The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
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Joseph Zajac

Center for Astrophysics
Engineer
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Joseph Zajac
jzajac@cfa.harvard.edu

About

I started at the CfA in 1988 working as an astronomer at the Oak Ridge observatory in Harvard, MA. I operated the 61" Tillinghast reflector for the OIR division with an echelle spectrograph during the early days of radial velocity exoplanet searches. I was also responsible for all engineering support for the observatory. Since then I have worked on major ground based astronomical instrumentation for the OIR division including the FAST Spectrogragh, MegaCam, MMIRS, Hectospec/Hectochelle and Binospec. Currently I'm doing fiber optic research for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Telescopes and Instruments

MMT Observatory

The MMT Observatory is the premier visible-light and infrared telescope jointly managed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the University of Arizona. Located at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO) in southern Arizona, this 6.5-meter (21 foot) telescope is used to study objects across the field of astronomy, from the Solar System to distant galaxies. The MMT has provided a testbed for new telescope technologies developed by scientists and engineers at the CfA and the University of Arizona.

Visit the MMT Website
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Giant Magellan Telescope

Is Earth unique, or are there other planets with life in the Milky Way? To answer this question and many others, astronomers need larger and more sensitive observatories than anything we currently have. For that reason, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is collaborating with a number of other institutions around the world to create the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), currently under construction in Chile. The GMT will consist of seven large mirrors acting in concert as one giant telescope 80 feet across. That large size provides an unprecedented view of the sky and the ability to detect the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres. Like NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the GMT will be a powerful tool across the field of astronomy, providing insights into the formation of planets, the structure of galaxies, and the evolution of the universe itself.

Visit the GMT Website
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