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WIYN Telescope
Telescope Details
Location:
Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona
Purpose:
This telescope is on the hunt for exoplanets — planets outside of our solar system.
NIST’s role:
A telescope instrument called NEID searches for and tracks the wobbling of starlight due to a gravitational pull from an orbiting planet. This requires lots of measurements, so NIST provided an astro-etalon as a reliable reference. An etalon sends light into a cavity that only certain frequencies, or colors, can pass through. It’s a simpler, more stable backup for the spectrograph’s laser frequency comb normally used as a ruler for light. NEID was built by a consortium led by Pennsylvania State University and funded by the joint NASA/NSF Exoplanet Exploration Program. Consortium partners included NIST, NASA, the University of Pennsylvania, Macquarie University, Carleton College, NOAO and PRL India.
Significant discoveries:
NEID began scientific operations in July 2021.
Other interesting facts:
The name NEID — pronounced NOO-id — is derived from the word meaning “to see” in the native language of the Tohono O’odham, on whose land Kitt Peak National Observatory is located.
Operated by:
WIYN is owned and operated by the WIYN Consortium, which consists of the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the University of Missouri and Purdue University.
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