NSF Funds Improvements to Keck Interferometer

The W.M. Keck Observatory in Kamuela, Hawaii, has received a three-year, $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation of Arlington, Va., to enhance the sensitivity and resolution of the Keck interferometer. The improvements will enable the instrument to detect planets of a certain size around other stars and to test predictions of Einstein’s theory of relativity in the core of our galaxy. The 85-m baseline interferometer combines the light from the two 10-mm-diameter Keck telescopes. The grant funds the installation of a phase- referencing system on the interferometer, allowing longer exposures and resulting in the detection of fainter objects. It also enables an upgrade of the instrument for performing accurate measurements of a star’s position.