MMA Imaging and Calibration Group

Minutes for meeting Tuesday, 3 Sept 2002 at 12:00pm EDT.

Date: 3 Sept 2002

Time: 4:00 pm EDT (2:00 pm Socorro, 1:00 pm Tucson)

Phone: (434)296-7082 (CV SoundStation Premier Conference phone 3rd floor).

Past minutes, etc on MMA Imaging and Calibration Division Page
 

Agenda


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News. -Wootten

News from my point of view.
 The VertexRSI antenna continues to rise.
 
  • June-July Report to NSF from ALMA/NA Science IPT
     
  • JAO News - Meeting 3 September
      Configuration Final Review -- Grenoble 30 Sept - 1 Oct 2002.
      Budgets 2003 and beyond due 15 August
     NRAO Director's ALMA Review 2002 Sometime October 3-8 NRAO Charlottesville
     ALMA Site Infrastructure Requirements Review 2002 October 22-24 NRAO Tucson
     ALMA Antenna Transporter Requirements Review 2002 October 22-24 NRAO Tucson
     
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    Calibration - All

      There was a fair bit of traffic this past week. Anyone like to summarize?
     
     
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    AIPS++ -

      There should be a report ready for the ASAC but it has not been conveyed to them.
     
     
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    Configuration - Conway

     
     
     

    Meetings Past and Future - Wootten


     
  • Agenda for ASAC Face-to-face. The Charges from the Alma Board are of special interest, here shown with Cox's plan for addressing them.
     Pierre has drafted a response on the Early Science Charge:
     Dear All,
     Please find attached a postscript version of the draft of an Interim Report on `Early Science with ALMA'. This document is based on the discussions and mail exchanges in the working group which was constituted around this charge to the ASAC. Clearly a general discussion with the whole ASAC should further improve this document. You will find a first set of recommendations which we bring specifically to your attention (Section 7). We have the following specific questions which we would like to adress and discuss at the Socorro meeting:
      1. does the ASAC agree with the above draft recommendations?
      2. does the ASAC agree with the early science goals? any additions? are there points which need more clarification?
      3. if only 2 receiver bands are available initially, which bands would be recommended on scientific grounds?
      4. does the ASAC want to recommend `observatory-type' projects, e.g. spectral surveys?
      5. should early observing with baselines longer than 1 km be started with less than 12 antennas?
      6. are reduced sensitivities for the first set of early-science receivers acceptable (e.g., by limiting the bandwidth from 8 to 4 GHz)?
      7. does the ASAC want to give priorities for bringing the unique capabilities on-line?
     This list of questions is, of course, open and further inputs are welcome.
     With best wishes,
     Pierre The Early Science Group report: ps format.
     
      Early Science Sensitivity Comparisons
      CARMA Sensitivity Comparisons
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    Other


      Monthly report for Jun-Jul has been submitted!
     SMA News...
     
     
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    Upcoming Meetings - Wootten

    AUG 17/24 URSI General Assembly, Maastricht, the Netherlands Butler attending

    AUG 22/28 SPIE Symposium on Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, Waikoloa, Hawaii. Brown, Wootten attending; Text of ALMA article.

    SEP 9-13 Winds, Bubbles and Explosions

    JAN 5/9, 2003 201st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society

    JUL 13-26, 2003 Twenty-Fifth General Assembly of the IAU

    JUL 22/25, 2003 IAU Symposium (221): Star Formation at High Angular Resolution, Sydney, Australia. Tyler Bourke is a co-chair of the scientific organizing committee. Good opportunity to show ALMA capabilities.

    SEP 22-26, 2003 4th Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium on The Dense Interstellar Medium in Galaxies

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    Travel

     Oh, always

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