image: NASA space scientist Mark Clampin will serve as the first editor-in-chief of JATIS. view more
Credit: M. Clampin
BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA -- SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, has announced it will launch the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems (JATIS), covering fundamental research and applications focused on the full range of astronomical instrumentation. JATIS will launch in mid-2014.
The new journal responds to the need expressed by the astronomical instrumentation community for a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal focusing on the technologies and techniques covered in the astronomy programs at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation and SPIE Optics + Photonics, said Mark Clampin, who has been named editor-in-chief. Dr. Clampin is the James Webb Space Telescope Observatory Project Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
"For more than 30 years, SPIE's Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation conference has been a focal point for the space- and ground-based astronomical instrumentation community," Clampin said. "In response to overwhelming interest, SPIE is launching a refereed journal, JATIS, in which to publish papers on astronomical instrumentation and techniques."
Submissions will be accepted beginning 2 December. More information on the JATIS scope and submitting a manuscript is at spie.org/JATIS.
"Novel developments and important breakthroughs frequently have been reported for the first time via these conferences and the proceedings," said SPIE President Bill Arnold. "Papers have covered developments such as adaptive optics for measuring distances in space, sophisticated optical systems for major Earth- and space-based telescope projects and missions, and software enabling far-reaching data analysis. Providing the community with a peer-reviewed home journal fills a significant need."
Topics to be covered in JATIS include:
- X-ray, gamma-ray, and gravitational-wave space telescopes and instrumentation
- Ultraviolet, visible, and infrared space telescopes and instrumentation
- Far-infrared, submillimeter, millimeter, and radio telescopes and instrumentation
- Design of space observatories including space environments, orbit design, deployments, and communications
- Telescope, instrumentation, and analysis techniques for high-contrast imaging of exoplanets
- Ground-based telescopes and instrumentation
- Pointing and control systems, including design, algorithms, and attitude control
- Alignment, integration, and testing of telescopes and supporting instrumentation
- Design of ground-based observatory enclosures and site testing
- Adaptive optics and interferometry for optical/infrared astronomy
- Detector systems for astronomical instrumentation
- System engineering for large observatories
- Imaging camera and spectrograph design
- Integrated modeling of telescopes and instrumentation
- Optical design and manufacturing techniques
- Innovative technologies and materials
- Data analysis techniques and data mining
- Observatory operations and science observation scheduling
"Astronomy is at once fascinating and profoundly important to our understanding of the universe and the origins of life," said SPIE Publications Director Eric Pepper. "Scientists and engineers who design and build telescopes, instruments, and methods for astronomical observation and study make extremely important contributions that make this knowledge possible. Information about astronomical telescopes, instruments, and systems, including their performance, is dispersed among many sources and not easily found. JATIS reflects SPIE's commitment to providing a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the exciting new work being done in astronomical instrumentation."
JATIS will be published in quarterly print volumes as well as online in the SPIE Digital Library. Individual papers will be published online as soon as each is ready; the online version will be freely available through the end of 2015.
SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves nearly 235,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided over $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2012.