The Joint Astronomy Centre (JAC) was an international research and operations organization that managed two of the United Kingdom’s major astronomical facilities on Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi: the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT).
History
The JAC was created in the late 1980s to provide centralized administration for the JCMT, which commenced scientific operations in 1987, and later to assume responsibility for UKIRT. The centre was funded primarily by the United Kingdom’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and operated under the auspices of the UK’s national astronomy programme. Headquarters were located in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, with additional support offices in the United Kingdom.
Functions and Activities
The JAC’s principal duties included:
- Allocation of telescope time through competitive proposal processes.
- Technical maintenance and upgrades of the JCMT and UKIRT instruments and supporting infrastructure.
- Development of data reduction pipelines and archiving services for user communities.
- Provision of on‑site and remote scientific support to visiting astronomers.
- Coordination of research programmes in sub‑millimetre and infrared astronomy, encompassing studies of star formation, planetary systems, and the interstellar medium.
Instruments
During its operation, the JAC oversaw a range of instruments, notably the Submillimetre Common‑User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the JCMT and the UKIRT Imager Spectrometer (UIST). Instrument development and integration were conducted in collaboration with university groups and commercial partners.
Transition and Closure
In 2015 the JAC ceased operations as part of a restructuring of UK‑led astronomy assets on Mauna Kea. Management of the JCMT transferred to the East Asian Observatory (EAO), an international consortium headquartered in Taiwan, while UKIRT’s operation was handed over to the University of Hawaiʻi’s Institute for Astronomy. The closure ended three decades of continuous UK‑directed stewardship of these telescopes.
Legacy
The JAC contributed significantly to the advancement of sub‑millimetre and infrared astronomy, facilitating numerous high‑impact discoveries and the training of generations of astronomers. Its data archives remain accessible to the global scientific community and continue to support ongoing research.