Common:
Precursor Rates, Properties, and Correlations”
Onken, C.A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 791, 37, “The Black Hole Mass of NGC 4151. II. Stellar Dynamical Measurement
from Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectroscopy”
Pagnotta, A., Walker, E.S., Schaefer, B.E. 2014, ApJ, 788, 173, “The Diffuse Source at the Center of LMC SNR
0509-67.5 Is a Background Galaxy at z = 0.031”
Pan, Y.-C., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 1391, “The Host Galaxies of Type Ia Supernovae Discovered by the Palomar
Transient Factory”
Patel, B., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 9, “Three Gravitationally Lensed Supernovae behind CLASH
Galaxy Clusters”
Perley, D.A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 37, “The Afterglow of GRB 130427A from 1 to 1016 GHz”
157
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Perley, D.A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 128, “A Population of Massive, Luminous Galaxies Hosting Heavily DustObscured Gamma-ray Bursts: Implications for the Use of GRBs as Tracers of Cosmic Star Formation”
Prieto, J.L., … Matheson, T., … James D., … Smith, R.C., … Zenteno, A. 2014, ApJL, 787, L8, “Light Echoes
from η Carinae’s Great Eruption: Spectrophotometric Evolution and the Rapid Formation of Nitrogen-Rich
Molecules”
Prochaska, J.X., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 136, “Quasars Probing Quasars. VI. Excess H I Absorption within One
Proper Mpc of z ~ 2 Quasars”
Quintana, E.V., … Everett, M.E., et al. 2014, Sci, 344, 277, “An Earth-Sized Planet in the Habitable Zone of a
Cool Star”
Rabinowitz, D.L., Benecchi, S.D., Grundy, W.M., Verbiscer, A.J. 2014, Icar, 236, 72, “The Rotational Light Curve
of (79360) Sila-Nunam, an Eclipsing Binary in the Kuiper Belt”
Ramos Almeida, C., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 3859, “Investigating the Sensitivity of Observed Spectral Energy
Distributions to Clumpy Torus Properties in Seyfert Galaxies”
Rhoads, J.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 20, “The Dynamical Masses, Densities, and Star Formation Scaling Relations of
Lyα Galaxies”
Rodney, S.A., … Dickinson, M.E., … Matheson, T., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 13, “Type Ia Supernova Rate
Measurements to Redshift 2.5 from CANDELS: Searching for Prompt Explosions in the Early Universe”
Schulze, S., et al. 2014, A&A, 566, A102, “GRB 120422A/SN 2012bz: Bridging the Gap between Low- and HighLuminosity Gamma-ray Bursts”
Secrest, N.J., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 139, “A Multi-wavelength Analysis of NGC 4178: A Bulgeless Galaxy with an
Active Galactic Nucleus”
Seth, A.C., et al. 2014, Natur, 513, 7518, “A Supermassive Black Hole in an Ultra-compact Dwarf Galaxy”
Sifón, C., et al. 2014, A&A, 562, A43, “Strong Lensing Analysis of PLCK G004.5-19.5, a Planck-Discovered
Cluster Hosting a Radio Relic at z = 0.52”
Sonnenfeld, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 98, “The SL2S Galaxy-Scale Lens Sample. IV. The Dependence of the Total
Mass Density Profile of Early-Type Galaxies of Redshift, Stellar Mass, and Size”
Sparre, M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 150, “The Metallicity and Dust Content of a Redshift 5 Gamma-ray Burst Host
Galaxy”
Stanford, S.A., et al. 2014, ApJS, 213, 25, “The Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey. II. Initial
Spectroscopic Confirmation of z ~ 1 Galaxy Clusters Selected from 10,000 deg2”
Stanghellini, L., Magrini, L., Casasola, V., Villaver, E. 2014, A&A, 567, A88, “The Radial Metallicity Gradient
and the History of Elemental Enrichment in M 81 through Emission-Line Probes”
Steele, M.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 147, “Composition of an Emission Line System in Black Hole Host Globular
Cluster RZ2109”
158
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Stevenson, K.B., … Bergmann, M., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 161, “Transmission Spectroscopy of the Hot Jupiter
Wasp-12b from 0.7 to 5 μm”
Thalmann, C., et al. 2014, A&A, 566, A51, “The Architecture of the LkCa 15 Transitional Disk Revealed by HighContrast Imaging”
Todorov, K.O., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 40, “A Search for Companions to Brown Dwarfs in the Taurus and
Chamaeleon Star-Forming Regions”
Tsai, C.-W., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 41, “WISE J233237.05-505643.5: A Double-Peaked, Broad-Lined Active
Galactic Nucleus with a Spiral-Shaped Radio Morphology”
Tunnicliffe, R.L., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 1495, “On the Nature of the ‘Hostless’ Short GRBs”
van der Burg, R.F.J., et al. 2014, A&A, 561, A79, “A Census of Stellar Mass in Ten Massive Haloes at z ~ 1 from
the GCLASS Survey”
Virgili, F.J., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 54, “GRB 091024A and the Nature of Ultra-long Gamma-ray Bursts”
Volnova, A.A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 2586, “GRB 051008: A Long, Spectrally Hard Dust-Obscured GRB in a
Lyman-Break Galaxy at z  2.8”
Wahhaj, Z., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 80, “The Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign: The Companion Detection
Pipeline”
Wahhaj, Z., et al. 2014, A&A, 567, A34, “The Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign: The Offset Ring of HR
4796 A”
Westmoquette, M.S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 789, 94, “An Optical-Near-IR Study of a Triplet of Super Star Clusters in the
Starburst Core of M82”
Weyant, A., … Allen, L., … Joyce, R., Matheson, T. 2014, ApJ, 784, 105, “Sweetspot: Near-Infrared
Observations of 13 Type Ia Supernovae from a New NOAO Survey Probing the Nearby Smooth Hubble Flow”
159
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
D.4 W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY: KECK I AND II
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 7 publications used data taken at Keck telescopes as a result of
available community-access time:
Cooke, R.J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 31, “Precision Measures of the Primordial Abundance of Deuterium”
Farihi, J., Gänsicke, B.T., Koester, D. 2013, Sci, 342, 218, “Evidence for Water in the Rocky Debris of a Disrupted
Extrasolar Minor Planet”
Greene, J.E., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 145, “Circumnuclear Molecular Gas in Megamaser Disk Galaxies NGC 4388
and NGC 1194”
Hartman, J.D., … Everett, M., et al. 2014, AJ, 147, 128, “HAT-P-44b, HAT-P-45b, and HAT-P-46b: Three
Transiting Hot Jupiters in Possible Multi-planet Systems”
Karnath, N., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 149, “Orbital Parameters for the Two Young Binaries VSB 111 and VSB 126
Keck II”
Prochaska, J.X., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 136, “Quasars Probing Quasars. VI. Excess H I Absorption within One
Proper Mpc of z ~ 2 Quasars”
Schaefer, G.H., Prato, L., Simon, M., Patience, J. 2014, AJ, 147, 157, “Orbital Motion in Pre-main Sequence
Binaries”
D.5 HET AND MMT
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 0 publications used data taken at the HET and 6 used data taken at
the MMT as a result of available community-access time:
Alexandroff, R., et al. 2013, MNRAS, 435, 3306, “Candidate Type II Quasars at 2 < z < 4.3 in the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey III”
Castro, P.J., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 126, “Discovery of Four High Proper Motion L Dwarfs, Including a 10 pc L
Dwarf at the L/T Transition”
Israel, H., et al. 2014, A&A, 564, A129, “The 400d Galaxy Cluster Survey Weak Lensing Programme. III.
Evidence for Consistent WL and X-ray Masses at z ≈ 0.5”
Lacy, M., Ridgway, S.E., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 24, “The Spitzer Mid-infrared Active Galactic Nucleus Survey. I.
Optical and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Obscured Candidates and Normal Active Galactic Nuclei Selected in the
Mid-infrared”
Ly, C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 780, 122, “‘Direct’ Gas-Phase Metallicities, Stellar Properties, and Local Environments of
Emission-Line Galaxies at Redshifts below 0.90”
Neugent, K.F., Massey, P. 2014, 789, 10, “The Close Binary Frequency of Wolf-Rayet Stars as a Function of
Metallicity in M31 and M33”
160
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
D.6 MAGELLAN
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 2 publications used data taken at the Magellan telescopes as a result
of available community-access time:
Kirkpatrick, J.D., et al. 2013, ApJ, 776, 128, “Discovery of the Y1 Dwarf WISE J064723.23-623235.5”
Zheng, Z.-Y., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 439, 1101, “Lyα Equivalent Width Distribution of Lyα Emitting Galaxies at
Redshift z ∼ 4.5”
D.7 AAT, CHARA, AND HALE
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 0 publications used data taken at the Anglo-Austalian Telescope,
CHARA interferometer, or Hale telescope as a result of available community-access time:
D.8 NOAO SCIENCE ARCHIVE
During FY14 (Oct. 2013–Sept. 2014), 51 publications used data stored in the NOAO Science Archive:
Adams, E.R., et al. 2014, AJ, 148, 55, “De-biased Populations of Kuiper Belt Objects from the Deep Ecliptic
Survey”
Alberts, S., … Atlee, D.W., … Dey, A., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 437, “The Evolution of Dust-Obscured Star
Formation Activity in Galaxy Clusters Relative to the Field over the Last 9 Billion Years”
Amigo, P., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 130, “Time-Series BVI Photometry for the Globular Cluster NGC 6981”
Amorín, R., et al. 2014, ApJL, 788, L4, “Evidence of Very Low Metallicity and High Ionization State in a Strongly
Lensed, Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxy at z = 3.417”
Belli, S., Newman, A.B., Ellis, R.S., Konidaris, N.P. 2014, ApJL, 788, L29, “MOSFIRE Absorption Line
Spectroscopy of z > 2 Quiescent Galaxies: Probing a Period of Rapid Size Growth”
Bezanson, R., et al. 2013, ApJL, 779, L21, “Tight Correlations between Massive Galaxy Structural Properties and
Dynamics: The Mass Fundamental Plane Was in Place by z ~ 2”
Brodwin, M., … Dey, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 138, “The Era of Star Formation in Galaxy Clusters”
Calura, F., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 2765, “The Dust Content of QSO Hosts at High Redshift”
Choi, J., et al. 2014, ApJ, 792, 9, “The Assembly Histories of Quiescent Galaxies since z = 0.7 from Absorption
Line Spectroscopy”
Chung, S.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 790, 54, “A UV to Mid-IR Study of AGN Selection”
Dale, D.A., et al. 2014, ApJ, 784, 83, “A Two-Parameter Model for the Infrared/Submillimeter/Radio Spectral
Energy Distributions of Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei”
de la Fuente Marcos, C., de la Fuente Marcos, R. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 2280, “Comparative Orbital Evolution of
Transient Uranian Co-orbitals: Exploring the Role of Ephemeral Multibody Mean Motion Resonances”
161
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Dessauges-Zavadsky, M., Verdugo, C., Combes, F., Pfenniger, D. 2014, A&A, 566, A147, “CO Map and Steep
Kennicutt-Schmidt Relation in the Extended UV Disk of M 63”
Dey, A., Valdes, F. 2014, PASP, 126, 296, “The Delivered Image Quality with the MOSAIC Cameras at the Kitt
Peak 4m Mayall and Cerro Tololo 4m Blanco Telescopes”
Fritz, A., et al. 2014, A&A, 563, A92, “The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS): A Quiescent
Formation of Massive Red-Sequence Galaxies over the Past 9 Gyr”
Geller, M.J., et al. 2014, ApJS, 213, 35, “SHELS: A Complete Galaxy Redshift Survey with R ≤ 20.6”
Goulding, A.D., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 40, “Tracing the Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei Host Galaxies over the
Last 9 Gyr of Cosmic Time”
Gruen, D., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 442, 1507, “Weak Lensing Analysis of SZ-Selected Clusters of Galaxies from the
SPT and Planck Surveys”
Guo, H., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 441, 2398, “The Clustering of Galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey: Modelling of the Luminosity and Colour Dependence in the Data Release 10”
Hinshaw, G., et al. 2013, ApJS, 208, 19, “Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
Observations: Cosmological Parameter Results”
Hirota, A., et al. 2014, PASJ, 66, 46, “Wide-Field 12CO (J = 1–0) Imaging of the Nearby Barred Galaxy M 83 with
NMA and Nobeyema 45 m Telescope: Molecular Gas Kinematics and Star Formation along the Bar”
Jones, T.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 25, “X-ray Properties of K-Selected Galaxies at 0.5 < z < 2.0: Investigating
Trends with Stellar Mass, Redshift and Spectral Type”
Jönsson, H., … Hinkle, K.H. 2014, ApJL, 789, L41, “Fluorine in the Solar Neighborhood: Is It All Produced in
Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars?”
Kannan, R., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 437, “The MaGICC Volume: Reproducing Statistical Properties of HighRedshift Galaxies”
Kim, J.-W., et al. 2014, MNRAS, 438, 825, “Clustering of Extremely Red Objects in Elais-N1 from the UKIDSS
DXS with Optical Photometry from Pan-STARRS 1 and Subaru”
Kunder, A., … Walker, A.R., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 119, “The RR Lyrae Variables and Horizontal Branch of NGC
6656 (M22)”
Lee, C.-H., et al. 2014, ApJ, 785, 11, “Properties of M31. IV. Candidate Luminous Blue Variables from
Pandromeda”
Lee, J.H., Lee, M.G. 2014, ApJ, 786, 130, “A New Optical Survey of Supernova Remnant Candidates in M31”
Maia, F.F.S., Piatti, A.E., Santos, J.F.C. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 2005, “Mass Distribution and Structural Parameters
of Small Magellanic Cloud Star Clusters”
Muzzin, A., et al. 2013, ApJ, 777, 18, “The Evolution of the Stellar Mass Functions of Star-Forming and Quiescent
Galaxies to z = 4 from the COSMOS/UltraVISTA Survey”
162
PUBLICATIONS USING DATA FROM NOAO TELESCOPES & ARCHIVES
Newman, A.B., et al. 2014, ApJ, 788, 51, “Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Rich z = 1.80 Galaxy Cluster JKCS
041 Using the WFC3 Grism: Environmental Trends in the Ages and Structure of Quiescent Galaxies”
Nicholls, D.C., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 155, “Metal-Poor Dwarf Galaxies in the SIGRID Galaxy Sample. I. H II
Region Observations and Chemical Abundances”
Nicholls, D.C., Jerjen, H., Dopita, M.A., Basurah, H. 2014, ApJ, 790, 88, “Nebular Metallicities in Two Isolated
Local Void Dwarf Galaxies”
Piatti, A.E. 2014, MNRAS, 440, 3091, “Disentangling the Physical Reality of Star Cluster Candidates Projected
towards the Inner Disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud”
Starikova, S., et al. 2014, ApJ, 786, 125, “Comparison of Galaxy Clusters Selected by Weak-Lensing, Optical
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Stetson, P.B., et al. 2014, PASP, 126, 521, “Optical and Near-Infrared UBVRIJHK Photometry for the RR Lyrae
Stars in the Nearby Globular Cluster M4 (NGC 6121)”
Straatman, C.M.S., … Dickinson, M., … Inami, H., et al. 2014, ApJL, 783, L14, “A Substantial Population of
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Sweet, S.M., et al. 2014, ApJ, 782, 35, “Choirs H I Galaxy Groups: The Metallicity of Dwarf Galaxies”
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Tomczak, A.R., et al. 2014, ApJ, 783, 85, “Galaxy Stellar Mass Functions from ZFOURGE/CANDELS: An Excess
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163
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Wittman, D., Dawson, W., Benson, B. 2014, MNRAS, 437, 3578, “Shedding Light on the Matter of Abell 781”
Yagi, M., et al. 2013, ApJ, 778, 91, “Multi-wavelength Studies of Spectacular Ram-Pressure Stripping of a Galaxy.
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IRAC Shallow Cluster Survey”
164
E USAGE STATISTICS FOR ARCHIVED DATA
The first two tables below illustrate access to and usage of reduced data in the NOAO Science Archive
(R2) from NOAO Survey programs. The table on the left shows the data download volume in gigabytes,
the number of files retrieved and the number of unique visitors (for that month) who downloaded archive
data through the ftp site. The table on the right shows the Web activity logged from the NOAO Science
Archive website. It includes users (visitors) collecting additional information before or after downloading
data, as well as visualization of the data online.
Archive Data Retrieval Activity (ftp)
Retrieved
Files
Unique
Date
(GB)
Retrieved
Visitors
Oct 2013
Nov 2013
Dec 2013
Jan 2014
Feb 2014
Mar 2014
Apr 2014
May 2014
Jun 2014
Jul 2014
Aug 2014
Sep 2014
Total:
84.35
309.66
6.28
132.87
8.87
58.02
2.18
11.77
8.24
1.67
10.87
26.95
661.73
4,323
1,641
328
6,673
367
407
352
112
53
17
376
1,450
14
9
12
42
14
8
4
4
5
5
4
19
16,099
140
NOAO Science Archive Web Site Activity
Bandwidth
Pages
Unique
Date
(GB)
Viewed
Visitors
Oct 2013
Nov 2013
Dec 2013
Jan 2014
Feb 2014
Mar 2014
Apr 2014
May 2014
Jun 2014
Jul 2014
Aug 2014
Sep 2014
Total:
165
155.04
28.69
45.18
22.76
49.53
15.66
36.46
57.73
61.13
11.34
112.84
90.39
686.75
17,066
5,593
7,626
3,290
8,263
4,106
6,724
8,901
9,656
3,472
11,347
9,091
95,135
2,092
1,244
1,013
531
1,092
444
454
989
967
553
903
1,013
11,295
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
The NOAO Portal provides principal investigators (PIs) access to their raw data from all instruments
and to pipeline-reduced products from the Mosaic instruments at the CTIO and KPNO 4-m telescopes and
the NEWFIRM instrument. The metadata are stored in a searchable Archive, which allows discovery and
retrieval from the NOAO Portal (portal-nvo.noao.edu). After the requisite proprietary period (usually 18
months), the data become accessible to the general public.
Portal Data Retrieval Activity (ftp)
Bandwidth
Pages
Unique
Date
(GB)
Viewed
Visitors
NVO Portal Data Retrieval Activity
Bandwidth
Pages
Unique
Date
(GB)
Viewed
Visitors
Oct 2013
Nov 2013
Dec 2013
Jan 2014
Feb 2014
Mar 2014
Apr 2014
May 2014
Jun 2014
Jul 2014
2,270.51
876.99
1,253.38
650.15
6.56
2,942.18
1,492.93
6,891.65
1,366.89
7,992.85
38,873
14,618
39,793
19,747
425
31,125
44,982
94,896
27,700
40,178
46
35
85
105
23
202
103
185
99
32
Oct 2013
Nov 2013
Dec 2013
Jan 2014
Feb 2014
Mar 2014
Apr 2014
May 2014
Jun 2014
Jul 2014
2.75
0.25
1.26
0.77
1.15
8.72
2.33
0.38
0.08
21.06
160,623
30,924
81,326
44,148
52,732
72,591
100,001
11,449
8,017
132,970
626
209
401
385
294
555
546
146
87
330
Aug 2014
15,463.63
61,117
92
Aug 2014
1.41
17,042
154
80
Sep 2014
Sep 2014
Total:
5,659.01
46,866.73
38,867
452,321
1,087
Total:
166
6.58
46.74
103,807
815,630
791
4,524
F TELESCOPE PROPOSAL STATISTICS
F.1
SEMESTER 2014A PROPOSAL STATISTICS
The following tables list 2014A observing request statistics for standard and survey proposals requesting
resources in the US ground-based observing system coordinated by NOAO.
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Telescope
Nights
Requests
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
Nights
DD Nights
Previously
(*)
Allocated
Nights
Subscription
Scheduled for
Rate for New
New
Programs
Programs
CT-4m
51
205.4
4.03
111
0
0
111
1.85
SOAR
35
104.7
2.99
46
0
0
46
2.28
CT-1.5m
10
63.7
6.37
22.1
0
1
21.1
3.02
CT-1.3m
14
40.1
2.86
21.9
0
0
21.9
1.83
CT-0.9m
7
49.0
7.00
22
0
0
22
2.23
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Telescope
Nights
Requests
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
Nights
DD Nights
Previously
(*)
Allocated
Nights
Subscription
Scheduled for
Rate for New
New
Programs
Programs
KP-4m
58
186.0
3.21
114.5
11
5
109.5
1.70
WIYN
19
54.9
2.89
52.5
0
20
32.5
1.69
KP-2.1m
38
196.0
5.16
154.5
0
3
151.5
1.29
Gemini Observatory
Telescope
Requests
Nights
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
Nights
DD Nights
Previously
(*)
Allocated
Nights
Subscription
Scheduled for
Rate for New
New
Programs
Programs
GEM-N
179
193.1
1.08
70.534
0
4.512
66.022
2.92
GEM-S
126
106.2
0.84
60.728
0
1.488
59.24
1.79
167
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Community-Access Telescopes
Telescope
Nights
Requests
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
Nights
DD Nights
Previously
(*)
Allocated
Nights
Subscription
Scheduled for
Rate for New
New
Programs
Programs
CHARA
13
22.4
1.72
5.4
0
0
5.4
4.15
Keck-I
25
33.5
1.34
3.5
0
0
3.5
9.57
Keck-II
13
21.5
1.65
3.5
0
0
3.5
6.14
AAT
10
25.5
2.55
10.5
0
0
10.5
2.43
* - Nights allocated by NOAO Director
F.2
SEMESTER 2014B PROPOSAL STATISTICS
The following tables list 2014B observing request statistics for standard and survey proposals requesting
resources in the US ground-based observing system coordinated by NOAO.
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Telescope
Nights
Requests
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
Nights
DD Nights
Previously
(*)
Allocated
Nights
Subscription
Scheduled for
Rate for New
New
Programs
Programs
CT-4m
29
85.3
2.94
41.5
0
5
36.5
2.34
SOAR
26
86.5
3.33
47
0
14
33
2.62
CT-1.5m
10
46.5
4.65
21.9
0
1
20.9
2.22
CT-1.3m
7
13.7
1.96
21.9
0
11.2
10.7
1.28
CT-0.9m
5
41.0
8.20
21
0
7
14
2.93
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Telescope
Nights
Requests
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
Nights
DD Nights
Previously
(*)
Allocated
Nights
Subscription
Scheduled for
Rate for New
New
Programs
Programs
KP-4m
73
246.6
3.38
146.5
0
46
100.5
2.45
WIYN
14
35.9
2.56
37
0
13
24
1.50
KP-0.9m
4
16.0
4.00
13
0
0
13
1.23
168
TELESCOPE PROPOSAL STATISTICS
Gemini Observatory
Telescope
Nights
Requests
Requested
Average
Request
Nights
Allocated
DD Nights
(*)
Nights
Previously
Allocated
Nights
Scheduled for
New
Programs
Subscription
Rate for
New
Programs
GEM-N
188
178.3
0.95
63.955
2.2
9.612
54.343
3.28
GEM-S
146
138.3
0.95
44.801
0
8.988
35.813
3.86
Community-Access Telescopes
Telescope
AAT
Nights
Requests
Requested
11
Average
Request
38.5
3.50
Nights
Allocated
10
Nights
Nights
DD Nights
Scheduled
Previously
(*)
for New
Allocated
Programs
0
* - Nights allocated by NOAO Director
169
0
10
Subscription
Rate for New
Programs
3.85
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
G OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
The following statistics and observing programs describe only those standard and survey proposals from
the NOAO time allocation process that were scheduled for observing time in semesters 2014A/B
G.1 DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographics for the 340 unique observing programs, which cover slightly more than 1162 nights, and
their investigators are provided below.
Annual Summary Data for Semesters 2014A/B Observing Programs
(Excludes NOAO Staff except for unique observing programs)
Description
US
Foreign
Unique NOAO TAC observing programs scheduled on NOAO telescopes
(includes programs under TSIP/FIP on private telescopes)
311
29
1081.2
81.1
Investigators (PIs + Co-Is) associated with approved observing programs
(10 investigators were classified as both US and Foreign)
846
458
Ph.D. thesis observers
61
14
Non-thesis graduate students
56
30
Discrete institutions represented
173
158
US states represented (including District of Columbia)
40
NA
Foreign countries represented
NA
33
Total number of nights scheduled for above unique observing programs
Breakdown of Investigators from US Institutions for Approved 2014A/B Observing Programs
(Excludes NOAO Staff)
4
NH
8
0
0
3
VT
0
2
2
0
10
0
32
5
19
0
6
41
1
0
30
14
185
3
14
0
8
10
1
10
9
83
9
8
15
NJ
1
DE
77
MD
21
0
0
46
13
DC
7
3
7
5
0
Investigators by State
0 to 1, 12
1 to 5, 10
5 to 15, 15
15 to 40, 9
40 to 205, 6
17
HI
170
19
0
PR
81
MA
3
RI
22
CT
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Investigators by Country
Observing Programs for
Semesters 2014A/B
(Excludes NOAO Staff)
Top 10 US Institutions with the Most Unique Investigators
Observing Programs for Semesters 2014A/B
(Excludes NOAO Staff)
# of
Investigators
Country*
#
Rank
USA
Germany
846
78
1
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
2
Space Telescope Science Institute, University of Arizona
UK
68
3
University of Texas, Austin
24
Canada
53
4
University of California, Berkeley
23
Australia
47
5
Arizona State University
21
Chile
35
France
Spain
33
19
6
California Institute of Technology--JPL, Pennsylvania State
University, Yale University
7
University of Chicago
The Netherlands
15
Brazil
13
Taiwan
12
9
Israel
Italy
10
10
10
South Africa
9
China
8
Japan
8
Denmark
5
Korea
Poland
5
4
Finland
3
Sweden
3
1
Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Max-PlanckInstitute für Astronomie
Czech Republic
2
2
University of Toronto
14
Greece
2
3
Australian National University
12
Mexico
Switzerland
2
2
Argentina
1
Austria
1
Belgium
1
Hungary
1
India
New Zealand
1
1
Russia
1
Scotland
1
* The location of the
investigator’s institution
determines the country of
origin for the investigator.
8
US Institution
California Institute of Technology--IPAC, Johns Hopkins
University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center, University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Santa Cruz
46
36 ea.
20 ea.
17
16 ea.
15 ea.
14
Top 10 Foreign Institutions with the Most Unique Investigators
Observing Programs for Semesters 2014A/B
(Excludes NOAO Staff)
Rank
4
5
Foreign Institution
Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique, Pontifícia Universidad
Católica de Chile, Swinburne University of Technology
European Southern Observatory, Gemini Observatory South,
University of Cambridge
6
Leiden University
7
Macquarie University, McGill University, South African
Astronomical Observatory, Universitäts-Sternwarte München,
University College London
8
9
10
Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Universidad de
Chile, University of Leicester
Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
École Polytechnique de Lausanne, Universität Bonn,
University of Exeter, University of Victoria, Weizmann Institute
of Science
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik, Liverpool John
Moores University, University of Barcelona, University of
Hertfordshire, University of Melbourne, University of Montreal,
University of Warwick, York University
171
# of
Investigators
15 ea.
11 ea.
10 ea.
9
8 ea.
7 ea.
6 ea.
5 ea.
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
G.2 CERRO TOLOLO INTER-AMERICAN OBSERVATORY

