The Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) is a group of university partners that own and manage the Apache Point Observatory. It was founded in the 1980s to enable the construction of the ARC 3.5m telescope. Membership has evolved over the years, and currently includes the University of Washington, New Mexico State University, University of Virginia, University of Colorado, Johns Hopkins University, University of Oklahoma, Georgia State University, University of Wyoming, and Brigham Young University. Management is achieved through a Board of Governors that consists of two representatives from each member institution.
ARC is also the managing entity for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, although that series of projects have been funded independently by other collaborations that have included the Sloan Foundation, government agencies, and many universities from around the world. Partners for the current SDSS-V are listed here .
For the 3.5m telescope, time is allocated to each ARC partner in proportion to their financial share of operations. New ARC partners have historically also needed to provide a capital investment when they join the consortium. Some 3.5m is available for leasing partners, who are short-term partners that pay only for the nights they are allocated; availability of leasing time is variable.
If your organization has interest in learning about joining ARC, please contact the ARC Board chair, Chip Kobulnicky (chipk at uwyo.edu).
If you are interested in learning about leasing possibilities on the 3.5m, contact the 3.5m Director, Nancy Chanover (nchanove at nmsu.edu).
If your institution is interested in joining After Sloan V, contact the AS5 director, Keith Hawkins (keithhawkins at utexas.edu)
Astrophysical Research Consortium c/o Department of Astronomy, Box 351580 University of Washington Physics/Astronomy Bldg. Rm C321 Seattle, Washington 98195-1580 Tel: 206-685-7857 Fax: 206-543-9850
