The Keck Interferometer is a NASA-funded project to join the two 10-meter Keck telescopes. KI and the other large aperture interferometers have greatly expanded the range of science available with infrared interferometry and I will discuss two areas in detail: circumstellar disks around young stars and active galactic nuclei. Optical and infrared interferometry are ideal for studying the small scale characteristics of young stars and their circumstellar material and KI observations of Herbig Ae/Be, T Tauri and FU Ori stars have constrained the physical properties of the inner dust disk. Recent observations with higher spectral resolution aim to determine the distribution of the gas. The large aperture interferometers have also enabled observations of the centers of nearby active galactic nuclei, including such well known objects as NGC 1068 and NGC 4151, and the observed size scales constrain the possible emission mechanisms.

April 13, 2007
11:00 a.m. MT

Array Operations Center Auditorium

All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson 525.

Local Host: Claire Chandler