Blanco 4-m Telescope: 90% of time available to public through NOAO TAC; 10% to Chilean
proposers.

SOAR 4.1-m Telescope: The US community has access to approximately 30% of SOAR time.

CTIO Small Telescopes: NOAO has access to 15% time on each of the three telescopes now
operated by the SMARTS consortium: CTIO 1.5-m, 1.3-m (former 2MASS), and 0.9-m
telescopes. The 1.0-m telescope was closed during FY14.
CTIO Semester 2014A
CTIO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (32), and US Theses (12) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Alexander (Lehigh U.), M. Povich (Cal Poly Pomona), M. McSwain (Lehigh U.): “Unveiling
Hidden Massive Stars: Star Formation and the IMF in Carina”
SOAR
2
L. Allen (NOAO), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), F. Valdes (NOAO), C. Fuentes (Northern
Arizona U.), E. Christensen (Lunar and Planetary Lab), M. Brown (California Institute of
Technology–Div of Geo and Planetary Science), T. Axelrod (LSST), B. Burt (O) (Northern Arizona
U.), A. Earle (U) (Siena College), D. James (CTIO), D. Herrera (O) (NOAO), S. Larson (Lunar and
Planetary Lab): “The DECam NEO Survey”
CT-4m
10
B. Bowler, M. Liu (U. of Hawaii), B. Riaz (University of Hertfordshire), J. Gizis (U. of Delaware),
E. Shkolnik (Lowell Observatory): “Reconnaissance of Young M Dwarfs: Locating the Elusive
Majority of Nearby Moving Groups”
SOAR
4
B. Cobb (George Washington U.), C. Bailyn (Yale U.): “Optical/IR Follow-up of Gamma-Ray
Bursts from SMARTS”
CT-1.3m
3
D. Finkbeiner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), E. Schlafly (Max-Planck-Institut für
Astronomie), D. Burke (SLAC), K. Bechtol (U. of Chicago), P. Kelly (UC Berkeley): “Mapping
Dust in 3D with DECam: A Pilot Galactic Plane Survey”
CT-4m
3
C. Grillmair (IPAC), N. Hetherington (G), R. Carlberg (University of Toronto), B. Willman
(Haverford College): “Extending the Orphan Stream with DECam”
CT-4m
1
J. Hargis, B. Willman (Haverford College), D. Sand (Texas Technical U.), J. Strader (Michigan State
U.), J. Yoon (UC Santa Barbara), R. Fadely (NYU), C. Grillmair (IPAC): “Milky Way Stellar
Streams: A Window to Purely Dark Subhalos”
CT-4m
3
A. Heinze (SUNY), S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario): “The Deepest Asteroid Survey
Ever: Collisional Processes and the Source of Near-Earth Asteroids”
CT-4m
4
T. Hillwig (Valparaiso U.), D. Frew, O. De Marco, D. Douchin (G) (Macquarie University):
“Detecting Close Binary Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae: The Photometric Monitoring
Campaign”
CT-1.3m
4
N. Hinkel, S. Kane (San Francisco State U.), J. Wright (Pennsylvania State U.), A. Howard (UC
Berkeley), S. Wang (G) (Pennsylvania State U.): “Detecting Transiting Southern Sky Exoplanets
around Bright Host Stars”
CT-0.9m
4

Key: (T) = Thesis Student; (G) = Graduate; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
172
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (32), and US Theses (12) 
Telescope
Nights
C. Kaleida (CTIO), V. Parkash (U) (Union College), R. Jansen (Arizona State U.): “Comparing
Stellar Populations of Galaxies across the Hubble Sequence”
CT-4m
1
C. Kaleida, R. Students (U) (CTIO), J. Masiero (CalTech-JPL), F. Virgili (Liverpool John Moores
University), N. van der Bliek, D. James, S. Points (CTIO): “CTIO REU/PIA Observations: Targets
of Opportunity”
CT-0.9m
8
A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Mould, J. Cooke (Swinburne University), S. Wyithe (University of
Melbourne), C. Lidman (Australian Astronomical Observatory), M. Trenti (University of
Cambridge), T. Abbott (CTIO), A. Kunder (Astrophysical Institute Potsdam), R. Barone-Nugent
(G), E. Tescari, A. Katsianis (G) (University of Melbourne): “Large Scale Structure in the Epoch of
Reionization”
CT-4m
2
A. Kraus (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Ireland, A. Rizzuto (G) (Macquarie University): “Membership
and Binarity of High-Mass Stars in Scorpius-Centaurus”
CT-1.5m-SVC
6.7
K. Lewis, V. Logan (U) (College of Wooster): “Optical Spectroscopy of Hard-band Sources in the
XMM Slew Survey”
SOAR
8
K. Luhman (Pennsylvania State U.), E. Mamajek (U. of Rochester): “A Census of the Stellar
Population in Upper Scorpius”
SOAR
5
F. Menanteau (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), J. Hughes (Rutgers U.), F. Barrientos, L. Infante
(Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile): “Is ‘El Gordo’ the Fattest Cluster in the Universe?”
SOAR
1
N. Moskovitz (MIT), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), C. Thomas (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Polishook, F. DeMeo, R. Binzel (MIT), P. Abell (NASA Johnson Space Center), M.
Person (MIT), M. Busch (CalTech-JPL), M. Willman (U. of Hawaii), E. Christensen (Lunar and
Planetary Lab), T. Endicott (U) (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), M. Hinkle (Northern Arizona U.):
“Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)”
CT-1.3m
5.4
D. Nidever (U. of Michigan), K. Olsen (NOAO), G. Besla (Columbia U.), R. Gruendl (U. of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign), A. Saha (NOAO), C. Gallart (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), E.
Olszewski (U. of Arizona), R. Muñoz (Universidad de Chile), M. Monelli (Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias), A. Kunder (CTIO), C. Kaleida (Arizona State U.), A. Walker (CTIO), G. Stringfellow (U.
of Colorado), D. Zaritsky (U. of Arizona), R. Van Der Marel (STScI), R. Blum (NOAO), K. Vivas
(Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía), Y. Chu (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), N. Martin,
B. Conn, N. Noel (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), S. Majewski (U. of Virginia), S. Jin
(University of Groningen), H. Kim (G) (Arizona State U.), M. Cioni (University of Hertfordshire),
E. Bell, A. Monachesi (U. of Michigan), T. De Boer (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute): “Survey of
the MAgellanic Stellar History - SMASH”
CT-4m
CT-0.9m
7
10
T. Oswalt, S. Dhital (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.), T. Mizusawa (G) (Florida Institute of
Technology), J. Holberg (U. of Arizona), J. Zhao (National Astronomical Observatory of China):
“Observational Constraints on the White Dwarf Mass-Radius Relation”
SOAR
5
D. Padgett, R. Martinez (G) (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), F. Morales (CalTech-JPL), K.
Stapelfeldt (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center): “Characterization of WISE Debris Disk Stars 2014A”
SOAR
4
M. Person, A. Bosh, S. Levine (MIT): “Intra-day Investigation of Pluto’s Atmosphere with Stellar
Occultations”
SOAR
3
D. Polishook, N. Moskovitz (MIT): “A Search for Color Heterogeneity on the Surfaces of Rapidly
Rotating Rubble Pile Asteroids”
CT-1.3m
2.5
173
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (32), and US Theses (12) 
Telescope
Nights
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (Las Cumbres Observatory), R. Chornock, R. Foley (HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics), T. Matheson, G. Narayan, K. Olsen (NOAO), J. Prieto
(Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith (NOAO), N. Smith (U. of Arizona), N. Suntzeff (Texas
A&M U.), D. Welch (McMaster University), A. Zenteno (Universitäts-Sternwarte München): “Light
Echoes of Galactic Explosions and Eruptions”
CT-4m
10.5
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (NYU), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), T.
Matheson (NOAO), J. Prieto (Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith (NOAO), N. Smith (U. of
Arizona), N. Walborn (STScI), D. Welch (McMaster University): “Spectrophotometric Time Series
of Carinae’s Great Eruption”
CT-4m
3.5
R. Rich (UCLA), A. Kunder (Astrophysical Institute Potsdam), C. Johnson (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), S. Michael (Indiana U.), W. Clarkson (U. of Michigan Dearborn), M.
Irwin (University of Cambridge), R. Ibata (Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg), M. Soto
(STScI), Z. Ivezic (U. of Washington), R. De Propris (ESO), A. Robin (Observatoire de Besançon),
A. Koch (Heidelberg University), M. Young (O), C. Pilachowski (Indiana U.), K. Vivas (Centro de
Investigaciones de Astronomía), M. Collins (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie): “The Blanco
DECam Galactic Bulge Survey: Completing the Southern Bulge”
CT-4m
8
P. Seitzer (U. of Michigan), S. Lederer (NASA Johnson Space Center), K. Abercromby (California
Polytechnic State U.), E. Barker (LZ Technology), A. Burkhardt (G) (U. of Virginia), H. Cowardin,
P. Krisko (Jacobs Technology), D. Monet (US Naval Observatory), C. Kaleida (CTIO): “A Search
for Optically Faint Space Debris at GEO”
CT-4m
1
S. Sheppard (Carnegie Institution of Washington), C. Trujillo (Gemini Observatory): “Beyond the
Edge of the Solar System: The Sednoid Population”
CT-4m
5
A. Tokovinin (CTIO): “Low-Mass Close Binaries Paired to Solar-Type Stars”
SOAR
1
A. Tokovinin (CTIO), B. Mason, W. Hartkopf (US Naval Observatory): “Speckle Interferometry of
‘Fast’ Binaries”
SOAR
3
D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), H. Schlichting (MIT), C. Fuentes (Northern Arizona U.): “A
DECam Search for Centaurs: Probing Planetary Formation in the Outer Solar System”
CT-4m
3
H. Yan, M. Stefanon (U. of Missouri, Columbia): “DECam z and Y-band Imaging of the H-ATLAS
SDP Field”
CT-4m
2
J. Bloom (UC Berkeley), T. Matheson, S. Ridgway (NOAO), A. Miller, C. Klein (T) (UC Berkeley),
L. Walkowicz (Princeton U.), P. Nugent (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), I. Shivvers (T)
(UC Berkeley), R. Smith, K. Olsen (NOAO), A. Becker (U. of Washington), D. Norman (NOAO),
R. Simcoe (MIT), H. Oluseyi (Florida Institute of Technology), S. Ridgway, A. Saha (NOAO), J.
Richards (UC Berkeley), S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), T. Lauer (NOAO): “A
Pilot DECam Time-Domain Survey”
CT-4m
3
X. Dai, R. Griffin (T) (U. of Oklahoma), C. Kochanek (Ohio State U.), J. Bregman (U. of Michigan),
J. Nugent (T) (U. of Oklahoma), E. Rozo, E. Rykoff (Stanford U.): “Redshift Measurements of
Galaxy Clusters from the Swift Serendipitous Cluster Survey”
CT-4m
8
K. Eckert (T) (U. of North Carolina), I. dell’Antonio (Brown U.), S. Kannappan, D. Stark (G) (U. of
North Carolina), I. Damjanov (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D. Norman (NOAO),
E. Snyder (U. of North Carolina): “The Low Mass End of the Baryonic Mass Function in Two
Extreme Environments”
CT-4m
1
A. Favia (T), D. Batuski (U. of Maine), P. Howell (Boston U.): “Mapping Dark Matter through
Weak Lensing in the Extremely Overdense Aquarius and Microscopium Supercluster Cores”
CT-4m
1
US Thesis Programs (12)
174
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (32), and US Theses (12) 
Telescope
Nights
CT-4m
3.5
M. Giguere (T), D. Fischer (Yale U.): “The CHIRON Rocky Planet Search”
CT-1.5m-SVC
7.7
K. Gullikson (T), A. Kraus (U. of Texas, Austin): “A Search for Close, Low-Mass Companions to
Nearby A and B Stars”
CT-1.5m-SVC
6.7
C. Johnson (T), R. Hynes (Louisiana State U.), C. Britt (Texas Technical U.), P. Jonker (SRON), T.
Maccarone (Texas Technical U.), M. Torres (SRON), D. Steeghs (University of Warwick), G.
Nelemans (Radboud University): “Completing the DECam View of the Galactic Bulge Survey”
CT-4m
2
M. Kilic, S. Barber (T) (U. of Oklahoma), B. Jannuzi (U. of Arizona), A. Dey (NOAO), P. Stetson
(National Research Council of Canada): “A Search for Habitable Planets around White Dwarfs”
CT-4m
4
L. Macri, W. Yuan (T) (Texas A&M U.), A. Riess (Johns Hopkins U.): “Towards a 2%
Measurement of H0: Near-Infrared Light Curves of Galactic Cepheids”
CT-1.3m
5
I. dell’Antonio, J. McCleary (T), P. Huwe (Brown U.): “The Low-Redshift End of the Cluster Mass
Substructure Function”
CT-4m
2
A. von der Linden, S. Allen, A. Wright (T) (Stanford U.), A. Mantz (U. of Chicago), D. Applegate
(Universität Bonn), P. Kelly (UC Berkeley): “Setting the Scale: Determining the Absolute Mass
Normalization and Scaling Relations for Clusters at z ~ 0.1”
CT-4m
11
Telescope
Nights
H. Bouy (CAB), E. Bertin (IAP), W. Brandner (Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik), D. Barrado
(Calar Alto Observatory): “Complementing Gaia from the Ground: the DANCe Survey”
CT-4m
2.5
T. Goncalves (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro): “The Environment of Dust-Deficient
Starburst Galaxies”
CT-4m
1
N. Richardson (University of Montreal), D. Gies (Georgia State U.), T. Gull (NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center), A. Moffat, N. St-Louis (University of Montreal): “Orbital Variability of Carinae”
CT-1.5m-SVC
1
K. Vivas (Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía), M. Mateo, D. Nidever (U. of Michigan), A.
Walker (CTIO): “The Dwarf Cepheid Population in the Sextans Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy”
CT-4m
3
P. Wilson (G), C. Huitson (G), D. Sing (University of Exeter), G. Ballester (U. of Arizona), H.
Knutson (California Institute of Technology–Ctr for Advanced Computing Research), N. Lewis
(MIT): “Monitoring the Stellar Activity of the Exoplanet Host Star WASP-19: Supporting HST
Observations of the First Spectroscopic Phase Curve”
CT-1.3m
2
Foreign Thesis Programs (2)
Telescope
Nights
CT-4m
2
M. Geha, A. Bonaca (T) (Yale U.), K. Johnston (Columbia U.), N. Kallivayalil (U. of Virginia), A.
Kupper (Columbia U.), D. Nidever (U. of Michigan): “An Abridged Tail: Mapping the Palomar 5
Tidal Stream with DECam”
CTIO Telescopes: 2014A Approved Foreign Programs (5), and Foreign Theses (2) 
H. Hildebrandt (Universität Bonn), G. Wilson (UC Riverside), A. Muzzin (Leiden University), T.
Erben (Universität Bonn), H. Hoestra (Leiden University), P. Hsieh (ASIAA), K. Kuijken (Leiden
University), J. Surace (SSC), L. Van Waerbeke (University of British Columbia), H. Yee (University
of Toronto), A. Tudorica (T) (Universität Bonn): “Lensing Magnification: A Novel Method to
Calibrate the Mass-Richness Relation of Galaxy Clusters at High Redshift”

