From awootten at nrao.edu Mon May 1 00:02:06 2006 From: awootten at nrao.edu (Alwyn Wootten) Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 00:02:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [asac] ASAC Telecon 1500 UT May 3 Message-ID: <52040.128.171.86.198.1146456126.squirrel@webmail.gb.nrao.edu> Folks Please note that the time is now set at 1500UT! Contact Information * 2006-May-3 15:00 UT * Duration: 1 hr * USA Toll Free Number: 877-874-1919 * Toll Number: +1-203-320-9891 * Passcode: 185064 * Leader: Tom Wilson Agenda: https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/ASAC3May06Agenda Clear skies, Al From awootten at nrao.edu Tue May 2 00:54:05 2006 From: awootten at nrao.edu (Alwyn Wootten) Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 00:54:05 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [asac] Dates of Fall meeting Message-ID: <54238.128.171.86.198.1146545645.squirrel@webmail.gb.nrao.edu> Folks, Some possible choices are posted at: https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/FtofDate This is for trying to select the best possible date; location TBD. Clear skies, Al From awootten at nrao.edu Tue May 2 10:23:30 2006 From: awootten at nrao.edu (Alwyn Wootten) Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 10:23:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [asac] Head of the ALMA Science Center (NAASC) Message-ID: <56054.128.171.86.198.1146579810.squirrel@webmail.gb.nrao.edu> Dear Colleagues, We are delighted to announce that Chris Carilli has been appointed as the Head of the ALMA Science Center (NAASC) effective May 1, 2006. Chris will initially take up the role from Socorro before relocating to Charlottesville later this year. Chris is no stranger to ALMA being a member of both the ASAC and ANASAC. This is a very formative time for the North American ALMA Science Center and we look forward to Chris' involvement and leadership. While Chris is moving from Socorro and his long affiliation with the VLA and VLBA, his move illustrates the important principle of One Observatory by rotating our staff to where he or she is needed the most. In addition, the One Observatory goal is not for the NA ALMA Science Center to function in isolation. There will be very close collaboration and coordination and active exchanges of personnel and ideas with the Science Centers NRAO is planning to establish for EVLA/VLBA and the GBT. It is important to note that Science Centers do not refer to buildings. They refer to the necessary activities provided and organized by NRAO to the astronomy community to make sure all the NRAO telescopes are optimally used for science. Fred K. Y. Lo and Adrian Russell From ryohei_kawabe at msn.com Tue May 2 12:43:26 2006 From: ryohei_kawabe at msn.com (kawabe ryohei) Date: Tue, 02 May 2006 16:43:26 +0000 Subject: [asac] Report on ALMA-J Activities Message-ID: Dear folks, Today, I will not be able to attend the ASAC telecon, because I will be on so-called Golden-Week vacation Here is a report on the recent ALMA-J activities for major ACA science issues. 1) ACA configuration & antenna positions We are trying to consolidate ACA configuration and to propose the final position (x, y, z) of each ACA antenna based on two configurations approach, which is composed of so-called Inner Array (with a north-south axis ratio of 1.1) and North-South (NS) Array with a ratio of 1.7 (See ALMA memo No. 538 by Morita & Holdaway). The location of ACA is called North Position, where is 140 m north from the center of the 12m array compact configuration (see a memo on combined array by Iono et al. circulated before). 2) Combined Array Simulation Recently, Ed Fomalont proposed that the combined array will be the default mode of the 12m array and ACA, and Jack Welch supported him, although the combined array is not always used for coordinated observations. This is not quite different from our original idea/plan that the coordinated observation mode is a major mode, and ACA stand-alone and combined array modes are minor. One issue is integration times needed for the 12m Array and ACA. Our original plan is based on the assumption that ACA should observe target sources four times more compared to the 12m Array ( 2.5 times more for 50 antennas case) to equalize sensitivity in uv domain. In case of the combined array mode, we get the same integration time for the 12m array and ACA, but the ACA integration time might not be sufficient for high fidelity imaging. Then, we are now performing simulation to see what is ?time evolution effect of image fidelity? by changing the integration time of ACA using GILDAS and MIRIAD. We can report on the preliminary results soon. 3) Study for Standard Horn absolute