Australian Sky & Telescope - June 2018

http://www.skyandtelescope.com.au 17

university consortia. This will

extend the operational life of the

AAT beyond 2020 and will allow the

AAO’s instrumentation function to be

strengthened into a genuinely national

capability, developing new industry and

commercial connections over the long

term. The extension of AAT operations

into the mid-2020s accords with the

outlook presented in the Decadal Plan.

The new model for the AAO’s

facilities places the operation of the AAT

under the management of Astronomy

Australia Limited (AAL), a not-for-

profit company whose members are

Australian universities and research

organisations. From July 1, 2018, the

Commonwealth will lease the AAT

premises exclusively to the Australian

National University (ANU), acting on

behalf of a consortium of 13 fee-paying

Australian universities. The ANU

already owns and operates Siding Spring

Observatory where the AAT is located,

and the AAT Consortium agreement

will cover the operation of the telescope

for seven years, of which funds for the

first four are already committed. The

majority of the AAT’s staff will become

ANU personnel.

The situation for the UKST is rather

different. Despite being operated by the

AAOsince1988,ithasbeenownedby

theANUsince2010.Asdescribedlaterin

this article, two new large-scale surveys

(Taipan and FunnelWeb) will take up all

availabletimeonthetelescope.

So much for the telescopes —

what of the AAO’s facilities in

Sydney? Once again, the importance

of the Observatory’s world-class

instrumentation programme is

highlighted in the Decadal Plan, and

it will continue into the new era. From

July1,2018,theAAO’sscienceand

technologygroupwillbetakenover

byaconsortiumledbyMacquarie

University and including the ANU and

theUniversityofSydney,withfunding

primarily through AAL in partnership

with the universities. It is expected that

the unity of the group will be retained

withinMacquarieUniversityinorder

to preserve the internationally-known

AAO brand-name.

The transition of a government-

funded institution like AAO is a

complex and often emotional process.

However, what is certain is that the

ESO Strategic Partnership will give our

astronomers access to the world’s best

tools, infrastructure and collaborations

in optical astronomy and, through

this, the key to new ground-breaking

discoveries over the coming decades.

At the same time, both university

consortia responsible for the AAT and

the AAO instrumentation capability

from July 1, 2018 are committed to

returning things to ‘business as usual’

as soon as possible after the transition.

Indeed, with the instrumentation

group becoming part of a truly national

capability, ‘business as usual’ could

soon be bigger and better than ever.

AAO yesterday and today

When the British and Australian

governments looked jointly at possible

“The government’s initiative in forging the partnership

with ESO has been widely praised within the Australian

astronomical community.”

ESO/B. TAFRESHI (TWANIGHT.ORG)