Key: (T) = Thesis Student; (G) = Graduate; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
175
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014A Approved Foreign Programs (5), and Foreign Theses (2) 
Telescope
Nights
CT-4m
4
Telescope
Nights
T. Beers (NOAO), V. Placco (Gemini Observatory), Y. Lee (New Mexico State U.), D. Carollo
(Macquarie University), V. Smith (NOAO), S. Points (CTIO): “Identifying Bright CEMP Stars in
the RAVE Catalog”
SOAR
3
B. Bowler (California Institute of Technology--Div of Geo and Planetary Science), M. Liu (U. of
Hawaii), B. Riaz (University of Hertfordshire), J. Gizis (U. of Delaware), E. Shkolnik (Lowell
Observatory): “Reconnaissance of Young M Dwarfs: Confirming the Elusive Majority of Nearby
Moving Groups”
CT-1.5m-SVC
4
B. Cobb (George Washington U.), C. Bailyn (Yale U.): “Optical/IR Follow-up of Gamma-ray Bursts
from SMARTS”
CT-1.3m
4
A. Crotts (Columbia U.), S. Heathcote (NOAO), S. Lawrence (Hofstra University): “SN 1987A
Transforms into SN Remnant 1987A”
SOAR
3
S. Dhital, T. Oswalt (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.), J. Holberg (U. of Arizona), J. Zhao (National
Astronomical Observatory of China): “Observational Constraints on the White Dwarf Mass-Radius
Relation”
SOAR
5
C. Kaleida (CTIO), V. Parkash (U) (Union College), R. Jansen (Arizona State U.): “Comparing
Stellar Populations of Galaxies across the Hubble Sequence”
CT-4m
2
T. Lee (Western Kentucky U.), R. Shaw, L. Stanghellini (NOAO): “Chemical Abundances of
Compact Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Disk”
SOAR
2
F. Menanteau (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), J. Hughes (Rutgers U.), F. Barrientos, L. Infante
(Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile): “Is ‘El Gordo’ the Fattest Cluster in the Universe?”
SOAR
2
N. Moskovitz (MIT), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), C. Thomas (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Polishook, F. DeMeo, R. Binzel (MIT), P. Abell (NASA Johnson Space Center), M.
Person (MIT), M. Busch (CalTech-JPL), M. Willman (U. of Hawaii), E. Christensen (Lunar and
Planetary Lab), T. Endicott (U) (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), M. Hinkle (Northern Arizona U.):
“Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)”
CT-1.3m
6
B. Mueller, N. Samarasinha (PSI): “Determination of an Accurate Rotation Period for Comet
19P/Borrelly: Tying Changes in Rotation to Activity”
SOAR
6
M. Sullivan (University of Southampton), P. Nugent (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), D.
Howell (UC Santa Barbara), R. Nichol, (University of Portsmouth), J. Cooke (Swinburne
University), R. Smith (NOAO), P. Brown (Texas A&M U.), S. Smartt (Queen’s University Belfast),
A. Gal-Yam (Weizmann Institute of Science), C. D’Andrea (University of Portsmouth), B. Bassett
(SAAO), K. Barbary (Argonne National Laboratory), A. Papadopoulos (T) (University of
Portsmouth), L. Bildsten (UC Santa Barbara), M. Sako (U. of Pennsylvania), R. Quimby (Institute of
Physics and Mathematics of The University of Tokyo), S. Gonzalez-Gaitain, F. Burón (Universidad
de Chile): “SUDSS: Survey Using DECam for Superluminous Supernovae”
CTIO Semester 2014B
CTIO Telescopes: 2014BApproved US Programs (24), and US Theses (8) 

Key: (T) = Thesis Student; (G) = Graduate; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
176
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014BApproved US Programs (24), and US Theses (8) 
Telescope
Nights
J. Muzerolle (STScI), K. Flaherty (Wesleyan U.), Z. Balog (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), T.
Beck (STScI), E. Furlan (IPAC), R. Gutermuth (U. Mass): “Photometric Monitoring of Close Binary
T Tauri Stars: Connecting Accretion Activity with Inner Disk Structure”
CT-1.3m
3.2
D. Nidever (U. of Michigan), K. Olsen (NOAO), G. Besla (Columbia U.), R. Gruendl (U. of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign), A. Saha (NOAO), C. Gallart (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), E.
Olszewski (U. of Arizona), R. Muñoz (Universidad de Chile), M. Monelli (Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias), A. Kunder (CTIO), C. Kaleida (Arizona State U.), A. Walker (CTIO), G. Stringfellow (U.
of Colorado), D. Zaritsky (U. of Arizona), R. Van Der Marel (STScI), R. Blum (NOAO), K. Vivas
(Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía), Y. Chu (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), N. Martin,
B. Conn, N. Noel (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), S. Majewski (U. of Virginia), S. Jin
(University of Groningen), H. Kim (G) (Arizona State U.), M. Cioni (University of Hertfordshire),
E. Bell, A. Monachesi (U. of Michigan), T. De Boer (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute): “Survey of
the MAgellanic Stellar History - SMASH”
CT-4m
CT-0.9m
5
7
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (NYU), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A.
Clocchiatti (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), D. James (CTIO), S. Margheim (Gemini
Observatory South), T. Matheson (NOAO), J. Prieto (Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith
(CTIO), N. Smith (U. of Arizona), N. Walborn (STScI), D. Welch (McMaster University), A.
Zenteno (Universitäts-Sternwarte München): “Spectrophotometric Time Series of Carinae’s Great
Eruption”
CT-4m
1.5
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (NYU), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A.
Clocchiatti (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), R. Foley (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign),
D. James (CTIO), T. Matheson, G. Narayan, K. Olsen (NOAO), S. Points (CTIO), J. Prieto
(Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith (CTIO), N. Smith (U. of Arizona), N. Suntzeff (Texas A&M
U.), D. Welch (McMaster University), A. Zenteno (Universitäts-Sternwarte München): “Light
Echoes of Galactic Explosions and Eruptions”
CT-4m
2.5
177
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014BApproved US Programs (24), and US Theses (8) 
Telescope
Nights
D. Schlegel (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), A. Dey (NOAO), D. Lang (Carnegie Mellon
U.), P. Nugent (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), D. Eisenstein (Harvard U.), G. Rudnick
(U. of Kansas), J. Moustakas (Siena College), A. Myers (U. of Wyoming), R. Wechsler (Stanford
U.), S. Bailey (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), E. Bell (U. of Michigan), D. Bizyaev (New
Mexico State U.), M. Blanton (NYU), A. Bolton (U. of Utah), M. Brodwin (U. of Missouri, Kansas
City), K. Bundy (University of Tokyo), R. Carlberg (University of Toronto), F. Castander
(Universitat de Barcelona), J. Comparat (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), K. Dawson (U.
of Utah), T. Dwelly (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), T. Delubac (École
Polytechnique de Lausanne), M. Dickinson (NOAO), P. Eisenhardt (CalTech-JPL), X. Fan (U. of
Arizona), E. Fernandez (Universitat de Barcelona), D. Finkbeiner (Harvard U.), P. Fosalba (Institut
de Ciències de L’Espai), S. Foucaud (National Taiwan Normal University), J. Garcia-Bellido
(Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), E. Gaztanaga (Universitat de Barcelona), M. Geha (Yale U.),
A. Gonzalez (U. of Florida), O. Graur (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Guy (Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory), N. Hetherington (G) (University of Toronto), K. Honsheid, E. Huff (Ohio State U.), Z.
Ivezic (U. of Washington), G. Kauffmann (Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik), J. Kneib (École
Polytechnique de Lausanne), R. Kron (U. of Chicago), T. Lan (Johns Hopkins U.), M. Levi
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), B. Menard (Johns Hopkins U.), A. Merloni (MaxPlanck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), R. Miquel (Universitat de Barcelona), J. Mohr
(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), D. Monet (US Naval Observatory), K. Nandra (MaxPlanck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), J. Newman (U. of Pittsburgh), P. Norberg (University
of Durham), B. Nord (FNAL), E. Ofek (Weizmann Institute of Science), C. Padilla (Universitat de
Barcelona), N. Palanque-Delabrouille (CEA), P. Predehl (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische
Physik), C. Prieto (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), K. Reil (SLAC), C. Rockosi (UC Santa
Cruz), E. Rozo (Stanford U.), N. Ross (Drexel U.), E. Rykoff (Stanford U.), M. Salvato (MaxPlanck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), E. Sanchez (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), E.
Schlafly (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), U. Seljak (UC Berkeley), S. Stanford (Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory), R. Thomas (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), F. Valdes
(NOAO), A. Walker (CTIO), M. White (UC Berkeley), G. Zhu (Johns Hopkins U.): “The DECam
Legacy Survey of the SDSS Equatorial Sky”
CT-4m
10
S. Sheppard (Carnegie Institution of Washington), C. Trujillo (Gemini Observatory): “The Inner
Oort Cloud Population”
CT-4m
5
J. Smith (Austin Peay State U.), D. Tucker, S. Allam (FNAL), M. Fix (U) (Austin Peay State U.), W.
Wester (FNAL), T. Oswalt (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.), N. Silvestri (U. of Washington), D.
Gulledge (U) (Austin Peay State U.): “Targeted Samples of the Hot Stellar Content in the Southern
Sky”
SOAR
CT-0.9m
3
7
S. Sonnett, A. Mainzer, J. Bauer (CalTech-JPL), T. Grav (PSI), J. Masiero, R. Stevenson, C. Nugent
(CalTech-JPL): “Determining Orbits and Sizes of Near-Earth Objects Discovered by NEOWISE”
CT-4m-TOO
G. Stringfellow (U. of Colorado), V. Gvaramadze (Sternberg Astronomical Institute): “Spectral
Confirmation of New Galactic LBV and WN Stars Associated with Mid-IR Nebulae”
CT-1.3m
0.9
C. Thomas, L. Lim (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), N.
Moskovitz (Lowell Observatory): “Search for a Differentiated Asteroid Family”
SOAR
2
CT-1.5m-SVC
2
A. Tokovinin (NOAO), B. Mason, W. Hartkopf (US Naval Observatory): “Speckle Interferometry
of ‘fast’ binaries”
SOAR
3
F. Walter (SUNY), J. Faherty (Carnegie Institution of Washington): “Spectral Energy Distributions
of 2 Million-Year-Old Substellar Mass Objects in Orion OB1b”
CT-4m
2
L. van Zee, E. Richards (G), K. Barnes (Indiana U.), D. Dale, S. Staudaher (G) (U. of Wyoming):
“Star Formation Histories of EDGES Galaxies: The Southern Sample”
CT-1.3m
1.5
A. Tokovinin (NOAO): “Snapshot RV Survey of Secondary Components”
178
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014BApproved US Programs (24), and US Theses (8) 
Telescope
Nights
I. dell’Antonio, J. McCleary (T), P. Huwe (Brown U.): “The Low-Redshift End of the Cluster Mass
Substructure Function”
CT-4m
2
K. Gullikson (T), A. Kraus (U. of Texas, Austin): “Searching for Disk-Born Companions to A Stars”
CT-1.5m-SVC
5
S. Kannappan, K. Eckert (T) (U. of North Carolina), D. Norman (NOAO), M. Norris (Max-PlanckInstitut für Astronomie), E. Hoversten, D. Stark (G), A. Moffett (G), A. Baker (U) (U. of North
Carolina), A. Berlind (Vanderbilt U.), S. Crawford (SAAO), I. Damjanov (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), I. dell’Antonio (Brown U.), R. Gonzalez (U. of Chicago), K. Hall (U) (U.
of North Carolina), S. Khochfar (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), A. Leroy
(NRAO), Y. Lu (Stanford U.), C. Maraston (University of Portsmouth), S. McGaugh (Case Western
Reserve U.), L. Naluminsa (G) (SAAO), J. Salzer (Indiana U.), J. Sellwood (Rutgers U.), P.
Vaisanen (SAAO), L. Watson (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “REsolved
Spectroscopy Of a Local VolumE: The RESOLVE Survey in Stripe 82”
SOAR
8
M. Kilic, C. Belardi (T) (U. of Oklahoma), B. Jannuzi (U. of Arizona), A. Dey (NOAO), P. Stetson
(National Research Council of Canada), S. Barber (G) (U. of Oklahoma): “A Search for Habitable
Planets around White Dwarfs”
CT-4m
4
M. Kiminki (T), N. Smith (U. of Arizona): “Using 3D Kinematics to Pinpoint the Birthplaces of
Distributed Massive Stars”
CT-1.5m-SVC
3
L. Macri, W. Yuan (T) (Texas A&M U.), A. Riess (Johns Hopkins U.): “Towards a 2%
Measurement of H0: Near-Infrared Light Curves of Galactic Cepheids”
CT-1.3m
5.2
B. Tofflemire (T), R. Mathieu (U. of Wisconsin, Madison), D. Ardila (IPAC): “Accretion Dynamics
in Pre-Main Sequence Binaries”
CT-1.5m-SVC
CT-1.3m
4.2
1.1
A. Von Der Linden, S. Allen (Stanford U.), A. Mantz (U. of Chicago), A. Wright (T) (Stanford U.),
D. Applegate (Universität Bonn), P. Kelly (UC Berkeley), G. Morrison (Stanford U.), D. Rapetti
(Dark Cosmology Center): “Weighing the fgas Giants”
CT-4m
4
Telescope
Nights
J. Cooke, C. Flynn, M. Murphy, E. Keene, E. Petroff (G) (Swinburne University), M. Caleb (G)
(Australian National University): “Deeper, Wider, Faster: Optical Counterparts to the Fastest Bursts
in the Sky”
CT-4m
2
N. Richardson (University of Montreal), D. Gies (Georgia State U.), T. Gull (NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center), A. Moffat, N. St-Louis (University of Montreal): “Orbital Variability of Carinae”
CT-1.5m-SVC
1
T. de Boer, V. Belokurov, S. Koposov, M. Irwin, D. Erkal (University of Cambridge): “Charting the
Trajectory of the ATLAS Stream”
CT-4m
1
CT-0.9m
7
US Thesis Programs (8)
CTIO Telescopes: 2014B Approved Foreign Programs (3), and Foreign Theses (4) 
Foreign Thesis Programs (4)
F. Dufour (T), R. Rutledge (O) (McGill University): “A Survey of Unclassified ROSAT-BSC
Sources for qLMXB Candidates”

Key: (T) = Thesis Student; (G) = Graduate; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
179
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
CTIO Telescopes: 2014B Approved Foreign Programs (3), and Foreign Theses (4) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Norris, P. Bianchini (T), B. Venemans, E. Schinnerer (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), C.
Clemens, S. Kannappan, E. Snyder (U. of North Carolina): “Kinematically Distinct Stellar
Populations in a Globular Cluster”
SOAR
1.5
T. Ramiaramanantsoa (T), A. Moffat, N. Richardson (University of Montreal), T. Eversberg
(Schnorringen Telescopt Science Institute), B. Heathcote (O) (Barfold Observatory), W. Waldron
(Eureka Scientific), A. Chene (Gemini Observatory South): “Probing the Photospheric Origin of
Large Scale Wind Structures in the Hot Supergiant Puppis”
CT-1.5m-SVC
2.7
M. Sullivan (University of Southampton), P. Nugent (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), D.
Howell (UC Santa Barbara), R. Nichol (University of Portsmouth), J. Cooke (Swinburne
University), R. Smith (CTIO), P. Brown (Texas A&M U.), S. Smartt (Queen’s University Belfast),
A. Gal-Yam (Weizmann Institute of Science), C. D’Andrea (University of Portsmouth), B. Bassett
(SAAO), K. Barbary (Argonne National Laboratory), A. Papadopoulos (T) (University of
Portsmouth), L. Bildsten (UC Santa Barbara), M. Sako (U. of Pennsylvania), R. Quimby (Institute of
Physics and Mathematics of The University of Tokyo), S. Gonzalez-Gaitain, F. Burón (Universidad
de Chile), C. Inserra (Queen’s University Belfast), P. Martini (Ohio State U.), M. Smith (University
of Southampton): “SUDSS: Survey Using Decam for Superluminous Supernovae”
CT-4m
2.5
G.3 KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY

Mayall 4-m Telescope: The US community has access to 100% of science time on the Mayall.

WIYN 3.5-m Telescope: The US community has access to approximately 40% of WIYN time.

Kitt Peak Small Telescopes: KP 2.1-m (100% community access in 2014A, 0% in 2014B) and
the KP 0.9-m (up to 20%).
KPNO Semester 2014A
KPNO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (33), and US Theses (14) 
Telescope
Nights
B. Anthony-Twarog, B. Twarog (U. of Kansas), C. Deliyannis (Indiana U.): Constraining the
Evolution and Origin of Li Using Giants in M92”
WIYN
3
T. Beers (NOAO), V. Placco (IAGUSP), N. Christlieb (Universität Heidelberg), S. Rossi, R.
Santucci (G) (IAGUSP): “Missing Metal-Poor Stars from the HK and Hamburg/ESO Surveys”
KP-4m
9
B. Bowler, M. Liu (U. of Hawaii), B. Riaz (University of Hertfordshire), J. Gizis (U. of Delaware),
E. Shkolnik (Lowell Observatory): “Reconnaissance of Young M Dwarfs: Locating the Elusive
Majority of Nearby Moving Groups”
KP-4m
3
M. Buie (Southwest Research Institute): “KBO Orbits for Occultations”
KP-4m
3
D. Clowe (Ohio U.), M. Ulmer (Northwestern U.): “Weak Lensing Observations of a Galaxy
Filament”
WIYN
2

