Max Planck Institute for Astronomy - Annual Report 2005

10 I. General
achieve higher angular resolution. Space telescopes, on
the other hand, are the only way to carry out observations
in wavelength regions where the atmosphere absorbs
the radiation or generates a bright background, as it is
the case, e.g., in wide regions of the infrared spectral
regime.
Since the pioneer days of infrared astronomy in the
1970s, the MPIA has been a leading instrument developer
for this field of astronomy. In particular iSophot,
one of four scientific instruments aboard the world’s first
Infrared Space Observatory iSo of the European Space
Agency eSa, was built under the coordinating leadership
of the Institute. From 1996 to 1998, iSo aquired excellent
data, particularly in the so far inaccessible far-infrared
range. The know-how gained with iSo has enabled the
institutes prominent role in new space projects like the
herScheL Space Telescope and the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST). At present, astronomers at the MPIA
are also actively participating in legacy science programs
with Spitzer Infrared Observatory.
Fig. I.3: The Very Large Telescope, located in the Chilean
Andes. (Image: eSo)
The new generations of instruments for 8m-class telescopes
and space missions are too large and expensive
to be built by a single group, such as the MPIA. At present,
the Institute is therefore participating in, or leading
a number of international collaborations for building new
large telescopes and scientific instruments, thereby gaining
access to the world's most important observatories.
In the southern hemisphere, this is the eSo Very Large
Telescope (VLT) in Chile with its four 8 m telescopes
that can be linked to form a powerful interferometer.
In the northern hemisphere, MPIA is participating in
the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona. This
extraordinary telescope will be equipped with two mirrors
of 8.4 m diameter each, fixed on a common mount,
making it the world’s largest single telescope. In the fall
of 2005, the LBT had »first light« with the first of the
two primary mirrors. Both collaborations enable MPIA's
astronomers to observe the northern and the southern sky
with first-class telescopes. At the same time the Institute
is participating in studies for the instrumentation of
next-generation large telescopes, the so-called Extremely
Large Telescopes (ELTs, cf Chapter IV.2).