Many of the advances in astronomy have been due to advances in instrumentation. Progress in this area of astronomical research is currently providing a wealth of exciting data. Several more promising implementations are under construction, and improved techniques are constantly being developed to improve precision and sensitivity. This area of research overlaps with many of the other research areas in the department. Related information can also be found on the CfA facilities pages.

Optical/IR. Several instruments operating in the optical and IR wavebands have been developed by groups including members of the department. This includes some of the new instruments for the converted MMT the hectospec and hectochelle 240+ fiber multiobject spectrographs, the binospec wide-field multislit spectograph, the MIRAC3 imager and the wide field corrector. It also includes the Infrared Array Camera, IRAC, under construction for use on SIRTF. Another project with departmental involvement is SOAR, a 2 meter balloon borne telescope with a 225 element bolometer array camera which is part of NASA's long duration balloon flight program.
Department members also contributed to the development of the Advanced Fiber-Optic Echelle (AFOE) spectrometer, a fiber-fed, bench-mounted echelle spectrograph which provides precise stellar radio velocity measurements.
In addition, Harvard is a 20% partner in the Magellan Project, which involves the construction of two 6.5 meter telescopes in Chile. The department is also a partner in IOTA, the Infrared Optical Telescope Array on Mount Hopkins, an interferometer which is currently yielding data.

Radio. Several department members are part of the collaboration building the Submillimeter Array, SMA, a high resolution instrument for submillimeter wavelengths. Two of the eight 6-meter antennas are already in place and operating, with the rest to be installed over the next few years. For this array, the 1.2 meter telescope since its arrival at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

X-ray/Hard X-ray. An active program of development of both X-ray (0.1 - 10 keV) and hard X-ray (~10 - 600 keV) detectors and telescopes is underway at the CfA. The HRC X-ray imaging camera (one of two) and grating spectrometer readout on Chandra was developed at the CfA. Soft X-ray calorimeter detectors are being developed by E. Silver, and a program for development of hard X-ray imaging optics using multi-layer techniques is being developed by P. Gorenstein and S. Romaine for possible eventual use on Constellation X. An ongoing program to develop both hard X-ray imaging detectors, using new solid state array detectors (pixellated Cd-Zn-Te) is the current emphasis of the EXITE program, and new concepts for wide-field hard X-ray imaging coded aperture survey telescopes are being developed for the EXIST program. The EXIST program is being studied for both eventual implementation on the International Space Station and a possible interim Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) version, EXIST-LITE.

Associated Professors and Lecturers

R. Blundell, D. Charbonneau, T. Dame, J. Grindlay, J. Huchra, R. Kirshner, J. Moran, C. Stubbs , P. Thaddeus.

IOTA: Infrared Optical Telescope Array

Instruments for converted MMT

SOAR, A Stratospheric Observatory for Astronomical Research

Magellan

Submillimeter Array, SMA

Submm receiver lab

Infrared Array Camera, IRAC, for SIRTF

Mid-Infrared Array Camera, MIRAC

AFOE,Advanced Fiber-Optic Echelle spectrometer

HRC: The High Resolution Camera on Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, VERITAS

Chandra X-Ray Observatory

EXIST Energetic X-Ray Imaging Survey Telescope

Harvard balloon-borne Hard X-ray Imaging Telescope, EXITE

Constellation X, X-Ray mission