Key: TOO: Target of Opportunity scheduling; (G): Graduate; (O): Other; (T): Thesis Student; (U): Undergraduate
180
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (33), and US Theses (14) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Everett (NOAO), S. Howell (NASA Ames Research Center), D. Silva (NOAO), P. Szkody (U.
of Washington): “Spectroscopy of Kepler Candidate Exoplanet Host Stars”
KP-4m
9
A. Geller (Northwestern U.), S. Meibom (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), S. Barnes
(Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik), R. Mathieu (U. of Wisconsin, Madison): “The Solar-Type HardBinary Frequency and Distributions of Orbital Parameters in the Open Cluster M37”
WIYN
1.5
R. Genet (California Polytechnic State U.), W. Hartkopf (US Naval Observatory), R. Clark (U. of
South Alabama), J. Kenny (Concordia U.), K. McArdle (U), J. Goad (U) (California Polytechnic
State U.), T. Smith (O) (Dark Ridge Observatory): “Speckle Interferometry and Photometry of
Binary Stars”
KP-2.1m
6.5
A. Heinze (SUNY), S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario): “Do Most T-Dwarfs Show LargeAmplitude 0.9 (micron) Variability, or Is Luhman 16 B Unusual?”
KP-2.1m
21.5
T. Hillwig (Valparaiso U.), D. Frew, O. De Marco, D. Douchin (G) (Macquarie University):
“Detecting Close Binary Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae: The Photometric Monitoring
Campaign”
KP-2.1m
5
B. Keeney, J. Stocke (U. of Colorado), B. Savage (U. of Wisconsin, Madison), J. Green (U. of
Colorado): “Gas and Galaxies in the Cosmic Web: A Galaxy Redshift Survey around HST/COS
Sight Lines”
WIYN
3
S. Lamassa (Yale U.)
WIYN
4
A. Landolt, J. Clem (Louisiana State U.): “Faint UBVRI Photometric Standard Star Fields: KPNO”
KP-2.1m
3
A. Landolt, J. Clem (Louisiana State U.): “Faint UBVRI Photometric Standard Star Fields: KPNO”
KP-2.1m
30
K. Lee (Purdue U.), A. Dey, H. Inami (NOAO), B. Jannuzi (U. of Arizona), N. Reddy (UC
Riverside), S. Hong (NOAO): “Unveiling the Most Massive Structure at z = 3.78”
KP-4m
6
R. McMillan (U. of Arizona), J. Larsen (US Naval Academy), J. Scotti (O), T. Bressi (O), C.
Maleszewski (G) (U. of Arizona): “Astrometry and Photometry of Faint, High Priority Solar System
Objects”
KP-4m
4.5
M. McSwain (Lehigh U.), A. Boyer (Kutztown U.), J. Labadie-Bartz (G), J. Pepper (Lehigh U.):
“Stellar Parameters for Pulsating B Star Candidates in the Kepler Field”
KP-4m
5
F. Menanteau (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), J. Hughes (Rutgers U.), F. Barrientos, L. Infante
(Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile): “Is ‘El Gordo’ the Fattest Cluster in the Universe?”
KP-4m
5
N. Moskovitz (MIT), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), C. Thomas (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Polishook, F. DeMeo, R. Binzel (MIT), P. Abell (NASA Johnson Space Center), M.
Person (MIT), M. Busch (CalTech-JPL), M. Willman (U. of Hawaii), E. Christensen (Lunar and
Planetary Lab), T. Endicott (U) (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), M. Hinkle (Northern Arizona U.):
“Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)”
KP-4m
6
B. Mueller, N. Samarasinha (PSI), J. Eluo (Vatican Observatory): “Tying Changes in Cometary
Rotation to Nuclear Activity: A Substantial Increase in the Database”
KP-2.1m
9
T. Oswalt, S. Dhital (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.), T. Mizusawa (G) (Florida Institute of
Technology), J. Holberg (U. of Arizona), J. Zhao (National Astronomical Observatory of China):
“Observational Constraints on the White Dwarf Mass-Radius Relation”
KP-4m
4
C. Pilachowski, K. Nault (G) (Indiana U.): “The Abundance of Fluorine in the Galactic Halo”
KP-4m
3
J. Rajagopal (NOAO), D. Jewitt (UCLA), S. Ridgway (NOAO): “Deep Wide-Field Imaging of
Main Belt Comets and Asteroids”
WIYN
4
181
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (33), and US Theses (14) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Reed (Missouri State U.), C. Jeffery (Armagh Observatory), J. Telting (Nordic Optical
Telescope), B. Quick (U) (Missouri State U.), A. Baran (Krakow Pedagogical University), A.
Winans (U), H. Foster (U) (Missouri State U.): “Constraining Structural Models of Stellar Helium
Cores Using the Pulsations of Feige 48”
KP-2.1m
KP-4m
6.5
4
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (Las Cumbres Observatory), R. Chornock, R. Foley (HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics), T. Matheson, G. Narayan, K. Olsen (NOAO), J. Prieto
(Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith (NOAO), N. Smith (U. of Arizona), N. Suntzeff (Texas
A&M U.), D. Welch (McMaster University), A. Zenteno (Universitäts-Sternwarte München):
“Light Echoes of Galactic Explosions and Eruptions”
KP-4m
6
J. Rhoads, S. Malhotra (Arizona State U.), R. Probst, R. Swaters (NOAO), P. Hibon (Gemini
Observatory South), B. Mobasher (UC Riverside), V. Tilvi (Texas A&M U.), S. Veilleux (U. of
Maryland), J. Wang (University of Science & Technology of China), S. Finkelstein (U. of Texas,
Austin), Z. Zheng, A. Gonzalez (G) (Arizona State U.), J. Zabl (G) (University of Copenhagen), J.
Trahan (U), K. Emig (G) (Arizona State U.): “The Cosmic Deep And Wide Narrowband (Cosmic
DAWN) Survey”
KP-4m
11
A. Rivkin (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Emery (U. of Tennessee), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), A.
Gulbis (SAAO), J. Grier (PSI): “How Do the Surfaces of Trojan Asteroids Evolve?”
KP-2.1m-PRE
5
J. Runnoe, M. Eracleous (Pennsylvania State U.), T. Boroson (Las Cumbres Observatory), S.
Sigurdsson (Pennsylvania State U.), T. Bogdanovic (Georgia Institute of Technology): “A
Systematic Search for Close Binary Supermassive Black Holes”
KP-4m
WIYN
3.5
3
KP-2.1m
4
Y. Shen (Carnegie Observatories), P. Hall (York University), W. Brandt (Pennsylvania State U.), I.
McGreer (U. of Arizona), L. Ho (Carnegie Observatories), K. Dawson (U. of Utah), P. Green
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J. Greene, M. Strauss (Princeton U.), B. Peterson,
K. Denney (Ohio State U.), X. Fan (U. of Arizona), S. Anderson (U. of Washington), D. Schneider
(Pennsylvania State U.), D. York (U. of Chicago), B. Kelly (UC Santa Barbara), M. Eracelous, J.
Trump (Pennsylvania State U.), C. Kochanek (Ohio State U.), G. Richards (Drexel U.), A. Seth (U.
of Utah): “A Transformative Multi-Object AGN Reverberation Mapping Campaign: Improving
Spectrophotometry”
KP-4m
5.5
A. Shporer (California Institute of Technology–Div of Geo and Planetary Science), T. Mazeh (Tel
Aviv University), A. Prsa (Villanova U.), S. Faigler (G) (Tel Aviv University), T. Boyajian (Yale
U.), R. Mathieu (U. of Wisconsin, Madison): “Studying Low-Mass Short-Period Binary
Companions to Stars across the Main Sequence”
WIYN
3
P. Szkody, A. Mukadam (U. of Washington): “Characterizing Accreting White Dwarf Pulsators”
KP-2.1m
6
M. Trueblood (O) (Winer Observatory), R. Crawford (O) (Rincon-Ranch Observatory), D. Bell
(NOAO), L. Lebofsky (PSI): “Long Term Follow-up of Near Earth Objects”
KP-2.1m
6
C. Adams (T), S. Brittain (Clemson U.), J. Najita (NOAO), J. Carr (Naval Research Laboratory), I.
Mendigutia (Clemson U.): “A Study of the OH Emission in the Disk around the Herbig Ae Star
V380 Ori”
KP-4m
1
J. Andrews, D. Calzetti (U. Mass), J. Gallagher (U. of Wisconsin, Madison), H. Kim (Arizona State
U.), R. Walterbos (New Mexico State U.), J. Lee (STScI), J. Ryon (T) (U. of Wisconsin, Madison),
S. McElwee (U) (U. Mass): “The Stellar Initial Mass Function: Universal or Not?”
KP-2.1m
8
J. Schombert (U. of Oregon): “Star Formation in Dwarf Spirals”
US Thesis Programs (14)
182
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (33), and US Theses (14) 
Telescope
Nights
J. Andrews, D. Calzetti (U. Mass), J. Gallagher (U. of Wisconsin, Madison), H. Kim (Arizona State
U.), J. Lee (STScI), S. McElwee (U) (U. Mass), J. Ryon (T) (U. of Wisconsin, Madison), R.
Walterbos (New Mexico State U.): “The Heritage of LEGUS: Current Star Formation in Local
Galaxies”
WIYN
3
F. Bastien (T), K. Stassun (Vanderbilt U.), J. Pepper (Lehigh U.), W. Chaplin (University of
Birmingham), D. Huber (NASA Ames Research Center): “Correlating Photometric Variability and
Chromospheric Activity in Kepler Stars”
WIYN
5
J. Burchett (T), T. Tripp (U. Mass), J. Prochaska (UC Santa Cruz), J. Tumlinson (STScI): “A Deep
Search for Faint Galaxies Associated with Low-Redshift C IV Absorbers”
WIYN
2
Z. Cai (T), X. Fan (U. of Arizona), F. Bian (MSSSO), Y. Yang (Argelander-Institut für
Astronomie), A. Zabludoff (U. of Arizona), Z. Zheng (Arizona State U.): “Probing the Large Scale
Overdensity with Quasar Groups at the Peak Era of Galaxy Formation”
KP-4m
4
P. Canton (T), A. Gianninas, M. Kilic (U. of Oklahoma), W. Brown, S. Kenyon (SAO): “The ELM
Survey: Finding the Shortest Period Binary White Dwarfs”
KP-4m
4
D. Drozdov (T), M. Leising (Clemson U.), P. Milne (U. of Arizona), G. Bryngelson (Francis
Marion U.): “Probing Type Ia Supernovae at Late Epochs”
KP-4m
4
P. Garnavich, J. Wiggins (T) (U. of Notre Dame), B. Hayden (Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory): “The Heart of Darkness: Finding and Characterizing Star-Forming Galaxies in
Extreme Voids”
KP-4m
5
J. Ge, N. Thomas (T), B. Ma (T), R. Li (T), S. Sithajan (T) (U. of Florida): “SDSS-III MARVELS
Planet Candidate RV Follow-up”
KP-2.1m
7.5
B. Ma (T), J. Ge, R. Li (T), S. Sithajan (T), N. Thomas (T) (U. of Florida), J. Wang (Yale U.), N. De
Lee (Vanderbilt U.): “Follow-up of MARVELS Brown Dwarf Candidates using EXPERT”
KP-2.1m
20
S. Staudaher (T), D. Dale (U. of Wyoming), L. van Zee, K. Barnes (Indiana U.): “EDGES: Studying
the Mass and Stellar Populations of the Extended Stellar Structures of Nearby Galaxies”
KP-4m
3
A. Van Sistine (T), J. Salzer (Indiana U.), M. Haynes (Cornell U.), E. Wilcots (U. of Wisconsin,
Madison), R. Giovanelli (Cornell U.), N. Haurberg (), G. Moore (U) (Knox College): “Making Hay
with ALFALFA: The Star-Formation Properties of an HI-Selected Sample of Galaxies”
KP-2.1m
10
M. Wood-Vasey (U. of Pittsburgh), P. Garnavich (U. of Notre Dame), T. Matheson (NOAO), S. Jha
(Rutgers U.), A. Rest (STScI), L. Allen (NOAO), A. Weyant (T) (U. of Pittsburgh), H. Marion
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), N. Jahan (G) (U. of Pittsburgh), B. Patel (G)
(Rutgers U.): “Type Ia Supernovae in the Near-Infrared: A Three-Year Survey toward a One
Percent Distance Measurement with WIYN+WHIRC”
WIYN
20
Telescope
Nights
J. Farihi (University of Cambridge), H. Harris (US Naval Observatory), C. Bergfors (University of
Cambridge), P. Green (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), B. Gansicke (University of
Warwick): “Are All Dwarf Carbon Stars Binary?”
KP-4m
2
A. Kawka, S. Vennes (Astronomický ústav): “Polluted, Peculiar, and Duplicitous: The True Nature
of Local White Dwarfs”
KP-4m
4
KPNO Telescopes: 2014A Approved Foreign Programs (4) 

Key: TOO: Target of Opportunity scheduling; (G): Graduate; (O): Other; (T): Thesis Student; (U): Undergraduate
183
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014A Approved Foreign Programs (4) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Kronberger (EBG MedAustron), G. Jacoby (GMT), A. Acker (Observatoire astronomique de
Strasbourg), D. Harmer (O) (NOAO): “Narrow-Band Imagery and Spectroscopy of New Planetary
Nebula Candidates at High Galactic Latitudes”
KP-2.1m
10.5
J. Weingrill (Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik), A. Geller (Northwestern U.), K. Strassmeier, S.
Barnes (Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik), S. Meibom (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics), T. Granzer, F. Spada (Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik): “Radial Velocity
Membership for the Open Cluster IC4756”
WIYN
3
Telescope
Nights
B. Anthony-Twarog, B. Twarog (U. of Kansas), C. Deliyannis (Indiana U.): “Constraining the
Evolution and Origin of Li Via Open Clusters: NGC 2204 and NGC 188”
WIYN
3
J. Bary (Colgate U.), A. Dutrey, E. Folco, S. Guilloteau (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de
Bordeaux): “A Phoenix Survey for Molecular Hydrogen Emission from T Tauri Stars to Debris
Disks”
KP-4m
1.5
R. Beaton (G), S. Majewski (U. of Virginia), P. Guhathakurta, K. Hamren (G) (UC Santa Cruz):
“Robust Distances to Twenty M31 Satellites”
KP-4m
6
T. Beers (NOAO), V. Placco (Gemini Observatory), Y. Lee (New Mexico State U.), D. Carollo
(Macquarie University), V. Smith (NOAO), S. Points (CTIO): “Identifying Bright CEMP Stars in
the RAVE Catalog”
KP-4m
4.5
B. Bowler (California Institute of Technology--Div of Geo and Planetary Science), M. Liu (U. of
Hawaii), B. Riaz (University of Hertfordshire), J. Gizis (U. of Delaware), E. Shkolnik (Lowell
Observatory): “Reconnaissance of Young M Dwarfs: Confirming the Elusive Majority of Nearby
Moving Groups”
KP-4m
4
M. Buie (O) (Southwest Research Institute): “KBO Orbits for Occultation Predictions”
KP-4m
3
J. Carlberg (Carnegie Institution of Washington), K. Cunha (Observatorio Nacional Brazil), V.
Smith (NOAO), J. Do Nascimento, Jr (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte): “Beryllium
Abundances in Select Li-Rich Red Giants as a Signature of Planet Engulfment”
KP-4m
3.5
A. Cotera (SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center), B. Whitney, E. Rodgers (Space Science
Institute): “Variability of Edge-On YSOs in Taurus”
WIYN
1.5
S. Dhital, T. Oswalt (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.), J. Holberg (U. of Arizona), J. Zhao (National
Astronomical Observatory of China): “Observational Constraints on the White Dwarf Mass-Radius
Relation”
KP-4m
3.5
L. Edwards, R. Heng (U) (Yale U.): “Abell 262 and RXJ0341: Two Brightest Cluster Galaxies with
Line Emission Blanketing a Cool Core”
KP-4m
3
P. Eisenhardt (CalTech-JPL), C. Tsai (IPAC), J. Wu (UCLA), R. Assef (O), D. Stern (CalTechJPL), E. Wright (UCLA): “Hot DOGs: The Most Luminous Galaxies Found by WISE”
WIYN
4
KPNO Semester 2014B
KPNO Telescopes: 2014B Approved US Programs (31), and US Theses (8) 

Key: TOO: Target of Opportunity scheduling; (G): Graduate; (O): Other; (T): Thesis Student; (U): Undergraduate
184
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014B Approved US Programs (31), and US Theses (8) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Everett (NOAO), S. Howell (NASA Ames Research Center), D. Silva (NOAO), P. Szkody (U.
of Washington): “Spectroscopy of Kepler Candidate Exoplanet Host Stars”
KP-4m
9
A. Geller (Northwestern U.), S. Meibom (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), S. Barnes
(Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik), R. Mathieu (U. of Wisconsin, Madison): “The Solar-Type HardBinary Frequency and Distributions of Orbital Parameters in the Open Cluster M37”
WIYN
1.5
P. Guhathakurta (UC Santa Cruz), R. Beaton (G) (U. of Virginia), K. Gilbert (U. of Washington),
M. Boyer (STScI), K. Johnston (Columbia U.), R. Swaters (NOAO), E. Toloba (UC Santa Cruz),
M. Chiba (Tohoku University), A. Dey (NOAO), J. Kalirai (STScI), E. Kirby (California Institute of
Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), S. Majewski (U. of Virginia), K. Olsen (NOAO), R. Patterson
(U. of Virginia), M. Tanaka (Tohoku University), K. Hamren (G), C. Dorman (G) (UC Santa Cruz):
“NEWFIRM Survey of Intermediate Age Populations in M31’s Halo: A Test of ΛCDM”
KP-4m
7
L. Jiang (Arizona State U.), X. Fan, I. McGreer (U. of Arizona), F. Bian (Australian National
University): “Y-Band Imaging of Quasar Candidates at z > 6.5 Selected in the SDSS Stripe 82”
KP-4m
3
W. Keel (U. of Alabama), M. Bershady (U. of Wisconsin, Madison), V. Bennert (California
Polytechnic State University), K. Schawinski (ETH), C. Lintott (University of Oxford), C. Urry
(Yale U.): “Giant Ionized Clouds and Fading AGN”
WIYN
4
C. Kobulnicky (U. of Wyoming), R. Prinja (University College London), R. Blomme (OMA), D.
Fenech, J. Morford (University College London), D. Kiminki (U. of Arizona): “The Discordant
Mass-Loss Rates of Massive Stars: New Solutions from an Halpha and Radio Survey of Cyg OB2”
WIYN
2
R. Mason (Gemini Observatory), P. Lira (Universidad de Chile), L. Ho (Carnegie Observatories), R.
Riffel (UFRGS), A. Ardila (CNPq), R. Riffel (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria), L. Martins
(Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul): “Stellar Populations in the Palomar Galaxy Sample”
KP-4m
3
R. McMillan (U. of Arizona), J. Larsen (US Naval Academy), J. Scotti (O), T. Bressi (O) (U. of
Arizona), T. Spahr (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), C. Maleszewski (G) (U. of
Arizona): “Astrometry and Photometry of Faint, High Priority Solar System Objects”
KP-4m
7
F. Menanteau (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), J. Hughes (Rutgers U.), F. Barrientos, L. Infante
(Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile): “Is ‘El Gordo’ the Fattest Cluster in the Universe?”
KP-4m
5
N. Moskovitz (MIT), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), C. Thomas (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Polishook, F. DeMeo, R. Binzel (MIT), P. Abell (NASA Johnson Space Center), M.
Person (MIT), M. Busch (CalTech-JPL), M. Willman (U. of Hawaii), E. Christensen (Lunar and
Planetary Lab), T. Endicott (U) (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), M. Hinkle (Northern Arizona U.):
“Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)”
KP-4m
7
C. O’Dea (Rochester Institute of Technology), G. Tremblay (ESO), S. Baum (Rochester Institute of
Technology), A. Quillen (U. of Rochester), H. Russell, B. McNamara (University of Waterloo), M.
Donahue (Michigan State U.), A. Edge (University of Durham), A. Fabian (University of
Cambridge), J. Sanders (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik): “Probing the Origin of a
Dusty Ring Surrounding the Central Dominant Galaxies in RXJ 0751.3+5012”
WIYN
1
C. Pilachowski, K. Nault (G) (Indiana U.): “The Abundance of Fluorine in the Galactic Halo”
KP-4m
2
C. Pilachowski (Indiana U.), K. Hinkle (NOAO): “Beyond CNO: Phosphorus and Chlorine in the
Galactic Disk”
KP-4m
6
J. Rajagopal (NOAO), D. Jewitt (UCLA), S. Ridgway (NOAO), R. Kotulla (U. of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee), W. Liu (WIYN): “Deep Wide-Field Imaging of Main Belt Comets and Asteroids”
WIYN
3
185
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014B Approved US Programs (31), and US Theses (8) 
Telescope
Nights
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (NYU), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics),
A. Clocchiatti (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), R. Foley (U. of Illinois UrbanaChampaign), D. James (CTIO), T. Matheson, G. Narayan, K. Olsen (NOAO), S. Points (CTIO), J.
Prieto (Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith (CTIO), N. Smith (U. of Arizona), N. Suntzeff
(Texas A&M U.), D. Welch (McMaster University), A. Zenteno (Universitäts-Sternwarte
München): “Light Echoes of Galactic Explosions and Eruptions”
KP-4m
6
J. Rhoads, S. Malhotra (Arizona State U.), R. Probst, R. Swaters (NOAO), P. Hibon (Gemini
Observatory South), B. Mobasher (UC Riverside), V. Tilvi (Texas A&M U.), S. Veilleux (U. of
Maryland), J. Wang (University of Science & Technology of China), S. Finkelstein (U. of Texas,
Austin), Z. Zheng, A. Gonzalez (G) (Arizona State U.), J. Zabl (G) (University of Copenhagen), J.
Trahan (U), K. Emig (G) (Arizona State U.): “The Cosmic Deep And Wide Narrowband (Cosmic
DAWN) Survey”
KP-4m
9
W. Romanishin (U. of Oklahoma): “Shapes of Hilda ‘Asteroids’”
KP-0.9m
7
R. Salinas (Michigan State U.), T. Richtler, R. Lane (Universidad de Concepción), J. Strader
(Michigan State U.): “The Halos of Isolated Elliptical Galaxies”
KP-0.9m
3
A. Shporer (CalTech-JPL), T. Mazeh (Tel Aviv University), A. Prsa (Villanova U.), S. Faigler (G),
L. Tal-Or (G) (Tel Aviv University), T. Boyajian (Yale U.): “Studying Low-Mass Short-Period
Binary Companions to Stars across the Main Sequence”
WIYN
4
A. Zezas (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), I. Leonidaki, P. Boumis (National
Observatory of Athens), V. Antoniou (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics):
“Investigation of Supernova Remnants in Nearby Galaxies”
KP-4m
4
Z. Cai (T), X. Fan, B. Frye, R. Green, I. McGreer (U. of Arizona), Y. Yang (Argelander-Institut für
Astronomie), A. Zabludoff (U. of Arizona): “Mapping the Most Massive Overdensity through HI:
KPNO-4m/MOSAIC Observations of a Galaxy Overdensity at z = 2.3”
KP-4m
2
P. Canton (T), A. Gianninas, M. Kilic (U. of Oklahoma), W. Brown, S. Kenyon (SAO): “The ELM
Survey: Finding the Shortest Period Binary White Dwarfs”
KP-4m
5
D. Drozdov (T), M. Leising (Clemson U.), P. Milne (U. of Arizona): “Colors of Type Ia
Supernovae Light Echoes”
KP-4m
2
S. Finkelstein, K. Gebhardt, S. Jogee (U. of Texas, Austin), V. Acquaviva (New York City College
of Technology), C. Papovich (Texas A&M U.), R. Ciardullo, C. Gronwall (Pennsylvania State U.),
R. Bender (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), G. Blanc (Carnegie Observatories),
R. De Jong (Astrophysical Institute Potsdam), D. Depoy (Texas A&M U.), N. Drory (UNAM), M.
Fabricius (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), K. Finkelstein (U. of Texas, Austin),
E. Gawiser (Rutgers U.), J. Geach (McGill University), J. Greene (Princeton U.), A. Hagen (G)
(Pennsylvania State U.), G. Hill (U. of Texas, Austin), U. Hopp (University Observatory Munich),
K. Kaplan (T) (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Landriau (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische
Physik), J. Marshall (Texas A&M U.), E. McLinden, E. Mentuch, R. Overzier (U. of Texas,
Austin), M. Steinmetz (Astrophysical Institute Potsdam), N. Suntzeff, K. Tran (Texas A&M U.), S.
Tuttle (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Viero (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), T.
Weinzirl (T) (U. of Texas, Austin), L. Wisotzki (Astrophysical Institute Potsdam), H. Ziaeepour
(Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), G. Zeimann (Pennsylvania State U.), M. Stevans
(T) (U. of Texas, Austin), H. Gebhardt (G) (Pennsylvania State U.), Y. Chiang (G) (U. of Texas,
Austin), V. Tilvi (Texas A&M U.): “The NEWFIRM HETDEX Survey - Probing the Growth of
Galaxies with Cosmic Time”
KP-4m
21
J. Moody, C. Draper (T), M. Joner (Brigham Young U.): “Dwarf Galaxies within Void FN2”
KP-4m
4
US Thesis Programs (8)
186
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
KPNO Telescopes: 2014B Approved US Programs (31), and US Theses (8) 
Telescope
Nights
R. Patel (T) (SUNY), S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario): “Age Diagnostics of New WISE
Detected Debris Disk-Host Stars”
KP-4m
4
A. Rajan (T), J. Patience (Arizona State U.), P. Wilson (G) (University of Exeter), C. Morley (G), J.
Fortney (UC Santa Cruz), M. Marley (NASA Ames Research Center), F. Pont (University of
Exeter): “Brown Dwarf Atmosphere Monitoring: Surveying the Coolest Brown Dwarfs”
KP-4m
4
M. Wood-Vasey (U. of Pittsburgh), P. Garnavich (U. of Notre Dame), T. Matheson (NOAO), S. Jha
(Rutgers U.), A. Rest (STScI), L. Allen (NOAO), A. Weyant (T) (U. of Pittsburgh), H. Marion
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), N. Jahan (G) (U. of Pittsburgh), B. Patel (G)
(Rutgers U.): “Type Ia Supernovae in the Near-Infrared: A Three-Year Survey toward a One
Percent Distance Measurement with WIYN+WHIRC”
WIYN
13
Telescope
Nights
J. Farihi (University College London), H. Harris (US Naval Observatory), J. Subasavage (US Naval
Observatory, Flagstaff), C. Bergfors (University College London), P. Green (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), B. Gansicke (University of Warwick): “Are All Dwarf Carbon Stars
Binary?”
KP-4m
3
M. Goto (University Observatory Munich), T. Geballe (Gemini Observatory): “Searching for
Isotopomers in the Infrared”
KP-4m
4
M. Kronberger (EBG MedAustron), G. Jacoby (GMT), A. Acker (Observatoire astronomique de
Strasbourg), D. Harmer (O) (NOAO): “Narrow-Band Imagery and Spectroscopy of New Planetary
Nebula Candidates at High Galactic Latitudes”
WIYN
0.5
J. Mikolajewska (Polish Academy of Sciences), K. Hinkle (NOAO), C. Galan (Nicolaus Copernicus
Astronomical Center): “Abundances and Stellar Evolution in Long Period Binary Systems”
KP-4m
3.5
KP-0.9m
3
KPNO Telescopes: 2014B Approved Foreign Programs (4), and Foreign Theses (1) 
Foreign Thesis Programs (1)
F. Dufour (T), R. Rutledge (O) (McGill University): “A Survey of Unclassified ROSAT-BSC
Sources for qLMXB Candidates”
G.4 GEMINI OBSERVATORY


