[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E766-E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN 
                               ASTRONOMY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2007

  Ms. GIFFORDS. Madam Speaker, this month marks the fiftieth 
anniversary of the founding of the Association of Universities for 
Research in Astronomy AURA. In 1957, seven universities banded together 
to form a new type of consortium that would establish a national 
astronomical observatory available to all astronomers on a merit basis. 
This new consortium, AURA, sought access to the clearest skies and best 
observing sites available. They established their headquarters in 
Tucson, AZ, and over the ensuing years built the Kitt Peak National 
Observatory and a sister observatory in Chile known as the Cerro Tololo 
Inter-American Observatory.
  The establishment of AURA took place in an environment in which the 
National Science Foundation was only 5 years old and the establishment 
of a space agency was still to come. AURA saw the need for the 
astronomical community to organize itself, to work toward common goals, 
and to create scientific opportunities for all. AURA and other public 
observatories helped advance the field of U.S. astronomy.
  From these beginnings, AURA has extended our view of the universe and 
ourselves with its visionary planning for what is now the Hubble Space 
Telescope, which AURA operates from its Space Telescope Science 
Institute in Baltimore. It also paved the way for the giant ground 
based telescopes known as the International Gemini Observatory, in 
Hawaii and Chile.
  AURA has helped astronomy move to a central position in national and 
international scientific research with increasingly strong ties to many 
other areas of the physical sciences and the fundamental questions that 
they address.

[[Page E767]]

  For example, on the largest scales in the field of cosmology, 
astrophysics and particle physics increasingly view the universe as the 
ultimate ``high-energy laboratory'', which may be the only way to 
address questions about the fundamental nature of matter and space 
itself. Observations made at AURA observatories both on the ground and 
in space have revealed the existence of both dark matter and dark 
energy. At the other extreme of scale, astrobiology is synthesizing 
research in astronomy, biology, and chemistry and is emerging as a 
field in itself. Again, observations at AURA's observatories are 
beginning a quest to search for the presence of life and ultimately 
understand its origins both within our solar system and in our galaxy.
  Looking to the near future and the advent of the James Webb Space 
Telescope and a Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope, we hope to see the 
light from the first stars in the Universe, to catch galaxies as they 
are first assembling, investigate the nature of dark matter and dark 
energy, understand how black holes are formed, and take a census of 
extrasolar planets with masses extending from that of Jupiter down to 
masses comparable to that of the Earth. With the Advanced Technology 
Solar Telescope, we hope to observe the Sun at the smallest scales 
possible and understand the fundamental workings of our closest star. 
These questions are not just at the forefront of astronomical research, 
but are ones that have captured the public's interest and imagination.
  Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in commending 
AURA for its accomplishments over the past fifty years. From a humble 
idea born in Tucson, AZ, to the outer reaches of the universe, AURA has 
made a major contribution to U.S. science and to our cultural heritage.

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