Theo ten Brummelaar (CHARA array)

Recent progress and science at the CHARA Array - Theo ten Brummelaar

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

PLEASE NOTE 11am START TIME
___________________________


Georgia State UniversityÂ’s Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) operates an optical/near-IR interferometric array on Mount Wilson, California. The CHARA Array consists of six 1-m aperture telescopes arranged pair wise in a Y-shaped configuration yielding 15 baselines from 33 to 331 meters. These include several of the longest O/IR interferometric baselines yet implemented and permit limiting resolutions for stellar diameter measurements, conservatively defined in terms of reaching the first null in visibility, of 1.6 and 0.4 mas (milli-arcseconds) in the K and V bands respectively. For binary star studies, these limits are 0.8 and 0.2 mas. I will briefly describe the current status of the Array itself, including anticipated improvements over the near term, as well as describe some of the recent scientific results.