Gemini North and Gemini South. The U.S. community has access to approximately 60% of the
science time on each of the 8-m Gemini telescopes.
Key: TOO: Target of Opportunity scheduling; (G): Graduate; (O): Other; (T): Thesis Student; (U): Undergraduate
187
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Semester 2014A
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
G. Aldering, J. Nordin, B. Hayden (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory): “Dwarf Galaxy Hosts
of Type Ia Supernovae”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.58
0.12
S. Ammons (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), K. Wong (ASIAA), A. Zabludoff (U. of
Arizona), C. Keeton (Rutgers U.), K. French (G) (U. of Arizona), C. McCully (G) (Rutgers U.):
“Studying the Most Powerful Gravitational Lens Telescopes with Subaru/Suprime-Cam”
GEM-N
1
J. Andrews (U. Mass), G. Clayton (Louisiana State U.), K. Krafton (G) (U. Mass), B. Sugerman
(Goucher College), M. Barlow (University College London), R. Wesson (ESO), J. Gallagher (U. of
Cincinnati), M. Otsuka (ASIAA), M. Matsuura (University College London), M. Meixner (STScI):
“Dust Formation in CCSNe with Extensive Mass Loss Histories”
GEM-SQ
0.49
G. Bakos, J. Hartman (Princeton U.), D. Bayliss (Australian National University), A. Jordan
(Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), B. Sato (Tokyo Institute of Technology): “Confirmation
of Transiting Neptunes from HATNet and HATSouth Using Keck/HIRES and Subaru/HDS”
GEM-N
1
T. Beers (NOAO), V. Placco (IAGUSP), N. Christlieb (Universität Heidelberg), S. Rossi, R.
Santucci (G) (IAGUSP): “Missing Metal-Poor Stars from the HK and Hamburg/ESO Surveys”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
6.667
E. Berger (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D. Fox (Pennsylvania State U.), R.
Chornock, W. Fong (G) (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), B. Cobb (George
Washington U.), S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), D. Perley (California Institute of
Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), J. Bloom (UC Berkeley), J. Prochaska (UC Santa Cruz), A.
Morgan (UC Berkeley), A. Cucchiara (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), A. Levan (University
of Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of Leicester), A. Fruchter (STScI), S. Lopez (Universidad de
Chile), K. Wiersema (University of Leicester), K. Roth (Gemini Observatory): “Exploring the
Cosmic Dawn, Galaxy Evolution, and Exotic Stellar Deaths with Rapid GRB Follow-up
Observations”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
1.125
0.675
W. Brandt, US Lead Scientist for P. Hall, P. Hidalgo (York University), W. Brandt (Pennsylvania
State U.), J. Rogerson (G) (York University), N. Filiz Ak (Pennsylvania State U.), L. Chajet (G)
(York University): “Monitoring Emergent Absorption Troughs in Quasars”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.5
0.48
C. Britt (Texas Technical U.), R. Hynes (Louisiana State U.), T. Maccarone (Texas Technical U.), P.
Jonker, M. Torres (SRON), C. Johnson (Louisiana State U.): “Spectroscopy of a New Candidate
Black Hole Discovered in Quiescence”
GEM-SQ
1.32
M. Brown (California Institute of Technology–Div of Geo and Planetary Science), L. Allen
(NOAO), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.): “The Birth Environment of the Solar System”
GEM-SQ
0.41
R. Bussmann (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D. Riechers (Cornell U.), J. Wardlow,
H. Fu, A. Cooray (UC Irvine), I. Perez-Fournon (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), J. Calanog (G)
(UC Irvine): “Gemini-South Imaging and Spectroscopy of ALMA Lensed SMGs Discovered by
Herschel”
GEM-SQ
0.725
A. Calamida, K. Sahu, S. Casertano, J. Anderson, T. Brown, H. Bond, H. Ferguson, M. Livio, J.
Sokol (O), J. Valenti (STScI), S. Cassisi (Osservatorio Astronomico di Teramo), M. Salaris
(Liverpool John Moores University): “The Nature of Hot Horizontal Branch and Blue Straggler Stars
in the Galactic Bulge”
GEM-SQ
1.6
S. Cantalupo (UC Santa Cruz), J. Hennawi (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), J. Prochaska (UC
Santa Cruz), F. Arrigoni Battaia (G) (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie): “Deep Lyman-alpha
Imaging of Luminous z ~ 2 Quasars: Testing the Cold Accretion Paradigm”
GEM-S
4

Key: GEM-NQ = Gemini N Queue; GEM-SQ = Gemini S Queue; GEM-N = Gemini N classical; GEM-S = Gemini S classical;
GEM-K = Gemini/Keck time exchange; GEM-Su = Gemini/Subaru time exchange; * = poor weather program; (T) = Thesis
student; (G) = Graduate student; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
188
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), J. Bloom (UC Berkeley), L. Strubbe (University of
Toronto), E. Quataert (UC Berkeley), N. Butler (Arizona State U.), A. Miller (G), A. Morgan (G)
(UC Berkeley), A. Levan (University of Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of Leicester): “Probing the
Central Black Holes of Distant, Quiescent Galaxies via Tidal Disruption Flares”
GEM-SQ
0.2
D. Cruikshank (NASA Ames Research Center), N. Pinilla-Alonso (U. of Tennessee), R. Binzel
(MIT): “Rotationally Resolved Spectrum of Pluto, Ices and Non-ice Surface Constituents”
GEM-SQ
1
I. Damjanov, US Lead Scientist for R. Bassett (G), K. Glazebrook, D. Fisher (Swinburne
University), R. Abraham (University of Toronto), I. Damjanov (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics): “Local Counterparts to High-Redshift Turbulent Galaxies: What are the Stellar
Kinematics?”
GEM-SQ
1.36
R. De Rosa, J. Patience (Arizona State U.), A. Vigan (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), P.
Young, A. Rajan (G), K. Ward-Duong (G) (Arizona State U.), J. Bulger (G) (University of Exeter),
A. Truitt (Arizona State U.): “Spectroscopic Characterization of a Newly-Identified Substellar
Companion to an Early-Type Star”
GEM-NQ
0.29
K. Denney (Ohio State U.), F. Courbin (École Polytechnique de Lausanne), C. Kochanek (Ohio
State U.), C. MacLeod (US Naval Academy), G. Meylan (École Polytechnique de Lausanne), C.
Morgan (US Naval Academy), A. Mosquera (Ohio State U.), L. Moustakas (CalTech-JPL), C.
Onken (MSSSO), B. Peterson (Ohio State U.), D. Sluse (Universität Bonn): “Reverberation
Mapping of a Gravitationally-Lensed Quasar”
GEM-NQ
1.438
V. Desai (IPAC), P. Jablonka (École Polytechnique de Lausanne), G. Rudnick (U. of Kansas), D.
Just (University of Toronto), A. Aragaon-Salamanca (University of Nottingham), G. de Lucia
(Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste), R. Finn (Siena College), B. Milvang-Jensen (Dark
Cosmology Center), B. Poggianti (Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova), D. Zaritsky (U. of
Arizona), F. Rerat (École Polytechnique de Lausanne): “Large Scale Structures around Typical
Clusters at Intermediate Redshift”
GEM-SQ
2.35
J. Desert (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J. Bean (U. of Chicago), J. Fortney (UC
Santa Cruz), M. Bergmann (NOAO), D. Deming (U. of Maryland), S. Seager (MIT), A. Seifahrt (U.
of Chicago): “Comparative Exoplanetology of Hot-Jupiter Prototypes”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
3.512
1.488
D. Figer (Rochester Institute of Technology), N. Bastian, B. Davies (Liverpool John Moores
University), M. Andersen (Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble): “Constraining
the Properties of GLIMPSE-C01 – Potentially the Most Massive Young Cluster in the Galaxy”
GEM-SQ
0.46
D. Fox (Pennsylvania State U.), E. Berger, R. Chornock, W. Fong (G) (Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics), B. Cobb (George Washington U.), S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Perley (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), J. Bloom (UC
Berkeley), J. Prochaska (UC Santa Cruz), A. Morgan (G) (UC Berkeley), A. Cucchiara (NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center), A. Levan (University of Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of
Leicester), A. Fruchter (STScI), S. Lopez (Universidad de Chile), K. Wiersema (University of
Leicester), K. Roth (Gemini Observatory): “Exploring Exotic Stellar Deaths with Standard TOO
GRB Follow-up Observations”
GEM-SQ
0.3
M. Fumagalli (Carnegie Observatories), J. Hennawi (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), A. Myers
(U. of Wyoming): “Resolving the Small-Scale Structure of the Circumgalactic Medium at z ~ 3”
GEM-SQ
3
C. Gelino (NEXScI), J. Kirkpatrick (IPAC), M. Cushing (U. of Toledo), G. Mace (G) (UCLA), A.
Schneider (U. of Toledo), N. Wright (UCLA), S. Fajardo-Acosta (IPAC), M. Skrutskie (U. of
Virginia): “Photometric Follow-up of All WISE Brown Dwarf Candidates”
GEM-SQ
2.4
A. Ghez, US Lead Scientist for T. Do (University of Toronto), A. Ghez (UCLA), J. Lu (U. of
Hawaii), S. Yelda, L. Meyer (UCLA), N. Murray, M. Stostad (O) (University of Toronto):
“Determining the Orgin and Structure of the Young Stellar Disk at the Galactic Center with NIFS”
GEM-NQ
0.2
189
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
D. Gies, US Lead Scientist for S. Caballero-Nieves (University of Sheffield), D. Gies (Georgia State
U.), P. Crowther (University of Sheffield), D. Kiminki (U. of Arizona), H. Kobulnicky (U. of
Wyoming), R. Matson (G) (Georgia State U.), N. Wright (University of Hertfordshire): “Young
Companions to Massive Stars in Cygnus OB2”
GEM-NQ
0.27
M. Graham (UC Berkeley), D. Sand (Texas Technical U.), J. Parrent (G) (Dartmouth College), D.
Howell, S. Valenti (UC Santa Barbara), P. Mazzali (Liverpool John Moores University):
“Understanding the Power Source in Type Ia Supernovae with Nebular Phase Spectroscopy”
GEM-SQ
1.007
H. Guenther (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), P. Scheider (Hamburger Sternwarte),
S. Wolk (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “Proto-stellar Jets in the Making”
GEM-NQ
0.3
K. Hainline, R. Hickox (Dartmouth College), G. Liu, N. Zakamska (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Greene
(Princeton U.): “Exploring the Narrow Line Region Sizes of IR-Luminous Type II QSOs with
GMOS-IFU Data”
GEM-NQ
0.81
A. Heinze, US Lead Scientist for S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario), A. Heinze (SUNY),
R. Kurtev (Valparaiso U.), K. Kellogg (G) (University of Western Ontario): “Unraveling the Cloud
Structure in the Brightest Brown Dwarfs”
GEM-S
0.5
J. Homan (MIT), E. Berger (University of Amsterdam): “Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the
Brightest Neutron-Star X-ray Binaries”
GEM-SQ
0.51
P. Jonker (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), S. Eikenberry (U. of Florida), M. Torres
(SRON), D. Steeghs (University of Warwick), D. Chakrabarty (MIT): “The Unique Opportunity to
Determine the Mass of an Accreting Neutron Star: The Eclipsing Accretion Powered X-ray Pulsar
SWIFTJ1749.4-2807”
GEM-SQ
0.9
W. Keel, P. Maksym (U. of Alabama), V. Bennert (California Polytechnic State U.), K. Schawinski
(ETH), C. Lintott (University of Oxford), M. Schirmer (Gemini Observatory South), S. Chojnoski
(O) (U. of Virginia): “Fading AGN with Giant Ionized Clouds: Mode Switching and Outflows”
GEM-NQ
1.25
B. Keeney, J. Stocke, D. Syphers, C. Danforth (U. of Colorado), B. Wakker, B. Savage (U. of
Wisconsin, Madison), S. Morris (University of Durham): “Confirming the Discovery of Massive 106
K Gas Reservoirs in Spiral-Rich Galaxy Groups”
GEM-NQ
2.2
M. Kilic (U. of Oklahoma), J. Hermes (University of Warwick), A. Gianninas (U. of Oklahoma), W.
Brown (SAO): “A Search for Pulsating White Dwarf Companions to Millisecond Pulsars”
GEM-NQ
0.4
S. Leggett (Gemini Observatory), D. Pinfield (University of Hertfordshire), M. Ruiz (Universidad de
Chile), M. Marley (NASA Ames Research Center), D. Saumon (LANL), C. Morley (O) (UC Santa
Cruz), J. Gomes (University of Hertfordshire), A. Day-Jones (University of Leicester), M.
Gromadzki, R. Kurtev (Universidad de Valparaiso), N. Lodieu (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias),
R. Smart (Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino), J. Faherty (Carnegie Institution of Washington):
“Discovering and Characterizing New Y Dwarfs at the Faint Limits of WISE”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
2.42
3.081
S. Leggett (Gemini Observatory), D. Saumon (LANL), M. Marley (NASA Ames Research Center),
C. Morley (O) (UC Santa Cruz): “Y Dwarf Characterization”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.96
0.513
G. Liu, N. Zakamska (Johns Hopkins U.), M. Strauss, J. Greene (Princeton U.), R. Alexandroff (G)
(Johns Hopkins U.): “Quasar Feedback at the Peak of the Galaxy Formation Epoch”
GEM-NQ
1
G. Liu (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Greene (Princeton U.), E. Glikman (Middlebury College), N.
Zakamska (Johns Hopkins U.): “Feedback in Luminous Red Quasars at z ~ 0.5”
GEM-NQ
1.42
J. Lu (U. of Hawaii), W. Clarkson (U. of Michigan Dearborn): “Young Massive Clusters in the
Milky Way”
GEM-SQ
2.25
J. Lu, Lead Scientist for T. Do (University of Toronto), J. Lu (U. of Hawaii), J. Simon (Carnegie
Observatories), A. Peter (Ohio State U.), M. Boylan-Kolchin (U. of Maryland): “Measuring the
Orbital History of the Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxy Hercules with GSAOI”
GEM-SQ
0.3
190
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
A. Mann (U. of Texas, Austin), N. Deacon (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), K. Allers
(Bucknell U.), J. Brewer (Yale U.), E. Magnier, M. Liu (U. of Hawaii): “Prospecting in Ultracool
Dwarfs: Measuring the Metallicity of L dwarfs”
GEM-NQ
0.88
H. Melin (Space Environment Technologies), S. Badman, T. Stallard (University of Leicester), S.
Miller (University College London), L. Moore (Boston U.), J. O’Donoghue, J. Blake (University of
Leicester): “Energy Flows in the Auroral Region of Saturn”
GEM-N
4
N. Moskovitz (MIT), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), C. Thomas (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Polishook, F. DeMeo, R. Binzel (MIT), P. Abell (NASA Johnson Space Center), M.
Person (MIT), M. Busch (CalTech-JPL), M. Willman (U. of Hawaii), E. Christensen (Lunar and
Planetary Lab), T. Endicott (U) (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), M. Hinkle (Northern Arizona U.):
“Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
2.25
1.3
C. O’Dea (Rochester Institute of Technology), G. Tremblay (ESO), A. Labiano (CAB), S. Baum
(Rochester Institute of Technology), R. McDermid (Macquarie University), F. Combes
(Observatoire de Paris), S. Garcia-Burillo (Observatorio Astronómico F. Aguilar): “A Sleeping Giant
Awakened: Reignition of AGN Activity, Reborn Star Formation, and a Multiphase Outflow in One
of the Largest Radio Galaxies Known”
GEM-NQ
0.57
T. Oka (U. of Chicago), T. Geballe (Gemini Observatory): “Study of the Gas in the Central
Molecular Zone of the Galactic Center by H3+ Spectroscopy (Continuation)”
GEM-NQ
1.1
J. Pforr, M. Dickinson, H. Inami, J. Kartaltepe (NOAO), S. Juneau (CEA), B. Weiner (U. of
Arizona), H. Ferguson (STScI), E. Daddi, D. Elbaz (CEA), M. Giavalisco (U. Mass), A. Koekemoer
(STScI), M. Pannella (CEA), A. Pope (U. Mass), P. Popesso (Max-Planck-Institut für
extraterrestrische Physik), N. Reddy (UC Riverside): “A GMOS Spectroscopy Survey of Herschel
Sources in the CANDELS COSMOS Field”
GEM-NQ
3.5
M. Phillips (Carnegie Institution of Washington), E. Hsiao, C. Contreras, N. Morrell (Carnegie
Observatories), C. Lidman, S. Ryder (Australian Astronomical Observatory), M. Stritzinger
(University of Aarhus), B. Schmidt (Australian National University), H. Marion (HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Type Ia Supernovae”
GEM-NQ
1
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (NYU), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), T.
Matheson (NOAO), J. Prieto (Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith (NOAO), N. Smith (U. of
Arizona), N. Walborn (STScI), D. Welch (McMaster University): “Spectrophotometric Time Series
of Carinae’s Great Eruption”
GEM-SQ
1.35
A. Rettura (CalTech-JPL), S. Stanford (UC Davis), D. Stern (CalTech-JPL), S. Mei (IPAC), M.
Brodwin (U. of Missouri, Kansas City), A. Gonzalez, D. Gettings (U. of Florida), M. Ashby
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J. Bartlett (CalTech-JPL), P. Rosati (ESO): “The
GMOS-S Imaging Survey of the Most Distant Clusters in the Spitzer SPT Deep Field”
GEM-SQ
2
S. Rodney (Johns Hopkins U.), R. Foley (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), S. Jha, C. McCully (G),
B. Patel (G) (Rutgers U.), T. Matheson (NOAO): “The Next Frontier: High-Redshift Supernovae in
the HST Frontier Fields”
GEM-SQ
0.75
D. Sand (Texas Technical U.), M. Graham (UC Berkeley), D. Zaritsky (U. of Arizona), C. Pritchet,
S. Fabbro, C. Bildfell, J. Kezwer (University of Victoria), J. Kneib (École Polytechnique de
Lausanne), R. Gavazzi (IAP), M. Limousin, E. Jullo (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille), H.
Hoekstra (Leiden University), Y. Lin, B. Hsieh (ASIAA): “Spectroscopy of Lensed and Intracluster
Supernovae at Intermediate Redshift”
GEM-SQ
0.5
D. Sand (Texas Technical U.), S. Valenti, D. Howell, M. Graham (UC Santa Barbara), J. Parrent
(Dartmouth College): “Constraining Type Ia Supernova Physics with Near-Infrared Spectroscopy”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.898
1.272
R. Sankrit (NASA Ames Research Center), W. Blair (Johns Hopkins U.), K. Long (STScI), P.
Winkler (Middlebury College): “Shock Velocities in Kepler’s Supernova Remnant, and Spectra of
Progenitor-Companion Candidates”
GEM-SQ
1.15
191
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
A. Sarajedini, US Lead Scientist for T. Puzia, S. Perina, M. Simunovic, M. Taylor (Pontifícia
Universidad Católica de Chile), R. Carrasco (Gemini Observatory South), B. Miller (Gemini
Observatory), P. Pessev (Gemini Observatory South), A. Sarajedini (U. of Florida), P. Goudfrooij
(STScI), A. Dotter (Australian National University): “The GeMS/GSAOI Galactic Globular Cluster
Survey (G4CS)”
GEM-SQ
0.3
K. Schlaufman (MIT), A. Casey (Australian National University): “The Brightest (and Therefore
Best) Extremely Metal-Poor Stars”
GEM-SQ
1.7
K. Sellgren (Ohio State U.), D. An (Ewha Woman’s University), A. Boogert, S. Ramirez (IPAC):
“Characterization of Methanol Ice around Massive YSOs in the Galactic Center”
GEM-NQ
0.5
A. Seth (U. of Utah), L. Spitler (Macquarie University), S. Mieske (ESO), J. Strader (Michigan State
U.), H. Baumgardt (University of Queensland), R. Van Den Bosch (Max-Planck-Institut für
Astronomie), N. Neumayer (ESO), I. Chilingarian (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics),
R. McDermid (Macquarie University): “Resolving the Nature of Ultracompact Dwarfs”
GEM-NQ
1.17
K. Sharon (U. of Michigan), M. Gladders (U. of Chicago), T. Johnson (G) (U. of Michigan), M.
Bayliss (Harvard U.), J. Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center): “Resolving the Star
Formation in Distant Galaxies”
GEM-N
3
J. Spencer (Southwest Research Institute), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), M. Buie (Southwest
Research Institute), A. Parker (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D. Tholen (U. of
Hawaii), S. Stern (Southwest Research Institute): “Finding KBO Flyby Targets for New Horizons”
GEM-N
2
L. Stanghellini (NOAO), L. Magrini (Osservatorio Astrosico di Arcetri), V. Casasola (INAF): “The
M81 Radial Metallicity Gradient and Its Discontinuity through HII Region Weak-Line Abundances”
GEM-NQ
0.05
L. Trafton (U. of Texas, Austin), S. Kim (Kyunghee University), T. Geballe (Gemini Observatory):
“Hemispherical Constraint of Titan’s Methane Cycle”
GEM-NQ
1.6
J. Tumlinson, R. Bordoloi (STScI), J. O’Meara (St. Michael’s College), J. Werk (UC Santa Cruz):
“The CGM in HD: New Maps of Galactic Accretion, Quenching, and Chemical Feedback in the
Circumgalactic Medium”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
2
2
P. Winkler (Middlebury College), K. Long (STScI), W. Blair (Johns Hopkins U.): “Supernova
Remnants in the Most Fertile Galaxy: NGC 6946”
GEM-NQ
2.07
P. Winkler (Middlebury College), K. Long (STScI), J. Raymond (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics): “Fast SNR Shocks and Cosmic Rays: Unique Opportunities in SN 1006”
GEM-SQ
2.84
J. Woo (Carnegie Observatories), K. Gultekin (U. of Michigan), D. Park, Y. Yoon (G) (Seoul
National University): “Investigating the M-sigma Relation Using Rotation-Corrected Velocity
Dispersions”
GEM-NQ
0.521
S. Zepf (Michigan State U.), T. Maccarone (Texas Technical U.), M. Steele (Northern Michigan
University), A. Kundu (Tata Institute for Fundamental Research): “Long-Term X-ray and Optical
Study of the Black Hole X-ray Binaries in the Elliptical Galaxies NGC 4472”
GEM-SQ
0.72
M. Brodwin (U. of Missouri, Kansas City), D. Gettings (T), A. Gonzalez (U. of Florida), S.
Stanford (UC Davis), P. Eisenhardt, D. Stern (CalTech-JPL), D. Wylezalek (ESO): “Massive
Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS)”
GEM-NQ
3.33
R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), K. Roth (Gemini Observatory), E.
Berger, R. Lunnan (T), A. Soderberg (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A. Rest
(STScI), R. Foley (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), R. Margutti (Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics): “Unveiling the Explosion Physics of Nature’s Most Luminous Supernovae”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.61
0.61
Thesis Programs (18)
192
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
B. Clement (U. of Arizona), J. Cuby, S. Basa, J. Chatron (T) (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de
Marseille), C. Willott (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics): “Photometric Downselection of z ~ 7
Quasars from the CFHQSIR Survey”
GEM-NQ
0.57
K. de Kleer (T), I. de Pater (UC Berkeley), A. Davies (CalTech-JPL): “Linking Io’s Volcanic
Activity to Plasma Torus Variability”
GEM-NQ
2
J. Faherty, US Lead Scientist for C. Tinney, D. Opitz (T) (University of New South Wales), J.
Faherty (Carnegie Institution of Washington), C. Gelino (IPAC): “MCAO Astrometry of WISE
Y Dwarfs”
GEM-SQ
0.74
D. Figer, US Lead Scientist for F. Najarro (CAB), D. Figer (Rochester Institute of Technology),
T. Geballe (Gemini Observatory), A. Fuente (T) (CAB): “Massive Stars in Clusters and in
Isolation in the Galactic Center: Origins, IMFs, and Chemical Enrichment Histories”
GEM-NQ
1
A. Ghez, L. Meyer (UCLA), J. Lu (U. of Hawaii), T. Do (University of Toronto), S. Yelda
(UCLA), B. Ellerbroek (Thirty Meter Telescope), M. Morris, E. Becklin (UCLA), M. van Dam
(Flat Wavefronts), M. Schoeck (Thirty Meter Telescope), G. Witzel, B. Sitarski (T), A. Boehle
(T) (UCLA): “Using MCAO to Enable Unique Test of General Relativity at the Galactic Center”
GEM-SQ
0.72
A. Heinze, US Lead Scientist for S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario), A. Heinze
(SUNY), D. Apai, D. Flateau (T) (U. of Arizona), M. Marley (NASA Ames Research Center):
“Weather on Other Worlds: Magnetic Fields or Clouds?”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.4
0.45
J. Holtzman, US Lead Scientist for N. Ouellette (T), S. Courteau (Queen’s University), J.
Holtzman (New Mexico State U.), T. Puzia, M. Bovill (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile),
M. Cappellari (University of Oxford), P. Cote (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics), J. Dalcanton
(U. of Washington), A. Dutton (Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik), P. Eigenthaler (Pontifícia
Universidad Católica de Chile), E. Emsellem (ESO), L. Ferrarese (Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics), M. McDonald (MIT), R. Muñoz (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), J.
Roediger (Queen’s University), R. Tully (U. of Hawaii): “Populating the Virgo Velocity Function
with Early-Type Galaxies at Gemini”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
2
0.75
M. Kasliwal (Carnegie Institution of Washington), Y. Cao (T) (California Institute of
Technology-Dept of Physics, Math, Astronomy), S. Kulkarni (California Institute of TechnologyDept. of Astronomy), E. Ofek, A. Gal-Yam (Weizmann Institute of Science), A. Goobar (Oskar
Klein Center), P. Nugent (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), P. Wozniak (LANL), R.
Quimby (Institute of Physics and Mathematics of The University of Tokyo), I. Arcavi (UC Santa
Barbara), S. Ben-Ami (G) (Weizmann Institute of Science): “Rapid Spectroscopy of Elusive
Transients and Young Supernovae”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.48
0.42
D. Lena (T), A. Robinson (Rochester Institute of Technology), T. Storchi-Bergmann, A. SchnorrMuller (UFRGS), R. Riffel, C. Brum (T), G. Couto (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria):
“Mapping Sub-kpc Gas Flows in a Sample of Nearby, Hard X-ray Selected AGNs”
GEM-NQ
0.76
D. Lena (T), A. Robinson (Rochester Institute of Technology), T. Storchi-Bergmann (UFRGS),
R. Riffel (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria), A. Schnorr-Muller (UFRGS), C. Brum (T), G.
Couto (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria): “Mapping Sub-kpc Gas Flows in a Sample of
Nearby, Hard X-ray Selected AGNs”
GEM-SQ
0.95
R. McGurk (T), C. Max (UC Santa Cruz), G. Shields (U. of Texas, Austin): “Exploring the
Origin of Double-Peaked Emission Lines in AGN”
GEM-NQ
1.84
R. Patel (T) (SUNY), S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario): “Confirmation of Debris
Disks from WISE Using High Resolution Mid-IR Imaging”
GEM-N
1
193
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Programs for US Time (66), and Theses (18) 
Telescope
Nights
GEM-N
3
O. Shemmer (U. of North Texas), S. Anderson (U. of Washington), W. Brandt (Pennsylvania
State U.), A. Diamond-Stanic (UC San Diego), X. Fan (U. of Arizona), P. Hall (York
University), P. Lira (Universidad de Chile), B. Luo (Pennsylvania State U.), H. Netzer (Tel Aviv
University), R. Plotkin (U. of Michigan), G. Richards (Drexel U.), D. Schneider (Pennsylvania
State U.), M. Stein (T) (U. of North Texas), M. Strauss (Princeton U.), B. Trakhtenbrot
(Weizmann Institute of Science), R. Wang (U. of Arizona), J. Wu (Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics): “Weak Line Quasars at High Redshift: Unusual Ionization Conditions or
Anemic Broad-Line Regions?”
GEM-NQ
0.75
V. Tilvi, C. Papovich (Texas A&M U.), S. Finkelstein (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Dickinson
(NOAO), S. Faber (UC Santa Cruz), H. Ferguson (STScI), G. Fazio (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), B. Salmon (T) (Texas A&M U.), B. Mobasher (UC Riverside), N.
Mehrtens (Texas A&M U.), A. Koekemoer (STScI), M. Giavalisco (U. Mass), R. Livermore (U.
of Texas, Austin), J. Trump (Pennsylvania State U.): “Completing the Galaxy Census from z = 0
to z ~ 7 in the CANDELS/COSMOS Field”
GEM-NQ
0.1
N. Zakamska, G. Liu, R. Alexandroff (T) (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Greene, M. Strauss (Princeton
U.): “Quasar Feedback at the Peak of Galaxy Formation Epoch”
GEM-NQ
0.46
Gemini Telescopes: 2014A Approved Foreign Programs for US Time (2), and Theses (1) 
Telescope
Nights
A. Kong, P. Yen (G) (NTHU): “Searching for the Optical Counterparts of Gamma-ray Emitting
Black Widow-Type Millisecond Pulsars”
GEM-SQ
0.25
J. Shinn (KASI), M. Hoare, S. Lumsden (University of Leeds): “Study on the Accretion of Massive
Young Stellar Objects Using the Outflow Features around Ultracompact H II Regions”
GEM-NQ
1.8
GEM-SQ
1.85
J. Rigby (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), M. Gladders (U. of Chicago), E. Wuyts (MaxPlanck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), K. Sharon, J. Kellar (T) (U. of Michigan), M.
Bayliss (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “The z ~ 2 Mass-Metallicity Relation
from Lensed Galaxies”
Foreign Thesis Programs (1)
P. Chiang (T), W. Chen (National Central University): “Population of Planetary Objects in the
Ophiuchi Star-Forming Region”

