The Keck Interferometer is part of NASA's overall effort to find planets and ultimately life beyond our solar system. It will combine the light from the twin Keck telescopes to measure the emission from dust orbiting nearby stars, directly detect the hottest gas giant planets, image disks around young stars and other objects of astrophysical interest, and survey hundreds of stars for the presence of planets the size of Uranus or larger. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (established 1958) is the government agency responsible for the United States of Americas space program and long-term general aerospace research. ... Mosaic of the planets of the solar system, excluding Pluto, and including Earths Moon. ... The Mauna Kea Observatory, an institute of the University of Hawaii, is considered one of the most important land-based observatories in the world for its isolated, unobstructed views of space without interference from man-made light sources. ...

The Keck Interferometer is a ground-based component of NASA's Origins Program. Origins addresses fundamental questions about the formation of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems, the prevalence of planetary systems around other stars, and the formation of life on Earth. Interferometry is the applied science of combining two or more input points of a particular data type, such as optical measurements, to form a greater picture based on the combination of the two sources. ...

At the Mauna Kea Observatory 4,150 meters (13,600 ft) above the Pacific Ocean, atop the dormant volcano on the "Big Island" of Hawaii, the twin Keck telescopes are the world's largest telescopes for optical and near-infrared astronomy. The Keck Interferometer joins these giant telescopes to form a powerful astronomical instrument. Each telescope stands eight stories tall and weighs 300 tons, and its primary mirror is ten meters in diameter. The mirror is composed of 36 hexagonal segments that work in concert as a single piece of reflective glass. The Mauna Kea Observatory, an institute of the University of Hawaii, is considered one of the most important land-based observatories in the world for its isolated, unobstructed views of space without interference from man-made light sources. ... The Mauna Kea Observatory, an institute of the University of Hawaii, is considered one of the most important land-based observatories in the world for its isolated, unobstructed views of space without interference from man-made light sources. ...

On the 85 m Keck-Keck baseline, the Keck Interferometer will have a spatial resolution of 5 milliarcseconds (mas) at 2.2 micrometres (µm), and 24 mas at 10 µm;. In its most sensitive imaging configuration, the interferometer would reach K=21 and N=10 mag in 1000 seconds of integration (SNR = 10 per baseline). The interferometer has several back-end instruments, allowing for a variety of observation types.

The summit site, where the Keck telescopes are located, are surrounded by thousands of miles of relatively thermally-stable ocean, the 13,800 foot (4206 m) Mauna Kea summit has no nearby mountain ranges to roil the upper atmosphere or throw light- reflecting dust into the air. Few city lights pollute the viewing. For most of the year, the atmosphere above Mauna Kea is clear, calm and dry. The Mauna Kea Observatory, an institute of the University of Hawaii, is considered one of the most important land-based observatories in the world for its isolated, unobstructed views of space without interference from man-made light sources. ...

Made possible through grants totaling nearly $200 million from the W.M. Keck Foundation and NASA, the observatory is operated by CARA for the California Institute of Technology, and the University of California, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which joined the partnership in October, 1996. The Keck I telescope began science observations in May, 1993; Keck II began operation in October, 1996. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (established 1958) is the government agency responsible for the United States of Americas space program and long-term general aerospace research. ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly known as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

References

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/Keck/keck_intro.cfm