In a Partnership with Leading Scientists
and Organizations FIU’s AMPATH Helps Telescopes in Each
Hemisphere Talk to Each Other
MIAMI, Fla. (Aug. 16, 2002) --
Thanks to a novel new partnership made possible by Florida International
University, astronomers in Hawaii and in Chile are now able
to transfer and share, simultaneously, data collected from high-power
telescopes in each location. The innovative result is a "cyber
observatory" that officials are calling the first of its
kind in the world.
The Gemini Observatory allows for a high speed, high tech transfer
of information through FIU’s AMPATH, a high-performance
Internet gateway to South American research and educational
networks.
"FIU's role in the Gemini project is a source of great
pride," said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique. "This
is the kind of partnership that the university of the future
should be involved in: one that promotes knowledge across boundaries."
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Gemini has
succeeded in creating a new Internet pathway, which will provide
its globally separated twin telescopes with a reliable data
transfer connection able to handle the enormous amounts of scientific
information created by Gemini's sophisticated instrumentation.
In addition to the NSF’s support, this innovative link
was also made possible with the support and technical assistance
of Internet2; a university led networking research and development
consortium; and FIU’s AMPATH.
This week, the new link between Gemini's twin, 8-meter telescopes
located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and on Cerro Pachón in
the Chilean Andes was inaugurated. Utilizing the latest net-based,
audio-visual conferencing technology, the event itself demonstrated
the enormous potential of the new connection - not only for
science, but also for cultural and educational opportunities
around the world.
Called a "virtual inauguration," the event electronically
brought together several key individuals located at the Gemini
facilities in Hawaii and Chile, with the leading NSF participants
and representatives of Internet2 in Washington
D.C., and FIU in Miami, Fla.
Under development for almost five years, Gemini Observatory
is a partnership of seven countries - the U.S., Canada, the
United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
Gemini North in Hawaii has been linked to a high speed, high
capacity Internet pathway for two years. However, finding a
suitable high-speed, high-capacity access point to South America
and thus, to Gemini South, was a critical goal in completing
the link. The innovative solution for Gemini was FIU's AMPATH,
a new high-capacity portal to South America.
AMPATH (short for AmericasPATH) was established in 2000 by FIU
as an international Internet exchange point for research and
education networks in South and Central America, the Caribbean
and Mexico, the U.S. and the world.
"One of the big problems in scientific research throughout
Latin America has always been high-quality access to the big
research networks in the United States," said Julio Ibarra,
Director of AMPATH and Advanced Research Networking at FIU.
"There was a real need to somehow find a way to link all
these scientists in North and South America. This was the driving
force behind AMPATH. We are happy that Gemini has demonstrated
this in a very concrete way. This new link is just the first
step in providing us with the capability to allow astronomers
from around the world to participate in real-time observations
without ever leaving their offices."
The Gemini Observatory provides the participants with state-of-the-art
astronomical facilities that allocate observing time in proportion
to each country's contribution. In addition to financial support,
each country also contributes significant scientific and technical
resources. The national research agencies that form the Gemini
partnership include: the NSF, the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy
Research Council (PPARC), the Canadian National Research Council
(NRC), the Chilean Comisión Nacional de Investigación
Cientifica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), the Australian Research
Council (ARC), the Argentinean Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones
Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and the Brazilian
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
(CNPq). The Observatory is managed by the Association of Universities
for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under a cooperative agreement
with the NSF. The NSF also serves as the executive agency for
the international partnership.
Photographs and full-resolution images are
available at: http://www.gemini.edu/media/images_2002-11.html