calibration method We are studying the scientific validity of the Standard horn method proposed by Gibson and Welch for ACA. We will also report on this soon. 4) Revision of ACA documents Two documents, ?ACA Scientific Specifications and Requirements?, and ?ACA Calibration Specs and Reqs? are under revision according to discussions in the Science-IPT and calibration group. We also developing ACA Operation Plan document based on ?ACA Operation Concept?, and this will be finally merged with ALMA Operation Plan. 5) Other issues We are also working on the following issues - Scattering cones for TP and 7m Arrays - Simulation of dual-loads and single load calibrations - Beam shape calculations of the ACA stand-alone mode for two configurations - ACA Ancillary calibration device plan; 183 GHz scanning radiometer, short-baseline radio seeing monitors, 10 micron cloud monitor etc. Regards, Ryohei _________________________________________________________________ ??????????????? ?MSN Hotmail? http://promotion.msn.co.jp/hotmail/ From wilson at physics.mcmaster.ca Tue May 2 21:20:59 2006 From: wilson at physics.mcmaster.ca (Christine Wilson) Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 21:20:59 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [asac] ALMA Board Response to January 2006 ASAC Report Message-ID: Hi, everyone, Here is the formal response from the Board to our last report (sent to John and me by Pat Donahoe today). Chris -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ALMA Board Response to January 2006 ASAC Report.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 24477 bytes Desc: ALMA Board Response to January 2006 ASAC Report.pdf URL: From awootten at nrao.edu Thu May 11 08:01:54 2006 From: awootten at nrao.edu (Alwyn Wootten) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 08:01:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [asac] ALMA News In-Reply-To: References: <50014.82.150.92.10.1147251234.squirrel@webmail.gb.nrao.edu> Message-ID: <50524.82.150.92.10.1147348914.squirrel@webmail.gb.nrao.edu> Folks, Tom, Ryohei and I would like to share the following news, which was circulated by Tony Beasley to Project Managers earlier today. We want to express our thanks for the role you have played in accomplishing this goal. --------------- I am pleased to inform you that the National Science Board today approved our request for additional funding for ALMA. This action provides the NSF Director with spending authority that covers the revised baseline as approved by the ALMA Board. It is the first step in acquiring the needed funds, with discussions with the Administration and the Congress yet to come. This approval is a recognition of the transformational nature of the science ALMA will enable and the importance of maintaining the power of the instrument. The high quality of the people involved with the project and the significant efforts by the project to bring cost and schedule under control, as described in the ALMA Board review and the North American review, were key factors in obtaining the approval, as was the effort the ALMA Board has made to ensure its ability to act in a timely way, while holding the project accountable to it. We will keep you informed as the process of obtaining the funds continues. Judy Sunley Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, NSF ------------- With very best wishes, Tom Wilson Ryohei Kawabe Al Wootten National Science Foundation From jsr at mrao.cam.ac.uk Thu May 11 09:39:58 2006 From: jsr at mrao.cam.ac.uk (John Richer) Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 14:39:58 +0100 Subject: [asac] ASAC meeting date Message-ID: Dear all, First, let me pass on congratulations from ASAC to the hard-working JAO team for being successful at the National Science Board meetings. Although on the first step in securing the extra money, this is really great news for ALMA. Regarding our face-to-face meeting in September, we have decided to meet in Florence. An inspection of the wiki page at https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/FtofDate suggests that the best candidate so far is Sunday 17th/Monday 18th September. On that date, only Peter Schilke is unavailable. (The Sat/Sun of the same weekend is also possible, if Leonardo is available then). We could also try for Monday/Tuesday instead (18th/19th), if that would help Peter. Would that be bad for others? We could perhaps break the cycle of weekend meetings, which although efficient, can be bad for home life. Whatever your views on when we should meet, please let me know by email, or sign up on the wiki. Regards John -- John Richer Astrophysics, Cavendish Laboratory, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/~jsr Tel: +44-1223-337246 Fax: +44-1223-354599 From yamamoto at taurus.