British dignitaries to honor Sen. Domenici's dedication to scientific collaboration

Located at 3,320 meters altitude atop Mount Baldy, the observatory features three “arms” that are 420 feet long, a unique feature for a mountaintop site, Westpfahl said. This makes for an ideal site to study distance galaxies as they evolve. The array will also be 100 times more sensitive than any existing optical interferometer. This unprecedented combination will enable scientists to study in detail physical processes which until now were too small to see at the great distances typical of astronomical objects. They will be able to watch the final moments of dying stars and study the formation of planets around other stars and get close to the heart of active galaxies.

New Mexico Tech has received $53 million from the U.S. Congress for construction and implementation of the program and has requested another $15 million.

“If it weren’t for Sen. Domenici’s ability to secure major funding, we would not have had this opportunity to join this extraordinary partnership with Cambridge,” New Mexico Tech President Daniel H. López said. “Sen. Domenici was the spearhead and the lightning rod to help form this partnership.”

The operations centre, using the combined scientific knowledge of the University of Cambridge and New Mexico Tech is designed to reveal the mysteries hidden in black holes at the centers of these galaxies. This information is vital to our understanding of how the universe is evolving. For the duration of his 36 years in public service, Sen. Domenici has always supported advanced research in his home state of New Mexico.

“The Senator has always been a strong supporter of astronomy and astrophysics,” said Dr. Van Romero, vice president of research and economic development at New Mexico Tech. “The Magdalena Ridge Observatory and its partners – the University of Cambridge and New Mexico Tech – have benefited greatly from Senator Domenici’s commitment to world-class science that uses the natural assets of New Mexico.”

Recently, the United States’ National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) asked for assistance from the scientists at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory. NASA scientists were tracking an asteroid that they believed might be on a collision course with Mars. Using the 2.4-meter telescope, MRO scientists determined that the asteroid would sail past our neighboring planet.

As a result of that work, Magdalena Ridge Observatory was awarded $825,000 by NASA’s Planetary Astronomy-Near Earth Object Program to continue to track objects that could potentially collide with Earth.

“We expect to do astrometric follow-up, determining the orbits of at least 50 objects per month. This will result in data for about 500 near-Earth objects per year,” said Dr. Eileen Ryan, principal investigator and project manager for the observatory.

Additional studies will characterize the sizes, rotation rates, composition and internal structures and strengths of near-Earth asteroids. Understanding such information can be important in deciding how to deal with a potentially dangerous object, Ryan said.

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