Joint Astronomy Centre
Encyclopedia
The Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC) operates British
, Canadian
and Dutch
telescopes at Mauna Kea Observatory
, and provides support for other telescopes and public outreach activities. Since 2006, the JAC has also maintained the Starlink Project
.
Telescopes operated by the JAC include:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
telescopes at Mauna Kea Observatory
Mauna Kea Observatory
The Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea...
, and provides support for other telescopes and public outreach activities. Since 2006, the JAC has also maintained the Starlink Project
Starlink Project
The Starlink Project, referred to by users as Starlink and by developers as simply The Project, was a UK astronomical computing project which supplied general-purpose data reduction software. Until the late nineties, it also supplied computing hardware and system administration personnel to UK...
.
Telescopes operated by the JAC include:
- The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT)United Kingdom Infrared TelescopeUKIRT, the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope, is a 3.8 metre infrared reflecting telescope, the largest dedicated infrared telescope in the world. It is operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre in Hilo and located on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i as part of Mauna Kea Observatory...
- 4m diameter - The James Clerk Maxwell TelescopeJames Clerk Maxwell TelescopeThe James Clerk Maxwell Telescope is a submillimetre-wavelength telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. Its primary mirror is 15 metres across: it is the largest astronomical telescope that operates in submillimetre wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum...
- 15m diameter submillimeter telescope