# Collaborative Research: The Condor Array Telescope Survey of the Sky

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · American Museum Natural History (NY) · $387,470

## Abstract

A research collaboration between the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the American Museum of Natural History has been operating the Condor Array Telescope at a very dark astronomical site in the southwest corner of New Mexico since 2021. With renewed NSF support, the team will add two new telescopes to the instrument, significantly enhancing its capabilities. They will continue to operate Condor to obtain, analyze, and interpret a variety of observations spanning the entire northern sky, focusing on several important science topics to which the instruments can make particularly significant contributions. In addition, the team will produce a one-hour-long video documentary featuring Condor New Mexico and the rich cultural history of the North American civilizations in the region. This film will explore the interaction between scientific inquiry and cultural history, with a particular emphasis on the Apache people, whose ancestors have lived in the region for centuries. The team will also incorporate their survey images into a Hayden Planetarium space show tentatively titled “Multi-Messenger Astrophysics.”

Condor combines six off-the-shelf refracting telescopes with six off-the-shelf CMOS cameras.  It is optimized for low-surface-brightness sensitivity, wide field of view, and rapid time resolution. The instruments will detect and study large portions of the extremely faint and extremely distant filaments of the “cosmic web” of intergalactic gas that stretches

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2510408
- **Awardee organization:** American Museum Natural History (NY)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MNJDKB4FXLM6
- **PI:** Michael M Shara
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY
- **Estimated total:** $387,470
- **Funds obligated:** $387,470
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2510408

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2510408, Collaborative Research: The Condor Array Telescope Survey of the Sky. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2510408. Licensed CC0.

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