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Reports in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society(BAAS)

from The Johns Hopkins University

1982 BAAS 14, 671 (1981 activities)Since the days of our first Professor of Physics, Henry Rowland, we have been involved in theapplication of physics, particularly physical optics, to the solution of problems in astronomy.We take the happy occasion of the founding of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) onour Homewood campus, to begin regular reporting of our astronomical and astrophysicalactivities in these pages. In this first report, we summarize our activity for the period 1 January1979 – 31 August 1981.

The first Space Telescope Science Team meeting included two Johns Hopkins scientists:Bill Fastie (Telescope Scientist), & Dick Henry (Deputy Director, Astrophysics Division, NASA)

1983 BAAS 15, 233 (1982 activities)The Department of Physics is situated on the Homewood Campus of the Johns HopkinsUniversity, which is located in a pleasant residential neighborhood of north central Baltimore.On San Martin Drive, on its Homewood Campus, the Johns Hopkins University has currentlyunder construction the building that will house the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).The astrophysics research program at Hopkins, at present largely centered on sounding-rocketand Spacelab experimental astrophysics, complements the powerful observational astrophysicsprogram that will be the central activity of the STScI. Graduate students will be well placed tocarry out hands-on experimental research as well as Space telescope observational research.

1984 BAAS 16, 159 (1983 activities)A highlight of the past year has been the restoration of large amounts of research space inRowland Hall, as personnel and equipment of the Space Telescope Science Institute transferredto their new building a short distance away. The restored space has been helpful to the HopkinsUltraviolet Telescope (HUT) space shuttle project; to the Sounding Rocket program, including anew space shuttle-borne cosmic ultraviolet background radiation project; and to many otherdisciplines of physics, whose practitioners graciously yielded temporary use of space for thestart-up of the Institute.

The intellectual life of the Hopkins astrophysics group is being enormously enhanced bythe presence of the Space Telescope Science Institute, through formal association of personnel,and through the informal interaction that is the consequence of propinquity. Interlibrary liaison,

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and coordination (and sometimes merging) of colloquia, are only two examples. This interactionwill only increase over future years.

1985 BAAS 17, 219 (1984 activities)When it was founded in 1876 our Department was known as the Department of Physics, butduring the brief periods 1907-08 and 1917-18 we carried the title listed above, to which we nowrevert (we expect) permanently.

A university department is not a rose, and the name, we think, matters: it signals theincreased importance of that special are of physics that we call astronomy, both world-wide, andin Johns Hopkins perspective. The local perspective of course heavily involves the now massivepresence o our campus guest, the Space Telescope Science Institute (ST ScI), but is not dominateby it: a vigorous program in astrophysical theory (linked to ST ScI) joins a sharply enlargedexperimental program that involves not only sounding-rocket experiments, but also SpaceShuttle missions. The Hopkins faculty are also active observers, particularly with IUE, and willsurely be general observers on Space Telescope; guaranteed Space telescope observing time isalso held by Hopkins Faculty. Our mixture of hands-on experiments, theory, and observing,provides a very attractive environment for graduate students.

1986 BAAS 18, 203 (1985 activities)I am pleased to introduce the first B.A.A.S. report of the Center for Astrophysical Sciences,Department of Physics and Astronomy. The Center has been created “to promote and supportresearch in astrophysics and the related space sciences at The Johns Hopkins University.” Itincludes faculty and staff from several of the University’s academic departments, as well assome members of the scientific staff of the Space Telescope Science Institute.

President Steven Muller has informally indicated to us that he plans to respond fullyindeed to the opportunity that is presented to Hopkins by the presence of the Space TelescopeScience Institute on our Campus. Tentative plans include 1) a new building for the Departmentof Physics and Astronomy, 2) participation in a large new ground-based optical telescope, and3) a doubling of the Departmental budget. A bond issue has been floated for the new building,and the architects are to be at work by January, 1986. It is our hope that the building will belocated as closely as possible to the Space Telescope Science Institute (ST ScI), facilitatingmutually beneficial interaction.

1987 BAAS 19, 260 (1986 activities)This was to have been a climactic year for the Center for Astrophysical Sciences, with shuttlelaunches of the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope scheduled forMarch 1986 and October 1986, respectively. The Challenger disaster in January, which soaffected the entire nation, had a particularly depressing effect on many of us, especially thegroup involved with HUT, which was ready for launch on the very next mission when thetragedy occurred. In addition to the long delay of all the planned science programs, of course,we missed the long-awaited opportunity to observe Comet Halley in the far and extremeultraviolet, in coordination with the fly-by missions conducted by several other nations. Therecently-announced manifest of the resumption of shuttle launches has lifted spirits considerably,however, with HST scheduled for launch on the fifth mission in November 1988, and HUT(Astro-1) scheduled for the sixth mission in January 1989.