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp Fri May 12 04:45:37 2006 From: yamamoto at taurus.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Satoshi Yamamot) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 17:45:37 +0900 Subject: [asac] Meeting Date Message-ID: <200605120845.k4C8jiJ8002918@taurus.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp> Dear all, In Japan, the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of Japan is held from Sept. 19 to 21. So it is difficult for Japanese members (and project people) to attend the meeting if it is held on Monday/Tuseday(18/19). Sunday/Monday(17/18) would also be difficult; we cannot attend to the meeting until the morning of 18th. Saturday/Sunday (16/17) would be better for us. We are grateful if you would kindly understand this situation. With best, Satoshi From jhibbard at nrao.edu Fri May 12 12:03:29 2006 From: jhibbard at nrao.edu (John Hibbard) Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 12:03:29 -0400 Subject: [asac] [almanews] ALMA News from EU and NA Newsletters. Message-ID: <4464B1D1.9060706@nrao.edu> Available at http://www.alma.nrao.edu/almanews/. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: jhibbard.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 340 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ Almanews mailing list Almanews at listmgr.cv.nrao.edu http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/mailman/listinfo/almanews From cerni at damir.iem.csic.es Tue May 16 04:07:58 2006 From: cerni at damir.iem.csic.es (cerni) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 10:07:58 +0200 Subject: [asac] ASAC meeting date References: Message-ID: <01b201c678bf$d879b7a0$20186fa1@astroportpepe> Dear John The dates are OK to me, but it is really needed to meet on sunday ! Cheers Pepe ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Richer" To: Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 3:39 PM Subject: [asac] ASAC meeting date > > Dear all, > > First, let me pass on congratulations from ASAC to the hard-working JAO > team for being successful at the National Science Board meetings. > Although on the first step in securing the extra money, this is really > great news for ALMA. > > Regarding our face-to-face meeting in September, we have decided to meet > in Florence. An inspection of the wiki page at > > https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/FtofDate > > suggests that the best candidate so far is Sunday 17th/Monday 18th > September. On that date, only Peter Schilke is unavailable. (The > Sat/Sun of the same weekend is also possible, if Leonardo is available > then). > > We could also try for Monday/Tuesday instead (18th/19th), if that would > help Peter. Would that be bad for others? We could perhaps break the > cycle of weekend meetings, which although efficient, can be bad for home > life. > > Whatever your views on when we should meet, please let me know by email, > or sign up on the wiki. > > Regards > > John > > -- > John Richer > Astrophysics, Cavendish Laboratory, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE > http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/~jsr Tel: +44-1223-337246 Fax: +44-1223-354599 > _______________________________________________ > Asac mailing list > Asac at listmgr.cv.nrao.edu > http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/mailman/listinfo/asac From lt at arcetri.astro.it Tue May 16 05:18:36 2006 From: lt at arcetri.astro.it (Leonardo Testi) Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 11:18:36 +0200 Subject: [asac] Meeting Date In-Reply-To: <200605120845.k4C8jiJ8002918@taurus.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp> References: <200605120845.k4C8jiJ8002918@taurus.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp> Message-ID: <2A3E6AE1-1C12-451E-A05C-7D910A265009@arcetri.astro.it> Dear all, in principle there is no problem in organizing the meeting the week end 16-19 Sep. I will be in Ringberg from 11 to 15, although not ideal for me, it should be reasonably ok to organize the meeting Sat/ Sun 16/17. Leonardo Il giorno May 12, 2006, alle ore 10:45 AM, Satoshi Yamamot ha scritto: > > Dear all, > > In Japan, the annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of > Japan is held from Sept. 19 to 21. So it is difficult for > Japanese members (and project people) to attend the meeting if > it is held on Monday/Tuseday(18/19). Sunday/Monday(17/18) would > also be difficult; we cannot attend to the meeting until the > morning of 18th. Saturday/Sunday (16/17) would be better for us. > > We are grateful if you would kindly understand