Annual Report 2003 - Vatican Observatory

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VATICAN OBSERVATORYConstruction TimelineVatican Advanced Technology Telescope1983Site testing begins on Mount Graham(photo 1).1985 March: Spin-casting of 1.8-meterprimary mirror in Steward ObservatoryMirror Lab (photo 2).; VaticanObservatory and Steward Observatoryagree to use mirror in ajoint telescope.1986198719881989September: Incorporation of VaticanObservatory Foundation as anonprofit. November: Design oftelescope begins.March: First fundraising campaignbegins.July: Contract for telescope mount withL&F Industries. November: Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act authorizes constructionon Mt. Graham.January: Second fundraising campaignbegins. Grand total raised: $6.5 million.February: Design of astrophysics facilitybegins. May: Contract for secondary mirrorwith Space Optics Research Labs.(4)(2)(1)(3)1990 February: Telescope mount delivered to test facility near Tucson. October:Contract with T.L. Roof signed and site clearing for astrophysicsfacility on Mount Graham begins (photo 3).19911992November: Steward Observatory completes polishing of primary mirror.April: Construction resumes on Mount Graham after weather delays(photo 4). May: Polishing of secondary mirror completed. October: Telescopemount and dome installed on Mount Graham.14
A Milestone YearMarch: VATT ready for installation ofscientific equipment and primary mirror(photo 5).1993(5)15 September: First light with primarymirror in place and beginning of commissioningphase.(6)18 September: VATT dedication on Mt.Graham, attended by family members ofprincipal benefactors, Thomas J. Bannanand Fred A. Lennon. Photo 6: holdingdedication plaque are, left, Karen Dalby,granddaughter of Bannan; right, JohnLennon and Catherine (Lennon) Lozick,son and daughter of Lennon.(7)12 July: second light with secondarymirror in place.January: Scientific observations begin(photo 7 © David A. Harvey 2004).19941995March: Kresge Science Initiative Grantstarts; brings VATT close to planned opticaland mechanical performance and reliability.1999(8)December: In collaboration with University 2002of Virginia, installation of CorMASS (CornellMassachusetts Slit Spectrograph) on theVATT. Usable in bright of moon, this instrumentnearly doubles available observingtime. Initial CorMASS/VATT observations producean infrared spectrum of Saturn’s ringsand disk (photo 8, courtesy of J. Wilson andM. Skrutskie, U. of Virginia; J.D. Smith, U. ofArizona; C. Henderson, Cornell University;and M. Nelson, Vatican Observatory).200318 September: Tenth Anniversary of the VATT.(Thanks to Lori Stiles, Office of Public Information, University of Arizona, and Christopher Corbally,S.J., for preparing this chronology.)15ANNUAL REPORT 2003
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Annual Report 2003 - Vatican Observatory

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