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Progress has continued on several other important fronts at CAS. One of the mostsignificant activities for our future involves planning, jointly with the Carnegie Institution ofWashington and the University of Arizona, for an 8-meter telescope to be built at Carnegie’s LasCampanas Observatory in Chile. CAS faculty and staff are to have a 25 percent share in theobserving time on this telescope when it becomes operational in the 1990’s. The threeinstitutions have signed a formal agreement to proceed with the design of the telescope, and aTelescope Council has been formed to oversee the project, with two representatives fromCarnegie and one each form Arizona and Johns Hopkins. In addition, a Science Working Grouphas been formed, with two representative from each institution, to oversee the detailed design ofthe telescope and its instruments.

The further development of the astrophysics program at Johns Hopkins is receiving thehighest priority within the School of arts and Sciences, and is enjoying extremely strong supportfrom President Steven Muller. The budgets of CAS and of the Department of Physics andAstronomy have been increased substantially, and continuing efforts are underway to attract newfaculty. Our plans include the addition of senior and junior faculty in theoretical, observational,and experimental areas of astrophysics.

In order to house the substantially expanded department envisioned, President Muller hasauthorized design and construction of a new building for the Department of Physics anAstronomy. This facility, for which the schematic design phase is now complete, will provideabout 200,000 square feet of space for teaching and research, double the amount we presentlyhave. Furthermore, in order to maximize our interaction with the staff of the Space TelescopeScience Institute, the new building will be built in close proximity to the ST ScI facility.Groundbreaking is planned for the fall of 1987, with occupancy scheduled for winter of 1989-90.

At the XIXth General Assembly of the international Astronomical Union in New Delhilast November, the IAU accepted our invitation to host the XXth General Assembly in Baltimorein August 1988. CAS is now deeply involved in planning for this major event, in which some3000 astronomers and guests are expected to participate. While it was our original intent thatthis meeting would provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate the launch and first year’soperation of the Hubble Space Telescope, in the aftermath of the Challenger tragedy it will nowserve, we hope, as a celebration of the successful resumption of shuttle launches and as a preludeto the long-awaited launch of HST.

1988 BAAS 20, 258 (1987 activities)It has been another exciting year for the Center for Astrophysical Sciences. CAS researchershave rebounded from the post-Challenger disaster doldrums by becoming involved in many newresearch efforts based on ground-based observing, satellite and archival data analysis programsand theoretical or instrument development projects. The current manifest for the resumption ofshuttle launches is encouraging, however, with HST scheduled for launch on the 6th mission andthe Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (part of the shuttle-based Astro Observatory) scheduled forthe 7th mission, both in June 1989. As with any space mission, a tremendous effort goes intopreparation and CAS personnel have already begun working toward these launch opportunities.

Progress has continued on several other important projects within CAS. One of the mostsignificant of these is the planning, jointly with the Carnegie Institution of Washington and theUniversity of Arizona, for an 8-meter telescope to be built at the Las Campanas Observatory inChile. This project has been officially designated the Magellan Project, and CAS faculty and

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staff will have a 25 percent share on the telescope when it becomes operational in the mid-1990s.The Science Working Group has met throughout the year to study telescope and instrumentdesign constraints and trade-offs and how they affect the science that can be accomplished withthe telescope. At a recent meeting, the Magellan Science Working Group reached an agreementwith the Columbus Project Science Working Group to baseline studies of an f/1.2 primarymirror. This will preserve as much commonality in the design between the two projects aspossible, and should help keep costs down for both projects.

