. Matthew Shetrone, deputy director of the University of California Observatories, which operates Lick, says that researchers there have recently started measuring changes in atmospheric turbulence, the fluctuations in air flow that make the stars twinkle and show up blurry in images, which might help them design optical systems that can alleviate this effect.
It’s too soon to tell what programs will be implemented at Kitt Peak to mitigate future fire risk. Right now, teams are back on the summit doing dome-to-dome checks of the health of each telescope, and clearing away ash and soot. Edwards says they will strengthen their relationships with the Tohono O’odham Fire Management Program and the Pima County Office of Emergency Management. “We’re astronomers—we’re not experts in wildfire safety,” she says.
The jury is still out on how much Kitt Peak’s repairs will cost. But all things considered, the staff got lucky: After an initial assessment of the damage, Edwards says it appears that every scientific structure at the observatory was preserved. She’s relieved that visitors will still be able to drive up the mountain, round the bend, and catch the view of the domes peppered across the desert landscape—“like a hill full of mushrooms,” she says—that took her own breath away as a graduate student.
Source: Energy Industry News (energyindustrynews.net)