Nature News - Nov. 21, 2007
The United Kingdom has abruptly announced its intention to withdraw from the Gemini Observatory, potentially leaving hundreds of British astronomers without a major telescope in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) said on 15 November that it would pull out of the international observatory, with its twin 8-metre telescopes in Chile and Hawaii. The STFC, one of seven UK national research councils, pays for major physics and astronomy projects. It has nearly a quarter stake in Gemini and pays annual subscription fees of £4 million (US$8.2 million).
The British astronomical community has reacted with shock and dismay. “It's a mistake,” says Royal Astronomical Society president Michael Rowan-Robinson. “I think it damages our ability to do multi-wavelength astronomy.”
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