ARO’s 12m Antenna at Kitt Peak

December 2019

EHT OBSERVATION PREPARATION:

Edgar Colín and David Sánchez from INAOE and 2020 SPT winterover Allen Foster and alternate Maclean Rouble joined Dan Marrone, Arash Roshanineshat, David Forbes from UA, and former UA student Junhan Kim for the first EHT testing at the Arizona Radio Observatory’s 12m antenna at Kitt Peak. They participated in the setup and testing of the EHT equipment and new facility 1mm receiver. The visit by these regular participants in LMT VLBI observations was intended to add to their existing experience in evaluating site readiness and diagnosing problems. This should increase the technical robustness of the EHT observing campaigns and reduce the need for US staff to travel to LMT for campaigns. The exchange visit also provided an opportunity to compare procedures between sites and strengthen ties between the PIRE and EHT partners.