Key: GEM-NQ = Gemini N Queue; GEM-SQ = Gemini S Queue; GEM-N = Gemini N classical; GEM-S = Gemini S classical;
GEM-K = Gemini/Keck time exchange; GEM-Su = Gemini/Subaru time exchange; * = poor weather program; (T) = Thesis
student; (G) = Graduate student; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
194
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Semester 2014B
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
K. Allers (Bucknell U.), A. Skemer (U. of Arizona), J. Faherty (Carnegie Institution of Washington),
M. Marley (NASA Ames Research Center): “Clouds and Non-Equilibrium Chemistry in Brown
Dwarf and Exoplanet Atmospheres”
GEM-NQ
0.8
S. Ammons (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), C. Marois (Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics), B. Macintosh (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Q. Konopacky (University
of Toronto), B. Neichel (Gemini Observatory), R. Galicher (Observatoire de Paris), E. Bendek
(NASA Ames Research Center), O. Guyon (U. of Arizona): “A Test of GEMS Astrometric
Precision for Exoplanet Detection and Mass Measurement”
GEM-SQ
0.15
A. Banzatti, J. Muzerolle (STScI), J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Richter (UC Davis), E. Rigliaco
(U. of Arizona): “Water Vapor in Planet-Formation Regions: Pinpointing the Effects of Variable UV
Radiation”
GEM-NQ
1.02
T. Beers (NOAO), V. Placco (Gemini Observatory), N. Christlieb (Universität Heidelberg), Y. Lee
(New Mexico State U.), R. Santucci (G), S. Rossi (IAGUSP): “Missing Metal-Poor Stars from the
HK and Hamburg/ESO Surveys”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
5
5
B. Benson (U. of Chicago), D. Applegate, T. Schrabback (Universität Bonn), J. Carlstrom (U. of
Chicago), J. Dietrich (Universitäts-Sternwarte München), A. Von Der Linden, S. Allen (Stanford
U.): “Slaying Systematics: Maximizing Cosmological Power from HST-Measured Weak Lensing
Masses of High-Redshift Clusters”
GEM-SQ
2.5
A. Burrows, US Lead Scientist for T. Currie (University of Toronto), A. Burrows (Princeton U.), S.
Kenyon (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), R. Cloutier (University of Toronto), N.
Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge), S. Matsumura (University of Dundee), Y. Itoh (University
of Hyogo): “A GPI Investigation of Clouds and Chemistry in Planets Orbiting HR 8799”
GEM-SQ
0.36
R. Bussmann, D. Riechers (Cornell U.), J. Wardlow (University of Copenhagen), H. Fu (U. of Iowa),
A. Cooray (UC Irvine), I. Perez-Fournon (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), J. Calanog (G) (UC
Irvine), S. Oliver (University of Sussex), J. Bock (CalTech-JPL): “Completing Gemini-South
Optical Imaging of ALMA Lensed SMGs Discovered by Herschel”
GEM-SQ
0.44
S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), J. Bloom (UC Berkeley), L. Strubbe (CITA), E.
Quataert (UC Berkeley), N. Butler (Arizona State U.), A. Miller (California Institute of TechnologyDept. of Astronomy), A. Levan (University of Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of Leicester), I.
Arcavi (UC Santa Barbara), L. Yan (IPAC): “Tidal Disruption Flares as Probes of Super-Massive
Black Holes and Accretion Physics”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.2
0.2
G. Clayton (Louisiana State U.), T. Geballe (Gemini Observatory), D. Welch (McMaster
University), P. Tisserand (Australian National University): “Using 16O/18O to Determine the
Evolutionary History of the R Coronae Borealis Stars”
GEM-SQ
1.43
A. Cucchiara (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), E. Berger (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics), S. Cenko (UC Berkeley), B. Schmidt (Australian National University), D. Perley
(California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), D. Fox (Pennsylvania State U.), A.
Fruchter (STScI), J. Bloom (UC Berkeley), J. Prochaska (UC Santa Cruz), S. Lopez (Universidad de
Chile), B. Cobb (George Washington U.), K. Roth (Gemini Observatory), A. Levan (University of
Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of Leicester), S. Rapoport (G), F. Yuan (Australian National
University), R. Chornock, F. Wen-Fai (G) (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A.
Morgan (UC Berkeley), K. Wiersema (University of Leicester): “Exploring the first stars with Rapid
GRB Follow-up Observations”
GEM-NQ
1.08

