CSOLOGO1 CSOLOGO2Technologies at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory at Mauna Kea to be transferring to a new 25-m telescope called CCAT in Chile in 2018.   

   The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory is a cutting-edge facility for astronomical research and
instrumentation development.  Located near the summit of Mauna Kea, the CSO began operation
in 1986.  By 2016, the observatory will have given 30 years of groundbreaking achievements. 

  Caltech operates the CSO under a contract from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  It's partners
include the University of Texas and University of Hawaii. 

   The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) will begin decommissioning the Caltech Submillimeter
Observatory (CSO) in Hawaii.  Plans call for dismantling of the observatory to begin in 2016, with the
return of the site to its natural state by 2018. 

  The decomissioning of the CSO is due to the construction of the next generation of radio telescope, the
Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT), to be located in Chile.  CCAT's scheduled opening will
occur prior to CSO's dismantling. 

  "The timing of this works very nicely," says Tom Phillips, director of the CSO and Altair Professor of
Physics in Caltech's Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.  "The international community of
astronomers that rely on CSO will have a seamless transition as CCAT comes online just as CSO is
dicommissioned." 

   Some of the scientific achievements at the CSO are listed here [PDF, 6.7MB].

   Detailed information can be found on a Caltech web site. 



Figure 1. Caltech Submillimeter Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

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