Steward Observatory
From Free net encyclopedia
| Organization | University of Arizona |
|---|---|
| Location | Tucson, Arizona, USA |
| Coordinates | (latitude, longitude) |
| Altitude | 792.5 m (2600 feet) |
| Weather | (# of clear nights, humidity) |
| Webpage | http://www.as.arizona.edu/ |
| Telescopes | |
| Catalina Station | 1.6 m Kuiper Telescope |
| Kitt Peak | 12 m Radio 2.3 m (90-in) Bok Telescope |
| Mount Graham | Heinrich Hertz 10 m Submillimeter Telescope 1.8 m Lennon Telescope |
| Mount Hopkins | 6.5 m Multiple Mirror Telescope | Mount Lemmon | 1.5 m NASA Telescope 1.0 m telescope |
The University of Arizona's Steward Observatory's main office is located on the University's campus and is closely tied to the Department of Astronomy. Established in 1916 by its first director, Andrew Ellicott Douglass, and a $60,000 bequest made by Lavinia Steward in memory of her late husband Henry B. Steward, the Steward Observatory now owns and operates the Multiple Mirror Telescope, Mount Graham International Observatory and a number of other major optical and sub-millimetre telescopes at several sites in the state, such as on Kitt Peak, Mount Hopkins and Mount Lemmon.
Its Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics is at the forefront of developments in adaptive optics, while its Mirror Laboratory has pioneered new techniques of large mirror production, including spin-casting lightweight, honeycomb mirrors. The Mirror Laboratory completed the second mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope in September, 2005. Its current project is the construction of one of six off-axis 8.4 meter mirrors for the proposed Giant Magellan Telescope, which will have an effective 21.4 meter aperture.Template:Observatory-stub