Subaru telescope: "open use" of the first year

Abstract

Subaru Telescope started its "Conditional Open Use" operation in December 2000. The condition is that general users cannot claim compensation of their lost telescope time due to telescope/instrument problem. We favored this operation because we anticipated it beneficial for both users and the observatory. Users can have an access to the telescope otherwise they have to wait for at least one more year. The observatory can get feedback from users which help us completing the system. I will show what we have learned and how much we improved the overall efficiency of the system -the telescope and instruments -out of this unique approach since December 2000. I will also mention how we are working on improving the observation support system -from proposal submission to the science output feedback. We are about to start building the remote observation system which will enable users to access the telescope from our facility in Hilo, Hawaii and eventually from NAOJ Japan or even from user's institute. I will present our goal and the system toward remote observation.