1. 1 1 AST Committee of Visitors February 2011 National Solar Observatory Overview Craig Foltz Program Officer NSO

2. 2 2 National Solar Observatory Kitt Peak National Observatory McMath-Pierce Solar TelescopeSOLIS

3. 3 3 National Solar Observatory Kitt Peak National Observatory SOLIS Vector Spectromagnetograph Data are routinely available at ftp://solis.nso.edu/synoptic/level3/vsm/x3d This snapshot exhibits the magnetic field orientation of active region AR 10921 using VSM data observed on 3 November 2006

4. 4 4 National Solar Observatory Sacramento Peak Observatory Sunspot, NM; elevation 9255 ft; adjacent to Apache Point Observatory [SDSS} Dunn Solar Telescope Evans Solar Facility

5. 5 5 National Solar Observatory Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG++) 6 facilities around the world Data are routinely available at http://gong.nso.edu/ Big Bear Solar Observatory, CA Big Bear Solar Observatory, CA

6. 6 6 Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

7. 7 7 National Optical Astronomy Observatory National Solar Observatory NOAO/NSO cooperative agreement Competed in 2001 AURA retained as the management organization Sep 1, 2002 – Sep 30, 2007 Management Review Aug 2006 Based on the review AST recommended no recompetion; NSF & NSB concurred CA extended to Mar 31, 2009 Decision made to split the joint CA into two, one for each observatory Allows for separate management in the future. Gives NSO more visibility in the Federal budget.

8. 8 8 National Solar Observatory Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy AURA, Inc: not for profit corp. in DC; very small headquarters staff AURA President Wm Smith reports to AURA Board of Directors NOAO and NSO Directors report independently to AURA President AURA receives advice from a community-based Solar Observatory Council – meets twice annually Director receive advice from community-based User Committees – meet annually AURA has solicited proposals for a new institutional home for NSO.

9. 9 9 National Solar Observatory NSF Management – key elements 2005-6 PM Craig Foltz 2006-9 PM Tom Barnes 2009-10 PM Jeff Pier 2010-present PM Craig Foltz Annual Program Plan and Annual Report bundled. Annual Long Range Plan (5 year look ahead) Quarterly Reports: programmatic and financial PO attendance at Council meetings, Users committees Current PO has overseen ATST since 2003 NSF discussing the programmatic home for solar research within the agency. NSF discussing the programmatic home for solar research within the agency.

10. 10 National Solar Observatory NSF Budget Management Funding flows through Cooperative Support Agreements (CSAs) Individual SPOs keep the budgets and management distinct Operations and Maintenance ATST Construction - ARRA ATST Construction - MREFC ARRA and MREFC funds cannot be mixed. NSO funding actions are typically administered on a quarterly basis. Other funding actions (interagency transfers; e.g., AFOSR -> NSO) are asynchronous.

11. 11 National Solar Observatory Budgets FY 2008/2009/2010 NSO: $7.85M; $7.83M; $9.10M (ATST D&D not included; ~$2M per year) $1.40M from ARRA for infrastructure improvements in FY09 Interagency funds add typically $1.5M / yr. ATST Construction $7M of MREFC in FY 2009; $13M in FY 2010 $146M of ARRA in FY 2010

12. 12 National Solar Observatory Some metrics for NSO facilities FY 2008/2009/2010 82/74/68 observing programs 97/80/61 external observers 131/108/93 observers including NSO and NOAO Staff 24/16/19 PhD thesis observers GONG and SOLIS archive usage: Products Distributed (Gbytes) 2015/2729/4201 Terabytes served (all archives) 2.9/3.7/5.3 150/134/163 publications based on NSO facilities or archives

13. 13 National Solar Observatory NSO Education and Public Outreach REU: 6/6/7 – Tucson and SPO REU: 6/6/7 – Tucson and SPO RET: 0/2/0 RET: 0/2/0 Summer Graduate Assistantships: 7/6/6 Summer Graduate Assistantships: 7/6/6 Postdoctoral Fellows: 6/6/6 Postdoctoral Fellows: 6/6/6 Fisk/Vanderbilt Bridge Program Partner through PAARE program Fisk/Vanderbilt Bridge Program Partner through PAARE program Project ASTRO partner Project ASTRO partner Southwest Consortium of Observatories for Public Education partner Southwest Consortium of Observatories for Public Education partner Akamai Workforce Initiative partner Akamai Workforce Initiative partner SPO Visitors’ Center SPO Visitors’ Center 13,867/15,218/14,191 visitors 13,867/15,218/14,191 visitors Press releases http://www.nso.edu/press/ Press releases http://www.nso.edu/press/http://www.nso.edu/press/ Image site http://www.noao.edu/current_images/ Image site http://www.noao.edu/current_images/