Understanding the origin of the elements, the
astrophysical sites of their production, and providing constraints
on the nuclear physics processes involved in their creation, are
several of the fundamental goals of JINA. In order to further
these ambitious undertakings, JINA has become an institutional
partner in the extension of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, SDSS-II.
This effort, funded by the Sloan Foundation,
the National Science Foundation, and contributions from participating
institutions, assumes operation of the 2.5m telescope on Apache
Point, New Mexico in July 2005, and will complete in July 2008.
SDSS-II consists of three projects: (1) LEGACY, which will finish
spectroscopic observations of galaxies and quasars originally
started during SDSS-I, (2) SNS, a new-generation survey for Type
Ia supernovae, and (3) SEGUE: The Sloan Extension for Galactic
Understanding and Exploration. For more details, see the SDSS
website: http://www.sdss.org.