The Center for Astrophysical Sciences Computer systems have grown considerably in thepast year. With help from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, we have added disk andtape peripherals to bring the total disk space to over three gigabytes of on-line storage with 6tape transports on four different cpus (two MicroVaxes a VAX 11/750, and a Sun 3/160). Thecampus-wide networking system at Johns Hopkins has also been installed so we are now able tocommunicate with the campus computer systems and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Atthis writing, three more Sun 3 workstations are ready to go on-line, and there are orders out for 2VAXStation 2000s and another Sun 3.The astrophysics program continues ot receive strong support within the School of Arts andSciences and from University President, Seven Muller. Continuing efforts are underway toattract new senior and junior faculty in theoretical, observational, and experimental areas ofastrophysics. Also, the plans for a new Physics and Astronomy building have come several stepscloser to reality this year with detailed drawings from the architect being finalized and a galaground-braking ceremony held on 5 October 1987. The building will have more than 147,000net square feet of floor space, more than doubling the existing area in our present facility, andwill include ample laboratory space and a high bay area for anticipated future space-basedinstrumentation development projects. Site preparation has already begun for the building,which will be built on the knoll across San Martin Drive from the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute. Occupancy is scheduled for late 1989, shortly after HST and Astro are scheduled tofly.The 20th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union will be held in Baltimore 2-11 August 1988, and will be hosted by The Johns Hopkins university. Several CAS staffmembers have already been working for months, finalizing arrangements for housing, meetingfacilities, tours and social events. All scientific meetings will be held at the BaltimoreConvention Center. The preliminary program for the meeting (in English and French) has beensent to the printer and will be mailed to all 6000+ IAU members. WE expect 2-3000astronomers and guests to converge on Baltimore next August for an outstanding meeting.

1989 BAAS 21, 282 (1988 activities)The highlight of the past year was the International Astronomical Union General Assembly heldin Baltimore (August 1988). Official host was The Johns Hopkins University, so CAS was veryheavily involved indeed, and the first Director of CAS, Professor Arthur Davidsen, acted as Co-Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee. The other Co-Chair was CAS member and SpaceTelescope Science Institute Director Riccardo Giacconi. In a special section of this report,Davidsen details the very successful IAU General Assembly.

The CAS computer systems continue to multiply rapidly at a rate of about one newcomputer per month with no end in sight. There are now over twenty significant computersavailable to astronomers and astrophysics researchers. These include a mix of MicroVAX II,MicroVAX 3XXX, and Sun 3 computers running the VMS, Ultrix, or Sun Unix operating

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systems. All of these machines are connected through a campus-wide Ethernet supported by theJohns Hopkins Homewood Academic Computing Center, giving us direct access to Bitnet,SURAnet, and the ARPAnet. A direct line to the Space Telescope Science Institute connects usto NASA’s SPAN network as well. A large, but insufficient 8.6 Gbytes of fast disk storage ison-line, most of it accessible across machines via either the Sun Unix NFS or VAX/VMSLAVC. Nine 9-track magnetic tape drives are also available. Access to these computers isthrough network terminal servers that support nearly 80 terminals. Direct connection to anymachine on the ARPAnet is possible from the terminal servers, and many DECnet networks canbe reached through gateway computers. About 200 login accounts have been issued for thesecomputers, although only 100 or so are used regularly. There are three IVAS image displays onVMS computers, and two of the Sun workstations are equipped with color displays that runlocally written image display software as well as the IRAF utilities.

Visitors to the Space Telescope Science Institute who look across the street will see vividevidence of the progress on the new building of the Department of Physics and Astronomy ofThe Johns Hopkins University. As of October 1988, the steel skeleton of the teaching wing wascompleted and the concrete first floor of the research wing was in place. Work is continuing onschedule with completion scheduled for spring 1990.

Finally, the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) is still on NASA’s space Shuttlemanifest for two flights, on March of 1990 and September 1991.

1990 BAAS 22, 297 (1989 activities)A massive building is under construction across the street from the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute, which will house the Center for Astrophysical Sciences; the Department of Physics andAstronomy; the new Johns Hopkins Space Grant Consortium (see below); as well as severalfunctions of the Space Telescope Science Institute itself. Occupancy of the building will be thelate spring of 1990, which is about the same time that the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope will flyon the Space Shuttle (as part of the ASTRO mission), and Space telescope will be launched. Thecenter for Astrophysical Sciences is therefore looking toward a year of culmination; but at thesame time, with the success of the Lyman FUSE proposal, the continuing progress of theMagellan 8-meter project, and our hopes for a future Small explorer mission, a beginning.

1991 BAAS 23, 316 (1990 activities)The new Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy, located just across the street from theSpace Telescope Science Institute, has now been completed, and is occupied by the Center forAstrophysical Sciences (CAS)æand by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the JohnsHopkins Space Grant Consortium, and (shortly) by elements of the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute.

