Observatory Photos

Steward Observatory 61" Kuiper Telescope.

I was fortunate enough to spend a number of nights here on a observing runs as part of a research project for Dr. Betsy Green of the University of Arizona. Our goal was to obtain accurate photometric measurements of star brightness as part of Dr. Green's study of sub-dwarf B stars.

Catalina Sky Survey Schmidt Telescope Observatory.

The CSS Schmidt is housed in the dome on the right side of this picture. It shares the site on Mt. Bigelow in Tucson, AZ with the Kuiper Telescope. This observatory is used as part of a worldwide consortium of telescopes seeking to identify near-earth objects and potentially hazardous asteroids. On one of my runs at the Kuiper I dropped in to visit them and see how they operated the survey. They had just discovered a new comet with the telescope but it was nothing exciting to them as this is a common occurrence.

Mt. Wilson Observatory, home of the 100" Hooker Telescope.

I visited this dome in the summer of 2004. There are several other observatories nearby. The 100" ushered in a new era of big aperture telescopes beginning in the early 20th century, and is still in use.

The Bok 90" Telescope Observatory (foreground) along with the Mayall 4-Meter Telescope (background) on Kitt Peak.

I took this picture during a 4-night observing run at the Bok Telescope. I had the good fortune to be involved in several runs at this telescope performing spectroscopic observations of sub-dwarf B stars for Dr. Betsy Green of the University of Arizona. Of course there are many other observatories located on Kitt Peak and I have visited many of them (on a tourist basis) several times.

Pima College East Campus Observatory.

This 10' dome is home to the main instrument, a 14" SCT with CCD.

Pima College East Campus Observatory.

Two small clamshells, one houses the David Lunt Solar Telescope.

George Barber's StarBase One.

A backyard roll-off roof observatory housing a 12" SCT. The site is West of Tucson, near the base of Kitt Peak.

Dean Salman's Wilmot Observatory.

This picture was taken during a full-moon imaging session in July 2006. The observatory is the building in the background.

Steward Observatory at The University of Arizona.

This observatory is currently home to a 21-inch scope. It's mainly used by undergraduates for non-scientific work. Since the campus is in the heart of Tucson, the light pollution seriously limits this telescope's usefulness. I suspect that if there were not so many big telescopes nearby, this telescope would see a lot more use.

Note that you can also see a small dome in the upper right. This dome houses a small radio dish which to the best of my knowledge is never used.

Flandrau Planetarium and the Flandrau Observatory.

Across the street from Steward Observatory is the Flandrau Science Center. The observatory houses a 16" cassegrain which is open on clear evenings for public observing.

Palomar Observatory.

This dome houses the famous 200-inch Hale Telescope, which for many years was the largest in existence. I visited it in October, 2002.

Bruce Gary's SRO (Sliding Roof Observatory).

Located in Hereford, AZ, Bruce has observed transits of exoplanets from his backyard observatory with a 14" telescope. He is a photometry expert and graciously shared some of his vast knowledge of the subject with me during a visit in September 2006.

Roy Tucker's Goodricke-Pigett Observatory.

Within eyesight of Kitt Peak, Roy has 5 different telescopes running in these 3 buildings. Three large newtonians make up the MOTESS ("Moving Object and Transient Event Search System"), and two SCT's are used for photometry and spectroscopy. I first visited Roy to learn about his work on Feb. 3, 2007.

Steve Peterson's Vail View Observatory.

This is a regular stop for me for star parties. The skies are very dark but it's rather close to Tucson, and Steve is a great host. This image shows his C14 rolled out onto the observing pad during setup for the March 17, 2007 Pluto occultation.

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope on Kitt Peak.

Although this fixed position telescope was originally built for solar use, it can also be used for other astronomical work. This image shows our Pluto Occultation team in front of the scope, which observed the event in March, 2007. The solar telescope was used to observe it in near-infrared.

Vega-Bray Observatory.

The Astronomers Inn in Benson is home to this observatory, home to many different telescopes. This image shows my refractor set up for imaging in front of the complex on June 10, 2007.