History and Development of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer

Abstract

In terms of relative resolution and sensitivity the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer (MROI)will arguably be the most powerful optical telescope on earth; with greater resolution than the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)and greater than that of the three much hyped 30-meter class telescopes that are currently in development (ELT, TMT, GMT). The sensitivity of the MROI also far exceeds (by a factor of 10 to 100 times)that of other high resolution interferometers such as CHARA, NPOI and the European VLTI. This paper traces the development of the MROI from the creation of the Langmuir Atmospheric Laboratory on Magdalena Ridge in South Central New Mexico, through the establishment of the Congressionally designated research site, to the present day. The gift of a declassified 2.4-meter primary mirror, originally intended for space surveillance, led to the design of a 3-element optical interferometer then in 2004, with the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the University of Cambridge, the 3-element array was redesigned as an array of 10 × 1.4-meter optical telescopes intended to be the first of the third generation of sparse array optical interferometers. Finally, the paper will recount the development of that 10-element array and, owing to changes in Congress, the retirement of a senior Senator, and the subsequent lack of funding, it's rescue from near extinction and the current state of the development.