From the steps of the Space Telescope Science Institute can be seen, on top of theBloomberg Center, the Johns Hopkins Space Grant Observatory. Observatory Director isRichard C. Henry, Director of the Johns Hopkins Space Grant Consortium, which includesMorgan State University and the Space Telescope Science Institute. The observatory dome isthe gift of Stanley D. and Joan F. Greenblatt, while an anonymous donor is providing a one-half-meter reflecting telescope, to be named the Morris W. Offit telescope in honor of the Chairmanof the Johns Hopkins Board of Trustees.

Many CAS members now hold world records for number of trips to Huntsville, Alabama,without a launch. The next attempt to launch the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (Arthur

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Davidsen, Principal Investigator), a part of the Astro mission, is tentatively scheduled forDecember 1990.

1992 BAAS 24, 275 (1991 activities)The unquestioned highlight of the past year was the launch, and extremely successful flight ofthe Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), as part of the Astro-1 mission (see special sectionbelow). Icing on the cake was the decision by NASA to fly HUT again in 1994.

There is a potpourri of other news: sounding rocket flights continue; the roof-topobservatory now actually contains a half-meter telescope (primarily for teaching use); we are atlast routinely receiving Hubble Space Telescope data; Lyman received an important boost fromthe Bahcall Committee (which recommended a dedicated spacecraft); and theoretical,experimental, and observational astronomical work advanced on many points as detailed below.These many positive things that happened over the last year do not lessen our greatdisappointment that the University found it necessary, for financial reason, to withdraw from theMagellan telescope consortium. We are still determined to join a telescope project, and areactively pursuing this goal.

1993 BAAS 25, 216 (1992 activities)In this place last year, we advertised our determination that the Johns Hopkins university shouldjoin a ground-based telescope project. We are extremely pleased to be able to report, now, thatat its 1992 June 8 meeting, the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) Board votedenthusiastically to invite the Johns Hopkins University to join ARC. The invitation has beenaccepted, and Hopkins is now a participant in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey of the Northern PolarCap. Alex Szalay is leading the effort at Hopkins, where portions of the fiber spectrographs willbe built and some of the software will be written. The project goal is to image about 25% of thesky in four colors to almost 24th mag. Follow-up spectroscopy of one million galaxies found inthe survey will be used to study the large-scale structure of the Universe. Meanwhile, ArthurDavidsen and his colleagues continue a vigorous mining and publication of the mountain of highquality data which came from the successful flight of the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT)as par tof the astro-1 mission in December 1990, and planning for the next reflight proceedsapace. The next HUT flight will involve a guest investigator program. Also, Lyman FarUltraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), and a host to other theoretical, observational, andexperimental activities are progressing, as detailed below.

1994 BAAS 26, 207 (1993 activities)We have concluded another year of intense work spanning the gamut from theoreticalastrophysics to flying sounding rockets and preparing for future space missions. We and theUniversity are firmly committed to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In addition tocontributing ideas for the design of the survey and the subsequent reduction of the data, objectidentification, classification, and cataloging, we are building the spectrographs for SDSS 2.5-mtelescope. We submitted three excellent proposals for Small Explorer Satellites. Although twooff our proposals were finalists in the ultraviolet category, none of our proposals were selected.The Lyman\FUSE project is in Phase B, and working hard toward a Critical Design Review in1996. Preparations are underway for the second Astro Mission which will fly on the Spaceshuttle in late 1994. The new silicon carbide coatings used on HUT are expected to improve its

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performance by a factor of three. In addition to theory and building space hardware, we continuevigorous observing programs using telescopes in orbit and around the world.

1995 BAAS 27, 223 (1994 activities)The highlight of 1993 for astronomy in Baltimore was the first servicing mission to the

