Australia’s largest optical telescope, the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) at Siding Spring Observatory, is operated using funding from a consortium of 11 Australian universities (“the AAT Consortium”), and these operations are governed by the AAT Council.
The telescope operator for the Consortium is the Australian National University (ANU), with AAL playing the role of Manager of those operations on behalf of the AAT Consortium. The AAT Council has governance oversight of AAT’s operation. All of the Consortium’s 11 universities and AAL have representation on the AAT Council.
The AAT Time Allocation Committee (ATAC) is the committee formed to allocate time on the AAT. There are seven members on ATAC, with at least one international member. A substitute member may also be appointed to take the place of an ATAC member who is unavailable for a meeting of the committee.
Appointment to ATAC is usually for a three-year term, although the appointments may be for staggered terms to ensure a steady turnover in membership.
Nominations to the committee will be periodically solicited by the AAL via an open call to the community. AAL will review the nominations to ensure suitable representation on ATAC, encompassing a broad spread of specialisations and seniorities. AAL will make a recommendation to the AAT Council, who will appoint the members as well as the Chair and Deputy Chair.
ATAC has two full-day meetings per year, plus others as demand requires.
AAT governance information is presented on this page. For more on the AAT, please see AAL’s AAT webpage, or ANU’s AAT website for observing and operational matters. Please note that non-Australian proposals can now only access Paid Time on the AAT. For enquiries regarding the terms and conditions for AAT Paid Time, please contact AAL Program Manager, Dr Lucyna Chudczer.