The OPTical Infrared Coordination Network for astronomy (OPTICON) brings together all the international and national organizations which fund, operate and develop Europe’s major optical and infrared astronomical infrastructures, together with several world class facilities for solar astronomy located in the Canarian Observatories. OPTICON will incorporate networking, trans-national access and Joint Research Activities (JRA)
- Network N1 will manage the consortium.
- Network N2 will assist in the coordination and integration of the observing facilities at the Canarian Teide and Roques de los Muchachos observatories, described here as the European Northern Observatory
- Network N3 will identify needs and develop actions to structure the European astronomical community around several large projects such as a European Large Telescope.
- Network N4 will develop proposals to enhance synergies between space and ground astronomy.
- Network N5 will develop programmes to bring optical-IR interferometry into main-stream astronomy.
- Network N6 will provide a forum for telescope directors to monitor and enhance the OPTICON transnational access programme and bring forward co-ordination of plans on developments of mutual interest.
The trans-national access programme will provide access to 17 infrastructures comprising 18 optical-infrared telescopes of between 1.5 and 4m aperture and 4 solar telescopes.
- JRA-1 will develop the concepts, designs and technologies required for the next generation of Adaptive Optics capabilities which will equip 8-10 m telescopes over the next decade.
- JRA-2 will define, fabricate and fully characterize a high speed low noise detector for Adaptive Optics applications having high sensitivity.
- JRA-3 will Investigate the scientific applications and technological challenges required to develop new high speed detectors for applications in astronomy.
- JRA-4 will develop tools that will enable a larger number of astronomers without specialized technical knowledge to use interferometers for their research and the growth of the interferometric community in Europe.
- JRA-5 will develop technologies for Integral Field and Multi-Object Spectroscopy and Imaging. This will include technology road-mapping to establish the most promising avenues and links with SME and other research organizations.
- JRA-6 will develop a prototype European-led technology to build Volume Phase Holographic gratings, a potentially major advance for future astronomical spectrographs.
Close cooperation with the other astronomy I3 and the wider European community will be maintained.
Source: OPTICON website
| participant | country | Department |
|---|---|---|
| The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of | GB | a) Institute of Astronomy |
| Cambridge | b) Cavendish Laboratory | |
| Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council | GB | a) United Kingdom Infrared Telescope |
| b) United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre | ||
| c) William Herschel Telescope | ||
| d) Isaac Newton Telescope | ||
| European Space Agency | INO | Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility |
| Reasearch and Scientific Support Department | ||
| European Southern Observatory | INO | a) ESO Instrumentation Division |
| b) La Silla ESO 3.6 M | ||
| c) La Silla ESO NTT 3.5 M | ||
| d) La Silla ESO MPG 2.2M | ||
| CSEM Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique S.A. | CH | Systems Engineering |
| Institut National Des Sciences de L’Univers | FR | a) Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Grenoble – Universite Joseph Fourier |
| b) Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale | ||
| c) Centre de Recherche Astronomique de Lyon | ||
| d) Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille | ||
| e) Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille Provence | ||
| f) Laboratoire d’Astrodynamique, d’Astrophysique et d’Aeronomie de Bordeaux | ||
| g) Canada France Hawaii Telescope | ||
| h) Observatoire Haute Pyrennees 1.9 m | ||
| i) Observatoire Midi Pyrenees | ||
| j) Observatoire de Paris | ||
| k) Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris | ||
| Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias | ES | a) Instituto de Astrofiscia de Canarias |
| b) Telescopio Carlos Sanchez | ||
| Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica | IT | a) INAF – HQ |
| b) Osservatorio de Astrofidica de Arcetri | ||
| c) Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera | ||
| d) Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova | ||
| e) Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino | ||
| f) TNG Telescope | ||
| Universiteit Leiden | NL | Leiden Observatory |
| Stichting Astronomisch Onderzoek in Nederland | NL | Technical Laboratory |
| Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG) | DE | a) Max-Planck Institut für Astronomie |
| b) CAHA 3.5 M | ||
| c) CAHA 2.2 M | ||
| d) Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik | ||
| e) Max-Planck Institute für Extraterrestrische Physik | ||
| f) Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie | ||
| Rijksuniversiteit Groningen | NL | Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Astronomie |
| Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association | INT | a) NORDIC Community |
| b) NOT Telescope | ||
| Greek National Committee for Astronomy | GR | Greek National Community |
| Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum | DE | German National Community |
| Schweizerische Akademie der Naturwissenschaften SANW | CH | Swiss National Community |
| Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik | DE | a) Kiepenenheuer Institut für Sonnenphysik |
| b) Vacuum Tower Telescope | ||
| University of La Laguna | ES | Red Academica de Astrofisica y Astronomia |
| Gran Telescopio de Canarias, S.A. | ES | Gran Telescopio de Canarias, S.A. |
| Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien: The | SE | a) Institute for Solar Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | b) Swedish 1metre Solar Telescope | |
| Universite de Liege | BE | a) Centre Spatial de Liege, Applied Optical Holography Laboratory |
| b) Institut d’Astrophysique et de Geophysique | ||
| Utrecht University | NL | a) Astronomical Institute |
| b) DOT | ||
| Politecnico di Milano | IT | Lab of Molecular Dynamics and Vibrational Spectroscopy |
| Universitat Graz | AT | Institut für Geophysik, Astrophysik und Meteorologie |
| THEMIS S.L. | ES | THEMIS S.L. |
| University of Bremen | DE | Laboratory for Precision Machining. Department of Engineering, University of Bremen |
| Katholieke Universiteit Leuven | BE | Institute of Astronomy Catholic University of Leuven |
| National University of Ireland, Galway | IE | Astrophysics and Applied Imaging Group, Department of Physics and Information Technology‘ |
| Universite de Paris-Sud | FR | Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale |
| Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences | HU | Konkoly Observatory |
| Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales | FR | Department d’Optique Theorique et Appliquee |
| Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto | PL | Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto |
| Technion – Israel Institute of Technology | IL | Department of Physics |
| Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika w Toruniu | PL | Torun Centre for Astronomy |
| University of Durham | GB | Department of Physics |
| Universite de Geneve | CH | Observatoire de Geneve |
| Forderkreis der Landessternwarte Heidelberg Konigstuhl e.V | DE | Landessternwarte Heidelberg |
| Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic | CZ | Ondrejov Observatory |
| The University of Sheffield | GB | Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| The University of Warwick | GB | Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| University of Vienna | AT | Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Institute of Astronomy |
| National Observatory of Athens | GR | a) Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| b) Aristarchos 2.3m Telescope | ||
| Institut de Fisica d’Altes Energies | ES | Institut de Fisica d’Altes Energies |
| Reflex s r o | CZ | Reflex – Advanced X-ray technologies |
| Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) | NL | NETHERLANDS ORGANISATION FOR APPLIED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (TNO) |
| Liverpool John Moores University | GB | a) Astrophysics Research Institute |
| b) Liverpool Telescope | ||
| Anglo-Australian Telescope Board | AU | a) Anglo-Australian Observatory |
| b) Anglo-Australian Telescope | ||
| c) UK Schmidt Telescope |