Hubble Space Telescope. The mission in early December 1993 was an enormous success,securing the future for NASA and space astronomy. The first step in the demanding twelve-daymission was to configure the shuttle bay for berthing and check out the RMS arm while catchingup to the HST. After the rendezvous, the telescope was grappled with the RMS arm and berthedinto the space shuttle bay. The following day astronauts Musgrave and Hoffman replaced twoRSUs (two gyros each) in the aft shroud, and then two electronic control units for the gyros inthe mid-bay, after which they replaced fuse plugs in yet another compartment. In the timeremaining Musgrave prepared the solar array carriers for the changeout. The Extra-VehicularActivity (EVA) lasted 7.5 hours. On EVA day 2 astronauts Thornton and Akers removed the oldsolar arrays, jettisoning the +V2 array because a kink in on eoof the two bi-stems prevented itfrom rolling up. The shuttle made a small z-burn to move away from the array, resulting inspectacular pictures of the array “flapping” in space. Thornton and Akers then installed the newEuropean Space Agency solar arrays. EVA day 3 was crucial for optical space astronomy, withreplacement of the WF/PC1 camera with the WFC2. The replacement went smoothly, and leftenough time for replacement of the two magnetometers at the top of the telescope. The fourthEVA day was ;the most eventful for those of us in Baltimore who had worked for three years onCOSTAR. Thornton and Akers removed the HSP and installed COSTAR. Within an hour (near1:00 a.m.), consoles at the Goddard Space Flight Center showed that COSTAR was electricallyalive. Before reentering the shuttle, Thornton and Akers installed the co-processor and extramemory for the DF224 computer. The last EVA day began with a reboost, which raised the HSTorbit by 7.5 km. Hoffman and Musgrave installed the solar array drive electronics on Side 1, andthen manually moved the solar arry booms perpendicular to the HST. They next installed theGHRS redundancy kit, and then went to the top of the telescope and installed MLI over the oldmagnetometers to prevent further deterioration from solar UV and atomic oxygen. Oncommand, the new solar arrays unrolled smoothly.

The following day the HST was grappled by the RMS arm and the latches holding theHST to the shuttle were released. Nicollier, operating the RMS arm, then moved the HST first tothe “low hover” position just above the FSS fixture, then to the “high hover” posit9ion wellabove the payload by. The Space Telescope Operations Control Center went through the finalHST preparations for deploy. The aperture door was opened and the HST was released by theRMS. The shuttle pilots then carefully maneuvered the Endeavour safely away from HST. Therelease went well with no sign of any jet plumes form Endeavour’s maneuverings hitting HST.

The flawless execution of the mission was a tribute to the training, talent, andresourcefulness of the shuttle crew. However, NASA and astronomers, especially those at JHUand the STScI who had worked on COSTAR and WFPC, would not know for another month ifWFPC2 and COSTAR had corrected the spherical aberration in the HST primary mirror. Thefirst images in January from WFPC2 and the FOC/COSTAR were spectacular, showing that atlast astronomers would realize the promise of HST. The sequence of exciting results since theservicing mission are a testament to what HST can now do.

The past year has also been one of preparation for the future: work continues vigorouslyat JHU on the two spectrographs for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and on the design of

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innovative software that will be used to sift through the unprecedented catalog of stars, galaxies,and QSOs which will be produced by the SDSS. The second flight of the Hopkins UltravioletTelescope (HUT) on the Astro-2 mission will be in early spring, 1995. A great deal of work hasbeen done preparing for what should be a very successful mission. The new silicon carbidecoatings on the primary mirror and grating will increase the sensitivity of the telescope by afactor of three relative to the first flight: The Lyman-Fuse project was in Phase B and on trackuntil late this year when NASA decided to scale the mission back to a Medium Explorer. TheFUSE team is working hard to redesign the instrument to fit the new cost and weight constraintsfor a Mid-X mission. Based on the redesign, NASA will decide in early 1995 if FUSE willcontinue as a Mid-X.

The Maryland Space Grant Consortium was selected in late September as one of the sixfinalist for the USRA’s STEDI (Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative) program. Theprincipal investigator for this project is R. C. Henry. The proposal, which describes a smallsatellite that will investigate the ultraviolet background radiation, is a cooperative effort betweenJHU (Physics and Engineering), Morgan State University and the Applied Physics Laboratory.The satellite, called HRRE (Hydrogen Recombination Radiation Experiment), will carry anultraviolet spectrometer which will be built in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, whilethe satellite itself will be built in the Whiting School of Engineering, with most of the work beingperformed by students from JHU and Morgan State. During the four month Phase I study, thedesign will be refined in preparation for a review by USRA in February, 1995. At that time, twoor three of the six finalists will be selected to fly.

Perusal of the following pages shows that theoretical and observational work continues ata rapid pace.

1996 BAAS 28, 217 (1995 activities)The Johns Hopkins University Center for Astrophysical Sciences (CAS) again put

astronomer Sam Durrance in orbit in 1995. Below, we sketch the participation of the HopkinsUltraviolet Telescope (HUT) in the Astro-2 mission. Many Hopkins astronomers spent weeks inHuntsville, Alabama, in an extraordinarily successful second flight of HUT.