Key: GEM-NQ = Gemini N Queue; GEM-SQ = Gemini S Queue; GEM-N = Gemini N classical; GEM-S = Gemini S classical;
GEM-K = Gemini/Keck time exchange; GEM-Su = Gemini/Subaru time exchange; * = poor weather program; (T) = Thesis
student; (G) = Graduate student; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
195
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
A. Cucchiara (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), D. Fox (Pennsylvania State U.), E. Berger, R.
Chornock, W. Fong (G) (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), B. Cobb (George
Washington U.), S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), D. Perley (California Institute of
Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), J. Bloom (UC Berkeley), J. Prochaska (UC Santa Cruz), A.
Morgan (G) (UC Berkeley), A. Levan (University of Warwick), N. Tanvir (University of Leicester),
A. Fruchter (STScI), S. Lopez (Universidad de Chile), K. Wiersema (University of Leicester), K.
Roth (Gemini Observatory): “Exploring Exotic Stellar Deaths with Standard TOO GRB Follow-up
Observations”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.3
0.3
J. Cummings (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Kalirai (STScI): “Search for Binaries in the Extended
Horizontal Branch of NGC 6791”
GEM-NQ
0.68
J. Desert (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J. Bean (U. of Chicago), J. Fortney (UC
Santa Cruz), M. Bergmann (NOAO), D. Deming (U. of Maryland), S. Seager (MIT), A. Seifahrt (U.
of Chicago): “Comparative Exoplanetology of Hot-Jupiter Prototypes”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
3.512
1.488
M. Drahus (CalTech-JPL), D. Jewitt (UCLA), W. Waniak (Jagiellonian University), J. Agarwal
(MPI for Solar System Research): “The Activated Asteroid P/2012 F5 (Gibbs)”
GEM-NQ
1
J. Emery (U. of Tennessee), J. Bell (Arizona State U.), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), J. Patience
(Arizona State U.), M. Brown (California Institute of Technology--Div of Geo and Planetary
Science): “Where Did the Trojan Asteroids Form? Constraints from Composition and Size
Distributions”
GEM-NQ
1.6
C. Gelino (NEXScI), J. Kirkpatrick (IPAC), M. Cushing (U. of Toledo), G. Mace (G) (UCLA), A.
Schneider (U. of Toledo), N. Wright (UCLA), S. Fajardo-Acosta (IPAC), M. Skrutskie (U. of
Virginia): “Photometric Follow-Up of AllWISE Brown Dwarf Candidates”
GEM-SQ
1.68
H. Guenther (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), P. Scheider (Hamburger Sternwarte),
S. Wolk (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “Proto-stellar Jets in the Making”
GEM-NQ
0.6
S. Heinis, S. Gezari (U. of Maryland): “Probing the Faint End of the Redshift ~ 6 Quasars
Luminosity Function”
GEM-NQ
1.26
T. Hillwig (Valparaiso U.), D. Jones (Universidad de Atacama), S. Margheim (Gemini Observatory
South): “Determining Stellar Parameters of Eclipsing Binary Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae”
GEM-SQ
1.52
L. Ho (Carnegie Observatories), S. Huang (G) (Nanjing University), R. Mason (Gemini
Observatory): “Did the Primordial Cores of Massive Elliptical Galaxies Have a Bottom-Heavy
IMF?”
GEM-NQ
1.6
J. Homan (MIT), M. Van Den Berg (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), P. Jonker
(SRON): “The Puzzling Mass Donor in the Galactic Halo X-ray Binary MAXI J0556-332”
GEM-SQ
0.31
D. Howell (UC Santa Barbara), D. Moon (University of Toronto), S. Valenti, I. Arcavi (UC Santa
Barbara), D. Sand (Texas Technical University), H. Marion (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Sullivan
(University of Southampton), M. Graham (UC Berkeley), C. Baltay (Yale U.), C. Wheeler, J.
Silverman (U. of Texas, Austin), E. Hsiao, M. Phillips (Carnegie Observatories), X. Wang (NTHU),
L. Wang (Texas A&M U.), S. Crawford (SAAO), M. Childress (Australian National University), S.
Smartt (Queen’s University Belfast), A. Conley (U. of Colorado), M. Smith, B. Bassett (SAAO), E.
Levesque (U. of Colorado), J. Vinko (University of Szeged), D. Rabinowitz, N. Ellman, R.
McKinnon (Yale U.), R. Scalzo, B. Schmidt, F. Yuan (Australian National University), R. Maartens
(UWC), A. Tekola, E. Kasai (SAAO), H. Niu, G. Feng, A. Esamdin (Xinjiang Astronomical
Observatory), G. Hosseinzadeh (G) (UC Santa Barbara): “The LCOGT Supernova Key Project”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.900
0.900
S. Howell (NASA Ames Research Center), E. Horch (SCSU), M. Everett (NOAO), D. Ciardi
(IPAC), J. Teske (U. of Arizona): “Characterization of the Properties of Binary Exoplanet Host
Stars”
GEM-NQ
3
196
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
H. Inami (NOAO), S. Stierwalt (U. of Virginia), L. Armus (IPAC), S. Haan (CSIRO), T. DiazSantos (IPAC), M. Dickinson (NOAO), J. Surace (IPAC): “Star Formation in Giant Clumps in NGC
1961: A Local Analog of High-z Normal Star-Forming Galaxies?”
GEM-NQ
0.81
N. Indriolo, D. Neufeld (Johns Hopkins U.), M. Richter (UC Davis), J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin),
S. Doty (Denison U.), C. Dewitt (G) (U. of Florida): “Chemical and Physical Structure of Massive
Protostars”
GEM-NQ
1.05
L. Jiang (Arizona State U.), E. Egami (U. of Arizona), Z. Zheng (Arizona State U.): “Spectroscopic
Identification of Three Lyman_alpha Emitters at z ~ 7”
GEM-SQ
1.98
S. Kane (San Francisco State U.), D. Ciardi (IPAC), S. Howell (NASA Ames Research Center), A.
Howard (U. of Hawaii), J. Wright (Pennsylvania State U.): “Searching for Wide-Binary Companions
to Exoplanet Host Stars”
GEM-NQ
2
W. Keel, US Lead Scientist for M. Schirmer (Gemini Observatory South), R. Davies (Australian
National University), W. Keel (U. of Alabama), J. Turner (Gemini Observatory South), T. Nagao
(Kyoto University), H. Fu (U. of Iowa), N. Levenson, R. Diaz (Gemini Observatory South):
“Characterizing Quasar Ionization Echoes - towards Long-Term AGN Light Curves”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.88
1.77
M. Knight (Lowell Observatory), C. Snodgrass (MPI for Solar System Research), B. Conn (Gemini
Observatory South), J. Li (PSI): “Multi-scale Investigation of the Coma of Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko: Combined Gemini and Rosetta Study of Early Activity”
GEM-SQ
2.05
J. Lacy, D. Jaffe (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Richter (UC Davis), T. Liu (Peking University): “A Study
of the NGC 7538 IRS 1 HIgh-Mass Star Formation Region”
GEM-NQ
0.4
S. Leggett (Gemini Observatory), C. Morley (UC Santa Cruz), M. Marley (NASA Ames Research
Center), D. Saumon (LANL): “Exploring the 300K Brown Dwarfs”
GEM-SQ
1.2
G. Liu, N. Zakamska (Johns Hopkins U.), M. Strauss, J. Greene (Princeton U.), R. Alexandroff
(Johns Hopkins U.): “Quasar Feedback at the Peak of the Galaxy Formation Epoch”
GEM-NQ
1
T. Maccarone (Texas Technical University), J. Steiner, J. McClintock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics), J. Orosz (San Diego State U.), D. Walton (California Institute of TechnologyDept. of Astronomy): “Determining the Mass of a Putative Heavy Stellar Black Hole”
GEM-NQ
0.75
A. Mann (U. of Texas, Austin), N. Deacon (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), K. Allers
(Bucknell U.), J. Brewer (Yale U.), E. Magnier, M. Liu, K. Aller (G) (U. of Hawaii): “Prospecting in
Ultracool Dwarfs: Measuring the Metallicity of L Dwarfs”
GEM-NQ
1.42
C. Melis, US Lead Scientist for J. Farihi (University College London), C. Melis (UC San Diego):
“The IR Excess at the Massive WD 0236+498: Planet?”
GEM-NQ
0.13
D. Milisavljevic, R. Margutti, K. Crabtree (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J. Foster
(Yale U.), R. Fesen (Dartmouth College), J. Parrent, M. Drout, A. Kamble (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), S. Cenko (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), J. Silverman (U. of
Texas, Austin), A. Filippenko (UC Berkeley), P. Mazzali (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), K.
Maeda (Kyoto University), H. Marion (U. of Texas, Austin), A. Soderberg (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics): “A Search For Time-Varying Diffuse Interstellar Bands in Moderate
Resolution Supernova Spectra”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.8
0.4
J. Monnier, US Lead Scientist for S. Kraus (University of Exeter), J. Monnier (U. of Michigan), S.
Hinkley (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), M. Ireland (Macquarie
University), C. Espaillat (Boston U.): “Imaging Disk Asymmetries and Planet Formation in a Pretransitional Disk”
GEM-SQ
0.8
197
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
B. Montet (G) (California Institute of Technology--Exolab), B. Bowler (California Institute of
Technology--Div of Geo and Planetary Science), A. Kraus (U. of Texas, Austin), L. Hillenbrand
(California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy): “Probing Fundamental Properties of PreMain Sequence M Dwarfs”
GEM-NQ
0.3
N. Moskovitz (MIT), D. Trilling (Northern Arizona U.), C. Thomas (NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center), D. Polishook, F. DeMeo, R. Binzel (MIT), P. Abell (NASA Johnson Space Center), M.
Person (MIT), M. Busch (CalTech-JPL), M. Willman (U. of Hawaii), E. Christensen (Lunar and
Planetary Lab), T. Endicott (U) (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), M. Hinkle (Northern Arizona U.):
“Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
4.5
1.3
J. Najita (NOAO), J. Carr (Naval Research Laboratory), C. Salyk (NOAO), M. Richter (UC Davis),
J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin), C. Dewitt (UC Davis): “The HCN/Water Ratio in Inner Disks: A
Chemical Signature of Planetesimal Formation?”
GEM-NQ
0.65
A. Parker (UC Berkeley), J. Spencer, M. Buie, S. Stern (Southwest Research Institute), D. Tholen
(U. of Hawaii), D. Trilling, C. Fuentes (Northern Arizona U.): “Targeted Recovery of 2014A
Candidate Kuiper Belt Objects for New Horizons Flyby”
GEM-NQ
0.6
M. Pereira (U. of Arizona), C. Haines (Universidad de Chile), A. Babul (University of Victoria), E.
Egami (U. of Arizona), G. Smith, F. Ziparo (University of Birmingham), A. Finoguenov (University
of Helsinki), T. Rawle (European Space Astronomy Center): “LoCuSS: Pre-processing within Xray-Selected Groups Infalling into z ~ 0.2 Clusters”
GEM-NQ
0.533
J. Pforr, M. Dickinson, H. Inami, J. Kartaltepe (NOAO), S. Juneau (CEA), B. Weiner (U. of
Arizona), H. Ferguson (STScI), E. Daddi, D. Elbaz (CEA), M. Giavalisco (U. Mass), A. Koekemoer
(STScI), M. Pannella (CEA), A. Pope (U. Mass), P. Popesso (Max-Planck-Institut für
extraterrestrische Physik), N. Reddy (UC Riverside): “A GMOS Spectroscopy Survey of Herschel
Sources in the CANDELS UDS Field”
GEM-SQ
3.52
M. Phillips (Carnegie Institution of Washington), E. Hsiao, C. Contreras, N. Morrell (Carnegie
Observatories), C. Lidman, S. Ryder (Australian Astronomical Observatory), M. Stritzinger
(University of Aarhus), B. Schmidt (Australian National University), H. Marion (HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Type Ia Supernovae”
GEM-NQ
1
N. Pinilla-Alonso, J. Emery (U. of Tennessee), D. Trilling, M. Mommert (Northern Arizona U.):
“Near-Infrared Photometry of BOs and Centaurs in Support of Spitzer Space Telescope Data”
GEM-SQ
1.75
K. Pontoppidan (STScI), C. Salyk (NOAO), G. Blake (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of
Astronomy), A. Banzatti, S. Blevins (G) (STScI), J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin), M. Richter (UC
Davis): “Where Is the Nitrogen in Inner Protoplanetary Disks?”
GEM-NQ
1.4
B. Posselt, K. Luhman (Pennsylvania State U.): “Confirming a Substellar Companion Candidate
around a Neutron Star”
GEM-SQ
0.57
A. Rest (STScI), F. Bianco (NYU), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A.
Clocchiatti (Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), D. James (CTIO), S. Margheim (Gemini
Observatory South), T. Matheson (NOAO), J. Prieto (Universidad Diego Portales), R. Smith
(CTIO), N. Smith (U. of Arizona), N. Walborn (STScI), D. Welch (McMaster University), A.
Zenteno (Universitäts-Sternwarte München): “Spectrophotometric Time Series of Carinae’s Great
Eruption”
GEM-SQ
1.43
M. Richter, C. Dewitt (UC Davis), J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin), C. Salyk (NOAO): “[NeII] in T
Tauri Stars with TEXES on Gemini”
GEM-NQ
2
S. Ridgway (NOAO), R. De Propris (University of Turku), J. Melnick (ESO), R. Rich (UCLA), M.
West (Maria Mitchell Observatory): “On the Importance of the AGB Phase in Galaxy Evolution”
GEM-NQ
2.2
S. Rodney (Johns Hopkins U.), R. Foley (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), S. Jha (Rutgers U.), T.
Matheson (NOAO): “The Next Frontier: High-Redshift Supernovae in the HST Frontier Fields”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.5
0.5
198
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
C. Salyk (NOAO), K. Zhang (G) (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), K.
Pontoppidan (STScI), G. Blake (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), M. Richter
(UC Davis), J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin): “Where is the Water Vapor in Transition Disk DoAr 44?”
GEM-NQ
0.3
D. Sand (Texas Technical University), S. Valenti, D. Howell (UC Santa Barbara), M. Graham (UC
Berkeley), J. Parrent (Harvard U.): “Constraining Type Ia Supernova Physics with Near-Infrared
Spectroscopy”
GEM-NQ
GEM-SQ
0.9
1.28
J. Spencer (O) (Southwest Research Institute), D. Trilling (O) (Northern Arizona U.), M. Buie (O)
(Southwest Research Institute), A. Parker (O) (UC Berkeley), D. Tholen (O) (U. of Hawaii), S. Stern
(O) (Southwest Research Institute): “Finding KBO Flyby Targets for New Horizons”
GEM-N
1
K. Stovall (U. of New Mexico), D. Kaplan (U. of Wisconsin, Madison): “Constraining the Nature of
PSR J0636+5129’s Companion”
GEM-NQ
0.38
S. Tendulkar (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), D. Kaplan (U. of Wisconsin,
Madison), K. Stovall (U. of New Mexico): “Solving the Dilemma of PSR J0214+5222’s
Companion”
GEM-NQ
0.37
L. Trafton, J. Lacy (U. of Texas, Austin), T. Greathouse (Southwest Research Institute):
“Investigating the Response of the Unknown Source of Uranus’ Thermospheric Emission to
Seasonally Changing Insolation”
GEM-NQ
2.1
G. Tremblay (Yale U.), C. O’Dea (Rochester Institute of Technology), A. Labiano (Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), S. Baum (Rochester Institute of Technology), R.
McDermid (Macquarie University), F. Combes (Observatoire de Paris), S. Garcia-Burillo (OAN), T.
Davis (ESO): “A Sleeping Giant Awakened: Reignition of AGN Activity, Reborn Star Formation,
and a Multiphase Outflow in One of the Largest Radio Galaxies Known”
GEM-NQ
0.37
J. Wang, D. Fischer (Yale U.), S. Howell (NASA Ames Research Center), E. Horch (SCSU): “What
Causes the Migration of Hot Jupiters?”
GEM-NQ
0.5
P. Winkler (Middlebury College), K. Long (STScI), W. Blair (Johns Hopkins U.): “Supernova
Remnants in the Most Fertile Galaxy: NGC 6946”
GEM-NQ
2.07
R. Alexandroff (T), N. Zakamska, G. Liu (Johns Hopkins U.), J. Greene, M. Strauss (Princeton U.):
“Quasar Feedback at the Peak of the Galaxy Formation Epoch”
GEM-NQ
0.46
S. Barber (T), M. Kilic (U. of Oklahoma): “Do Massive Stars Have Planets?”
GEM-NQ
0.23
T. Barman, US Lead Scientist for C. Marois (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics), Z. Draper (T)
(University of Victoria), T. Barman (U. of Arizona), Q. Konopacky (University of Toronto), J.
Patience (Arizona State U.), P. Ingraham, B. Macintosh (Stanford U.), D. Lafreniere (University of
Montreal), B. Matthews (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics): “GPI Detailed Spectroscopic and
Astrometric Characterization of HR 8799cde.”
GEM-SQ
0.3
T. Demaio (T), A. Gonzalez (U. of Florida), J. Mulchaey (Carnegie Observatories), A. Zabludoff, D.
Zaritsky (U. of Arizona): “Baryon Fractions in Galaxy Groups”
GEM-SQ
0.59
T. Diamond (T) (Florida State U.), E. Hsiao (Carnegie Observatories), P. Hoeflich (Florida State U.),
M. Stritzinger (University of Aarhus), D. Sand (Texas Technical University), H. Marion (U. of
Texas, Austin), M. Phillips, N. Morrell (Carnegie Observatories), C. Gerardy (Florida State U.), R.
Penney (Clemson U.): “Late-Time Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of SN 2014J”
GEM-NQ
0.25
Thesis Programs (17)
199
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
M. Elvis, T. Storchi-Bergmann (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D. Crenshaw
(Georgia State U.), A. Robinson, D. Lena (T) (Rochester Institute of Technology), H. Schmitt (Naval
Research Laboratory), S. Kraemer (Catholic U. of America), N. Nagar (Universidad de Concepción),
R. Riffel (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria): “A Kinematic Survey of the Narrow Line Region
in Nearby Active Galaxies”
GEM-NQ
1
T. Esplin (T), K. Luhman (Pennsylvania State U.), E. Mamajek (U. of Rochester): “Searching for the
Bottom of the Initial Mass Function”
GEM-NQ
0.27
X. Fan (U. of Arizona), L. Jiang (Arizona State U.), I. McGreer (U. of Arizona), F. Wang (T)
(Peking University), X. Wu (KIPAC), F. Bian (Australian National University), R. Wang (KIPAC):
“A Fifteen-Billion Solar Mass Black Hole at the End of Reionization?”
GEM-NQ
0.13
C. Gelino, US Lead Scientist for C. Tinney, D. Opitz (T), J. Faherty (University of New South
Wales), C. Gelino (IPAC): “MCAO Astrometry and Binarity of WISE Y dwarfs”
GEM-SQ
0.55
J. Graham, R. Dawson (UC Berkeley), M. Fitzgerald (UCLA), P. Kalas (UC Berkeley), Q.
Konopacky (University of Toronto), B. Macintosh (Stanford U.), C. Marois (Herzberg Institute of
Astrophysics), J. Patience (Arizona State U.), L. Pueyo (STScI), S. Thomas (NASA Ames Research
Center), J. Wang (T) (UC Berkeley): “Astrometry of Beta Pic with GPI”
GEM-SQ
0.33
T. Henry (Georgia State U.), E. Horch (SCSU), J. Winters (T) (Georgia State U.): “Searching for
Companions to Nearby Stars on Solar System Scales”
GEM-NQ
3
S. Kannappan, K. Eckert (T) (U. of North Carolina), D. Norman (NOAO), M. Norris (Max-PlanckInstitut für Astronomie), E. Hoversten, D. Stark (G), A. Moffett (G), A. Baker (U) (U. of North
Carolina), A. Berlind (Vanderbilt U.), S. Crawford (SAAO), I. Damjanov (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), I. dell’Antonio (Brown U.), R. Gonzalez (U. of Chicago), K. Hall (U) (U.
of North Carolina), S. Khochfar (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), A. Leroy
(NRAO), Y. Lu (Stanford U.), C. Maraston (University of Portsmouth), S. McGaugh (Case Western
Reserve U.), L. Naluminsa (G) (SAAO), J. Salzer (Indiana U.), J. Sellwood (Rutgers U.), P.
Vaisanen (SAAO), L. Watson (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “REsolved
Spectroscopy Of a Local VolumE: The RESOLVE Survey in Stripe 82”
GEM-S
GEM-SQ
1.7
2.2
M. Kasliwal (Carnegie Institution of Washington), Y. Cao (T), S. Kulkarni (California Institute of
Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), M. van Kerkwijk (University of Toronto), A. Gal-Yam
(Weizmann Institute of Science), J. Cooke (Swinburne University), O. Yaron, E. Ofek (Weizmann
Institute of Science), A. Goobar, J. Sollerman, R. Amanullah (Oskar Klein Center), S. Cenko
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), R. Quimby (Institute of Physics and Mathematics of The
University of Tokyo), S. Bernard (G) (University of Melbourne), T. Pritchard (Swinburne
University), A. Horesh (Weizmann Institute of Science), I. Arcavi, S. Valenti, D. Howell (UC Santa
Barbara), L. Singer (California Institute of Technology-Dept. of Astronomy), P. Wozniak, T.
Vestrand (LANL): “Rapid Spectroscopy of Elusive Transients and Young Supernovae”
GEM-SQ
0.303
R. Lunnan (T), E. Berger, R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): “The
Beast’s Lair: Observing the Host Galaxies of High-Redshift Superluminous Supernovae from PanSTARRS1”
GEM-NQ
0.5
A. Rudy (T), C. Max (UC Santa Cruz): “Giant Flares and Non-Thermal Activity in the Crab Nebula”
GEM-NQ
0.35
G. Sardane (T), D. Turnshek, S. Rao (U. of Pittsburgh): “Mapping Cool, Metal-Rich Gas around
z < 0.08 Galaxies”
GEM-NQ
1
200
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Programs for US Time (60), and Theses (17) 
Telescope
Nights
C. Stubbs (Harvard U.), M. Ashby (SAO), K. Anderson, G. Bazin (Max-Planck-Institut für
extraterrestrische Physik), B. Benson, L. Bleem (G) (U. of Chicago), M. Brodwin (HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J. Carlstrom (U. of Chicago), A. Clocchiatti (O) (Pontifícia
Universidad Católica de Chile), T. Crawford (U. of Chicago), T. De Haan (G), M. Dobbs, J. Dudley
(G) (McGill University), R. Foley (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), M. Gladders, F.
High (U. of Chicago), G. Holder (McGill University), W. Holzapfel (UC Berkeley), R. Keisler (G),
D. Marrone (U. of Chicago), J. Mohr (Universitäts-Sternwarte München), T. Montroy (G) (Case
Western Reserve U.), C. Reichardt (UC Berkeley), A. Rest (STScI), J. Ruel (T) (Harvard U.), J.
Ruhl, B. Saliwanchik (G) (Case Western Reserve U.), L. Shaw (Yale U.), J. Song (U. of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign), B. Stalder (Harvard U.), S. Stanford (UC Davis), A. Stark (HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics), K. Story (G) (Harvard U.), K. Vanderlinde (McGill
University), R. Williamson (STScI): “Spectroscopy of Galaxies in Massive Clusters: Galaxy
Properties and Dynamical Cluster Mass Calibration”
GEM-SQ
4
Telescopes
Nights
B. Biller (University of Edinburgh), I. Snellen, M. Kenworthy, T. Meshkat (G) (Leiden University):
“Exometeorology: Searching for Weather on Beta Pictoris b”
GEM-SQ
1.7
H. Hsieh (ASIAA): “Physical Characterization of Active Asteroids P/2012 T1, P/2013 R3, and
233P”
GEM-NQ
0.3
C. Lee, J. Koppenhoefer (Universitäts-Sternwarte München), S. Seitz (University Observatory
Munich), R. Bender (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), U. Hopp (University
Observatory Munich), A. Riffeser, M. Kodric (G), C. Goessl, J. Snigula (Universitäts-Sternwarte
München): “M31 as Distance Anchor”
GEM-NQ
3
Gemini Telescopes: 2014B Approved Foreign Programs for US Time (3) 
G.5 COMMUNITY ACCESS TO PRIVATE TELESCOPES
Under the Telescope System Instrumentation Program (TSIP), access to the telescopes of the major private
observatories in FY14 included the two Keck telescopes (Keck I and II) for semester 2014A. An agreement
between Georgia State University and NOAO led to community access of 50 hours per year to the Center
for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) optical interferometer located at Mt. Wilson. In
addition, an agreement between the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) and NOAO/CTIO allows
a time exchange between the two observatories of up to 10 nights per semester, providing the US
community access to the Australian Astronomical Telescope (AAT).