this situation. > > With best, > > Satoshi > > > > _______________________________________________ > Asac mailing list > Asac at listmgr.cv.nrao.edu > http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/mailman/listinfo/asac From awootten at nrao.edu Fri May 19 11:49:50 2006 From: awootten at nrao.edu (Al Wootten) Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:49:50 -0400 Subject: [asac] Science Magazine article on ALMA Message-ID: <17517.59678.48070.42498@polaris.cv.nrao.edu> Folks, Science magazine has an article today on ALMA and the recent National Science Board considerations on the rebaselined budget: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/312/5776/990 The article quotes the actual cost amount approved by the NSB. I find this article to be very evenhanded, an excellent description of the process we've been through in the past year. Thanks again for your support in getting us to this point, and for your continued support as we move to producing transformational science. Clear skies, Al +--------------------------------------------------------+ | Alwyn Wootten (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/) | | Project Scientist, Atacama Large Millimeter Array/NA | | Astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory | | 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475, USA | | (434)-296-0329 voice Help us build The ALMA| | (434)-296-0278 FAX {> {> {> {> | +----------------------------------^-----^-----^-----^---+ From jsr at mrao.cam.ac.uk Mon May 22 11:36:22 2006 From: jsr at mrao.cam.ac.uk (John Richer) Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 16:36:22 +0100 Subject: [asac] Face to Face meeting date Message-ID: Dear ASAC, Looking at the known availabilities of people, I tentatively propose that we meet face to face on Saturday September 16th and Sunday 17th in Florence. I apologise to one and all that this is a weekend, but it seems like the only opportunity we have to get together in September. I also apologise to Peter Schilke who can't make that weekend. I also know that Tony Beasley and Hans Rykaczewski cannot make this date. I hope other JAO/Executive staff can. Leonardo has kindly agreed to host the meeting for us. This proposal will be discussed at the ALMA Board telecon on Wednesday. Are there any major objections to this proposal? The only other option that I can think of is to meet in early October, perhaps the weekend of 7/8th October. We are holding a water vapour radiometry meeting in Bavaria on the 9th-11th http://www.wettzell.ifag.de/veranstaltungen/wvr/workshop2006/wvr2006.html so perhaps for some people this would be convenient especially if we chose a nearby location (Munich?). The Board meets November 9/10 in Madrid so it would make writing the report rather tight. But unless I hear strong opinions, I suggest we go with plan A - 16/17 September. Regards, John -- John Richer Astrophysics, Cavendish Laboratory, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/~jsr Tel: +44-1223-337246 Fax: +44-1223-354599 From susanne at oso.chalmers.se Tue May 23 02:39:42 2006 From: susanne at oso.chalmers.se (Susanne Aalto) Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 08:39:42 +0200 Subject: [asac] Face to Face meeting date In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4472AE2E.3060608@oso.chalmers.se> Dear John, Both the proposed September dates - and the suggested October alternative are fine with me. Best regards, Susanne John Richer wrote: >Dear ASAC, > >Looking at the known availabilities of people, I tentatively propose >that we meet face to face on Saturday September 16th and Sunday 17th in >Florence. I apologise to one and all that this is a weekend, but it >seems like the only opportunity we have to get together in September. I >also apologise to Peter Schilke who can't make that weekend. I also >know that Tony Beasley and Hans Rykaczewski cannot make this date. I >hope other JAO/Executive staff can. Leonardo has kindly agreed to host >the meeting for us. This proposal will be discussed at the ALMA Board >telecon on Wednesday. > >Are there any major objections to this proposal? > >The only other option that I can think of is to meet in early October, >perhaps the weekend of 7/8th October. We are holding a water vapour >radiometry meeting in Bavaria on the 9th-11th > > http://www.wettzell.ifag.de/veranstaltungen/wvr/workshop2006/wvr2006.html > >so perhaps for some people this would be convenient especially if we >chose a nearby location (Munich?). The Board meets November 9/10 in >Madrid so it would make writing the report rather tight. > >But unless I hear strong opinions, I suggest we go with plan A - 16/17 >September. > >Regards, > >John > > >