Participation in major NASA missions has been the foundation stone of the growth ofastronomy and astrophysics research activity at Hopkins. This growth continued in 1995 withthe selection of CAS Director Holland Ford as principal investigator for the Advanced Camerafor Surveys project for the Hubble Space Telescope. At press time, the Hopkins UltravioletBackground Explorer project (HUBE), has advanced to the final round in the NASA MIDEXselection process.

Another major space mission that passed a major milestone was the Far UltravioletSpectrograph Explorer (FUSE), which has been substantially restructured, but which now is ontrack for implementation by NASA, with launch in 1997.

However, a foundation stone, by itself, does not a building make: below you will find thedetails of a very broad and vigorous program in astronomy and astrophysics that includes strongcontributions to theory, observation, and experiment.

1997 BAAS 29, 189 (1996 activities)The years have seen the growth of a highly varied astronomy and astrophysics program in

the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Johns Hopkins University. A highlight of thepast year was visits by most Hopkins astronomers to the Apache Point Observatory to achieve

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familiarity with the 3.5-meter telescope. Participaton in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey continuesto be strong, and there are many other projects that are moving forward: the Advanced Camerafor Surveys HST project; Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorere; Sounding rockets (justrenewed for a further three-year period_; HUBE, the Hopkins Ultraviolet Background Explorer(selected by NASA in April 1996 as a MIDEX Alternate payload); Hopkins UltravioletTelescope (massive processing of the data); and many smaller projects. Our widespread work intheory, observation, and instrumetation continues apace. Visit http://www.pha.jhu.edu.

1998 BAAS 30, 184 (1997 activities)Space Science within CAS continues to be vigorous. As the Faint Object Spectrograph

and Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope programs come to an end, two other programs, the AdvancedCamera for Surveys (ACS) and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), are rapidlyapproaching final assembly and launch. FUSE will begin final assembly in December 1997 for alaunch in October 1998. The ACS is undergoing assembly that will continue through thesummer of 1998, with a launch and placement into the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) plannedfor December 1999. Both programs are discussed in detail below. The CAS rocket programand CAS’s participation in the Midcourse Space Experiment continue to be very active. CAShas two pending SMEX proposals, one for a Hopkins Ultraviolet Background Explorer (HUBE)and the other for a Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope Spartan (HUTSPA). CAS has built two widefield, double spectrographs for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and has written software forarchiving and retrieving SDSS data that is being adopted by several astronomical data archives.CAS plans to build a novel spectrograph for the Apache Point Observatory (APO) 3.5-mtelescope. Theoretical and observational astronomy within CAS continue to be strong. Both aresupported by data obtained from the Hubble Space telescope, the APO 3.5-m telescope, andobservatories around the world.

1999 BAAS 31, 146 (1998 activities)Historically, the backbone of our expanding astronomy program has been space

ultraviolet instrumentation and missions, and that portion of our program continues strong, withthe rapid progress of both FUSE (Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, to be launched in early1999) and ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys, for Hubble Space Telescope, to be placedaboard HST in mid 2000). Our sounding rocket program continues to train the experimentalistof the future, and our participation in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey continues to be vigorous.Theoretical astronomy and ground-based observing continue as major components of ourbalanced total astronomy and astrophysics program.

2000 BAAS 32, 1 (1999 activities)The highlights of 1999 were the launch of the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer

(FUSE) and first light from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Astronomers from JHUcontinue to play a major role in the broad collaboration guiding the SDSS. Work continues onthe ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys, for the Hubble Space Telescope). In addition, wecontinue to pursue a broad range of theoretical and ground-based astronomical projects.

As part of our educational and public outreach effort, we installed the new Morris W.Offit Telescope, a 20-inch reflector built by DFM Engineering, in the Maryland Space GrantConsortium Observatory on the roof of the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy. This

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telescope replaces the original 1991 instrument that was moved to Apache Point Observatory inNew Mexico to provide photometric calibrations for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

2001 BAAS 33, 131 (2000 activities)Among the highlights of 2000 were the successful ongoing operations of the Far-

Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Theformer project is managed directly from Johns Hopkins. The later is a broad collaborativeeffort, within which astronomers from JHU play a major role. Work continues on the ACS(Advanced Camera for Surveys) for the Hubble Space Telescope. In addition, scientists fromJHU have successfully proposed for a Phase A study for a Small Explorer project, PRIME(PRIMordial Explorer), a near IR, multiple color, wide-field survey. Finally, we continue topursue a broad range of theoretical and ground-based astronomical projects.

2002 BAAS 34, ---- (2001 activities) NO REPORT WAS SUBMITTED

2003 BAAS 35, ---- (2002 activities)