Key: GEM-NQ = Gemini N Queue; GEM-SQ = Gemini S Queue; GEM-N = Gemini N classical; GEM-S = Gemini S classical;
GEM-K = Gemini/Keck time exchange; GEM-Su = Gemini/Subaru time exchange; * = poor weather program; (T) = Thesis
student; (G) = Graduate student; (U) = Undergraduate; (O) = Other
201
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy 2014
CHARA Telescope: 2014 Approved US Programs (2)
Telescope
Nights
M. Simon (SUNY), G. Schaefer (Georgia State U.): “Diameters of the Components of EQ Peg, the
Nearest PMS Binary”
CHARA
1
G. Van Belle (Lowell Observatory): “A Direct Imaging Study of Rapid Rotators with the CHARA
Array”
CHARA
2.4
Telescope
Nights
CHARA
2
Telescope
Nights
G. Bakos, J. Hartman (Princeton U.), D. Bayliss (Australian National University), A. Jordan
(Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Chile), B. Sato (Tokyo Institute of Technology): “Confirmation
of Transiting Neptunes from HATNet and HATSouth Using Keck/HIRES and Subaru/HDS”
Keck-I
0.5
B. Bonev, M. Disanti, M. Mumma (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), E. Gibb (U. of Missouri,
St. Louis), G. Villanueva, L. Paganini (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), M. Combi (U. of
Michigan), K. Magee-Sauer (Rowan College of New Jersey): “Comet 209P/LINEAR’s Very Close
Approach to Earth: Probing the Inner-Coma Physical Environment and Volatile Composition”
Keck-II
1
D. Coe (STScI), R. Smit (Leiden University), L. Bradley (STScI), R. Bouwens (Leiden University),
M. Nonino (Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste), A. Zitrin, J. Merten (CalTech-JPL), P. Rosati
(Università di Ferrara), S. Seitz, A. Monna (University Observatory Munich), M. Postman (STScI),
D. Kelson (Carnegie Observatories): “MOSFIRE Spectroscopy of Lensed Galaxies, Including the
Brightest z ~ 8 Candidate Known”
Keck-I
1
M. Dickinson, J. Kartaltepe (NOAO), B. Weiner (U. of Arizona), S. Kassin (STScI), F. Bournaud
(CEA), P. Eisenhardt (CalTech-JPL), H. Inami, J. Pforr (NOAO): “Are Starbursts Really Mergers at
High Redshift? A Kinematic Investigation”
Keck-I
1
R. Livermore (U. of Texas, Austin), C. Papovich (Texas A&M U.), M. Dickinson (NOAO), S.
Finkelstein (U. of Texas, Austin), V. Tilvi (Texas A&M U.): “Spectroscopic Study of High-z
Galaxy Candidates in CANDELS”
Keck-II
1.5
A. Riedel, K. Cruz (Hunter College), E. Rice (College of Staten Island), J. Faherty (Carnegie
Institution of Washington): “Confirmation of Young Brown Dwarfs in Nearby Moving Groups”
Keck-II
1
CHARA Telescope: 2014 Approved Foreign Programs (1)
M. Kishimoto (Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie), R. Barvainis (NSF), R. Antonucci, S.
Hoenig (UC Santa Barbara), F. Millour (Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur), K. Tristram, G. Weigelt
(Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie): “Resolving the Innermost Dusty Accretion in the
Brightest Type 1 AGN with the CHARA Array”
W.M. Keck Observatory: Keck I and II Semester 2014A
Keck Telescopes: 2014A Approved US Programs (6), and US Theses (1) 

Key: (G) = Graduate; (O) = Other; (T) = Thesis Student; (U) = Undergraduate
202
OBSERVING PROGRAMS & INVESTIGATORS FOR 2014
US Thesis Programs (1)
V. Smith (NOAO), K. Cunha (U. of Arizona), S. Schuler (U. of Tampa), J. Teske (T) (U. of
Arizona), C. Griffith (Lunar and Planetary Lab): “Using Chemical Abundance Signatures in KeplerField Solar-Twins to Infer the Existence of Inner Rocky-Planet Architectures”
Keck-I
0.5
Telescope
Nights
Keck-I
0.5
Telescope
Nights
M. Geha (Yale U.), R. Wechsler, P. Marshall (Stanford U.), R. Muñoz (Universidad de Chile), E.
Sandford (U) (Yale U.), E. Tollerud (UC Irvine), B. Weiner (U. of Arizona): “Searching for Dwarf
Galaxy Satellites around Milky Way Analogs”
AAT
3
M. McSwain (Lehigh U.), M. Povich (Cal Poly Pomona), M. Alexander (Lehigh U.): “They Might
Be Giants: Physical Properties of Newly Discovered OB Stars in Carina”
AAT
1
M. Person, A. Bosh, S. Levine (MIT): “Intra-day Investigation of Pluto’s Atmosphere with Stellar
Occultations”
AAT
1.5
AAT
2
Telescope
Nights
AAT
3
Keck Telescopes: 2014A Approved Foreign Thesis Programs (1)
E. Daddi, R. Gobat, V. Strazzullo (CEA), M. Onodera (Zurich Institute for Astronomy), M.
Dickinson (NOAO), F. Valentino (T), M. Sargent (CEA), A. Renzini (INAF), M. Pannella, M.
Bethermin (CEA), A. Cimatti (Università di Bologna), M. Carollo (Zurich Institute for Astronomy),
N. Arimoto (NAOJ): “High-z clusters and ‘Proto’-Clusters. Can You Tell the Difference ?”
Australian Astronomical Observatory Semester 2014A
Anglo-Australian Telescope: 2014A Approved US Programs (3), and US Theses (1)
US Thesis Programs (1)
R. Patel (T) (SUNY), S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario): “Age Diagnostics of New WISE
Detected Debris Disk-Host Stars”
Anglo-Australian Telescope: 2014A Approved Foreign Programs (1)
A. Kunder (Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik), R. De Propris (Finnish Centre for Astronomy), R. Rich
(UCLA), A. Koch (Heidelberg University), C. Johnson (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics): “Characterization of Stellar Sub-Structure in the Galactic Bulge”
203
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Australian Astronomical Observatory Semester 2014B
Anglo-Australian Telescope: 2014B Approved US Programs (1), and US Theses (3) 
Telescope
Nights
AAT
2
K. Eckert (T), S. Kannappan (U. of North Carolina), I. Konstantopoulos, M. Maier (Australian
Astronomical Observatory), E. Snyder (G), D. Stark (G) (U. of North Carolina), A. Moffett
(University of Western Australia), A. Berlind (Vanderbilt U.), E. Hoversten, K. Hall (O) (U. of
North Carolina), J. Sellwood (Rutgers U.), D. Norman (NOAO), M. Norris (Max-Planck-Institut für
Astronomie), D. Guynn (G) (U. of North Carolina), L. Watson (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics), T. Team (G) (Rutgers U.): “Dynamical Masses of Gas-Rich Dwarf Galaxies for the
RESOLVE Velocity Function”
AAT
3
D. Jones (T) (Johns Hopkins U.), R. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D.
Scolnic, A. Riess (Johns Hopkins U.), E. Berger, P. Challis (O), R. Chornock (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics), S. Gezari (U. of Maryland), R. Foley (U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign),
M. Drout (G), N. Sanders (G) (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), A. Rest (STScI):
“Redshifts and Host Galaxy Spectra for the Completed Pan-STARRS Supernova Survey”
AAT
3
R. Patel (T) (SUNY), S. Metchev (University of Western Ontario): “Age Diagnostics of New WISE
Detected Debris Disk-Host Stars”
AAT
2
R. Romani (Stanford U.): “Pulsar H(alpha) Bowshocks Probe Neutron Star Physics”
US Thesis Programs (3)

Key: (G) = Graduate; (O) = Other; (T) = Thesis Student; (U) = Undergraduate
204
H BROADENING PARTICIPATION
NOAO is committed to foster, encourage, and enhance geographic, gender, ethnic, and racial diversity
among its employees and programs in promoting astronomical research. NOAO is proud to assist in
preparing diverse, globally engaged science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities.
The focus is to broaden participation from underrepresented groups, institutions that do not have access to
activities in astronomy (especially smaller institutions and institutions with high percentages of
underrepresented groups), and geographic areas that have not had the opportunity to participate in the field
of astronomy.
NOAO’s activities in this area are spearheaded by the NOAO Diversity Advocate (DA). She
participates in a broad range of activities chosen to advance the goals of diversity and broader participation,
as well as improve workplace climate. The DA participated in a number of activities this year to broaden
participation of underrepresented minorities in the astronomy enterprise, that is, in scientific, engineering,
and technological development for astronomy. Specific broadening participation activities are listed below.
AURA/NOAO Activities

Coordinated the AURA-IINSPIRE program for AURA Centers in Tucson (NOAO, NSO, LSST)

Convened and chaired a working group to discuss diversity and broadening participation
challenges at AURA Centers in Chile (NOAO, Gemini)

Participated in a review of the KPNO REU program

Made presentations on “Implicit Bias” to NOAO/AURA Human Resources (HR) staff

Initiated and presented a study on gender differences in the Time Allocation Committee (TAC)
proposal acceptance rates
Staff Diversity
The total number of employees at NOAO North and South during FY14 was approximately 304. Of those,
approximately 93 are staff in Chile who are local hires (85 males and 8 females) employed under a
collective bargaining agreement that is renegotiated every two years. FY14 demographics for the NOAO
workforce, new hires, and promotions are illustrated below with separate tables for the US-hired and
expatriate staff and the Chilean local hires.
205
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Workforce Demographics
Table H-1: NOAO FY 2014 US-Hired Workforce Demographics*
Two or More Races
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
10
10
5
16
13
13
3
Professional, Science
39
27
6
2
19
12
Professional, Technical
38
36
2
3
31
2
2
Professional, Business
4
1
1
3
3
Operatives
0
0
Administrative
27
6
Sales Workers
5
0
Service Workers
11
7
3
1
2
Skilled Craft/Trades
15
15
2
1
Technicians
41
32
1
1
Laborers/Helpers
0
0
211
147
1
4
3
1
1
1
9
0
1
1
4
21
2
19
5
4
1
1
4
1
3
5
7
0
1
29
9
1
1
7
8
3
14
0
0
115
64
8
2
1
1
0
1
51
White
7
Two or More Races
0
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
TOTAL
White
15
First Level Managers
Asian
Total Females
Managers and Executives
Job Group
Asian
Total
Employees*
White
Two or More Races
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Black/African American
FEMALES
Total Males
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
MALES
* Includes US-hired and expatriate staff (excludes temporary staff). Chilean employees are included in Table H-2.
Table H-2: NOAO South FY 2014 Chilean Workforce Demographics*
1
0
3
1
1
Professional, Science
1
1
1
Professional, Technical
32
30
25
Professional, Business
2
1
Operatives
2
2
2
0
Administrative
9
5
5
4
Sales Workers
0
0
Service Workers
0
0
Skilled Craft/Trades
3
3
3
0
Technicians
23
23
23
0
Laborers/Helpers
14
14
14
93
85
TOTAL
Hispanic or Latino
1
4
Black/African American
2
5
Asian
2
First Level Managers
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
Total Females
Managers and Executives
Job Group
Asian
Total
Employees*
White
Two or More Races
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Black/African American
FEMALES
Total Males
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
MALES
1
0
5
2
1
1
1
1
1
4
0
0
0
0
0
77
0
0
0
8
8
* Includes Chilean permanent and temporary staff. US-Hired and expatriate staff are included in Table H-1.
206
0
0
0
7
0
0
1
BROADENING PARTICIPATION
New Hires Demographics
Table H-3: NOAO FY 2014 New US Hires*
Professional, Technical
1
1
Professional, Business
1
0
1
Operatives
0
0
0
Administrative
3
0
3
Sales Workers
1
0
1
Service Workers
1
1
Skilled Craft/Trades
1
1
1
0
Technicians
3
1
1
2
Laborers/Helpers
0
0
14
6
43%
TOTAL
% of Total Hires
White
1
Two or More Races
2
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Professional, Science
Hispanic or Latino
1
Black/African American
0
1
Asian
0
First Level Managers
White
Managers and Executives
Asian
Total FY14
New Hires*
Job Group
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
Total Females
Two or More Races
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Black/African American
FEMALES
Total Males
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
MALES
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
3
1
0
1
1
0
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
2
14%
0
0%
0
0%
4
29%
8
57%
1
7%
0
0%
0
0%
2
14%
0
0%
1
7%
4
29%
*Includes US-hired and expatriate staff (excludes temporary staff). Chilean employees are included in Table H-4.
Table H-4: NOAO South FY 2014 Chilean New Hires*
1
Two or More Races
Hispanic or Latino
0
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Black/African American
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
Total Females
Two or More Races
Native Hawaiian/or Other
Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Black/African American
FEMALES
0
Professional, Science
2
2
2
0
Professional, Technical
4
2
2
2
Professional, Business
0
0
0
Operatives
0
0
0
Administrative
1
0
1
Sales Workers
0
0
0
Service Workers
0
0
0
Skilled Craft/Trades
0
0
0
Technicians
0
0
Laborers/Helpers
1
1
8
5
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
63%
0%
0%
0%
63%
0%
0%
0%
38%
0%
0%
0%
25%
0%
0%
13%
TOTAL
% of Total Hires
White
0
0
Asian
0
First Level Managers
White
Managers and Executives
Job Group
Asian
Total FY14
New Hires*
Total Males
American Indian/Alaskan
Native
MALES
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
* Includes Chilean permanent and temporary staff. US-Hired and expatriate staff are included in Table H-3.
207
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
Promotions Demographics
Table H-5: NOAO FY 2014 Promotions for US-Hires*
Total # of
Incumbents*
# of
Females
Female
Incumbency %
# of
Minorities
Minority
Incumbency %
# of
Promotions
Female
Promotions
Managers and Executives
15
5
33.3%
1
6.7%
4
1
First Level Managers
16
3
18.8%
0
0.0%
Professional, Science
39
12
30.8%
3
7.7%
1
1
Professional, Technical
38
2
5.3%
5
13.2%
1
Professional, Business
4
3
75.0%
0
0.0%
Operatives
0
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
Administrative
27
21
77.8%
3
11.1%
Sales Workers
5
5
100.0%
4
80.0%
Service Workers
11
4
36.4%
4
36.4%
Skilled Craft/Trades
15
0
0.0%
6
40.0%
Technicians
41
9
22.0%
3
7.3%
Laborers/Helpers
0
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
TOTAL
211
64
30.3%
29
13.7%
Job Group
1
Minority
Promotions
1
1
8
3
0
# of
Promotions
Female
Promotions
Minority
Promotions
*Includes US-hired and expatriate staff (excludes temporary staff). Chilean employees are included in Table H-6.
Table H-6: NOAO South FY 2014 Promotions for Chilean Staff
Total # of
Incumbents*
# of
Females
Female
Incumbency %
# of
Minorities
Minority
Incumbency %†
Managers and Executives
2
First Level Managers
5
0
0.0%
1
50.0%
1
20.0%
4
Professional, Science
80.0%
1
0
0.0%
1
100.0%
Professional, Technical
32
2
6.3%
26
81.3%
Professional, Business
2
1
50.0%
1
50.0%
Operatives
2
0
0.0%
2
0.0%
Administrative
9
4
44.4%
9
100.0%
Sales Workers
0
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
Service Workers
0
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
Skilled Craft/Trades
3
0
0.0%
3
100.0%
Technicians
23
0
0.0%
23
Laborers/Helpers
14
0
0.0%
14
TOTAL
93
8
8.6%
84
Job Group
1
4
4
100.0%
2
2
0.0%
1
90.3%
8
1
0
*Includes Chilean permanent and temporary staff. US-hired and expatriate staff are included in Table H-5.
†Categorization of NOAO staff by minority group is the same for North and South; therefore, most, if not all, Chilean staff are in a minority group.
208
7
I
GRANTS OBTAINED IN Q4
The following table lists the grant funding received by NOAO staff from non-NSF agencies during the
fourth quarter of FY 2014.
Principle
Investigator
Awarding Agency
Title
Arjun Dey
JPL
A Protocluster at z = 3.78
Mark E. Dickinson
JPL
Mark E. Dickinson
Mark E. Dickinson
John H. Dunlop, II
Patrick Dunlop
Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe
Oscar Alejandro Nuñez
Stephen T. Ridgway
Colette Salyk
David Sprayberry
Nicole S. van der Bliek
Budget
Amount
The Distant Dusty Universe,
Spectroscopic Confirmation
Harvard-Smithsonian
Hot Gas Emission and AGN-Galaxy
Center for Astrophysics Coevolution at the Dawn of Cluster
Formation
JPL
Keck: Are Starbursts Really Mergers
at High Redshift? A kinematic
Investigation
University of Florida
AURA equipment and labor assisting
in the removal of EXPERT from Kitt
Peak 2.1-m telescope
ARC
Aluminize SDSS 2.5-m Primary
Mirror
JPL
Keck: The Role of Galaxy Mergers
and Interactions over Cosmic Timer
Yapur jardines y riego
Rebaje de arboles costado cancha de
tenis
NASA
Participate in Technical Advisory
Committee.
USRA
A Search for Warm Methane in
Protoplanetary Disks
TMT Observatory
Support on the Development of the
Corporation
TMT Tertiary Mirror “M3” TMT.BUS.CON.14.007.REL01
USNO
URAT Telescope Project
Acronyms used in the above list:
ARC
Astronomy Research Consortium
JPL
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
SDSS Sloan Digital Sky Survey
TMT
Thirty Meter Telescope
URAT USNO Robotic Astrometric Telescope
USNO United States Naval Observatory
USRA Universities Space Research Association
209
Period of
Performance
12,750 1/27/20149/30/2015
12,750 2/4/20149/30/2015
13,818 3/1/20142/15/2015
19,000 7/14/20149/30/2015
3,500 8/7/201412/31/2014
10,000 7/1/20148/31/2014
19,000 7/15/20149/30/2014
1,390,875 6/30/20147/4/2014
15,120 11/13/201312/14/2014
2,000 12/1/201311/30/2015
14,300 3/10/20149/30/2014
0 9/17/2014 -
NOAO FISCAL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT FY 2014
J SAFETY REPORT FOR Q4
South
NOAO South staff had no accidents during the fourth quarter of FY14. An incident that caused material
damage to the elevator of Las Tacas building on Cerro Tololo in July2014 did not affect or cause injuries to
any person. In view of this incident, the elevator was immediately taken out of service, and a contractor
independent from the one responsible for maintenance of the system was brought in to investigate the
cause. Bids will be received early in FY15 to carry out repairs and update systems to bring the entire
system into full compliance with current regulations, after which recertification by the competent agency
will be sought.
The regular biannual inspection carried out in May of the areas of the Blanco building where exposed
asbestos was found and encapsulated two years ago revealed the need for repeated remedial action in some
areas. Following up on this, a US consultant was contracted to carry out a thorough inspection and make
recommendations on the best way to encapsulate and protect, or to remove, the asbestos in order to achieve
the best solution for the long term. The inspection also included a survey of all NOAO South buildings on
Cerro Tololo and in La Serena during which samples of suspect building materials were collected for
analysis to identify other locations where asbestos has been used. Development of an action plan based on
this report was begun in Q4 of FY14 and will be executed as early as possible in FY15.
During this reporting period, the safety and environmental engineer developed a series of preventive
and coordination activities, which are summarized below:

She organized and performed a talk to observatory supervisory staff on “Legal Responsibilities and
Duties of Supervisors“ with the support of the ACHS advisor.

She collaborated in the specialized asbestos inspection and sample taking by US consultant Jim
Fass.

She planned in collaboration with contractor MSA the implementation of fall protection lifelines in
internal and external areas of the Blanco 4-m telescope. The budget for this work has been
approved for implementation in November 2014.

She continued with the monthly meetings with representatives of the service provider for the
mountain emergency medical service ESACHS. She requested that the paramedic assigned to
Cerro Tololo be changed.

She held regular inspections of work areas, purchased and revised personal protective equipment,
participated in the maintenance and inspection of the Fire Hose system on the La Serena
compound, supervised fire extinguisher maintenance, carried out an inspection of the Cerro Pachón
Electric Substation, participated in regular meetings of the Comité Paritario de Higiene y
Seguridad (Chilean workers safety committee), investigated incidents, and performed talks on
several safety topics.

She participated as an invited reviewer in the Paranal Observatory Safety Review, which took
place in Antofagasta, 22–24 July 2014. She also served on the search committee for the NOAO
South Head of Facilities Operations.
210
SAFETY REPORT FOR Q4
North
The fourth quarter of FY14 was a busy time with major shutdowns and mirror aluminizing at both the
Mayall 4-m and WIYN 3.5-m telescopes. Safety for both employees and equipment is a priority, and all
those involved in the projects did an excellent job, the NOAO North maintenance and engineering staff in
particular.
Safety training was held for new employees, and refresher classes were provided for those needing
them. Preparation for the DESI project is underway with plans being made to provide refresher training
during the spring of 2015. Training classes on the proper procedures for cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) and use of the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) were held at Kitt Peak and Tucson locations.
The turnout was very good. A member of the Kitt Peak mountain staff took the lead to get as many people
trained as possible for both locations.
AN overview of the DESI project was held for the Kitt Peak staff in September. A review of the
operating and safety procedures that will impact the DESI project was begun.
Beginning January 2015, establishments in certain lower-hazard industries will not be required to
routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records. OSHA‘s recordkeeping regulation contains a list of all
industries that are partially exempt from routinely keeping such records. AURA/NOAO will fall into this
partially exempt category. However, if a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye
occurs due to a work-related incident, the event must still be reported to OSHA.
There were no OSHA recordable incidents at NOAO North during the fourth quarter of FY14.
211