The Optical-Infrared Astronomy Committee (OIRAC) recently conducted a series of surveys to determine the needs of the optical infrared community for future facilities. The surprising outcome of the surveys was a large number of responses expressing a desire to see more modest aperture telescopes become available for use by Canadian astronomers. It is encouraging to find that the Canadian astronomical community is not singularly of the mind that progress toward exciting new science is taken to be synonymous with bigger, larger new facilities. While it is obviously necessary to invest in new large-scale facilities in order to maintain an international presence, it is economically prudent of us to not lose sight of the fact that leading-edge science can still be conducted with smaller-scale facilities. Here we outline just some of the science that would be possible with such a facility and we justify the economic viability of its construction, operation and maintenance.
One key project for a modest aperture telescope might be to perform a study of the structure of the Galactic disk. If equipped with IR capability, one could observe through the dust in the Galaxy to study the variable stars in its disk. With good periods for such stars as RR Lyr stars, Delta Scuti stars, and binary stars, one could obtain a three-dimensional map of the stellar disk of the Galaxy including the warp in the stellar disk, which so far is not well studied.
One possible educational program for a modest aperture telescope would be an internship program for graduate students and postdocs in which the intern would reside at the facility and be responsible for supervising and conducting service observing for other astronomers. Such a program would not only train students for service observing, but would also expose them to the observational requirements of research outside their own specialty. In addition, the intern would correspond with astronomers in the international community, enabling them to forge contacts. Student training is an important consideration when planning the future of astronomy in Canada, and a modest aperture telescope could play a major part in fulfilling this need.
Several possibilities present themselves. We may pursue funding for the construction of a new modest aperture telescope facility. One idea is for a Canadian Arctic Observatory ( http://aries.yorku.ca/~blake/cao.html). The option also exists for the construction of two or more modest aperture telescopes of different sizes or equipped with different instruments, possibly providing access to both the northern and southern hemisphere skies as a 'Mini-Gemini' operation.
Another possibility is to pursue re-commissioning of one of the many modest aperture telescopes that have been phased out at major observatories. This may be a way of gaining access to a telescope quickly, particularly if there is a telescope about to be decommissioned which we can immediately purchase. A situation similar to the University of Toronto Southern Observatory might be negotiated whereby we obtain the telescope for free and take over the operating costs in exchange for providing a fraction of time to the former owner of the telescope. One candidate for such an approach is the 1.0m telescope at La Palma, which is to be decommissioned to free up money for participation in ESO. A final possibility is to find an international partner and share a new 1-2m class telescope.
To conclude, we urge the enterprising minds of Canadian astronomers to consider the value that a modest aperture telescope would add to their own research as well as to their respective educational programs. We invite all those interested in this project to contact us at the following address: blake@ddo.astro.utoronto.ca.