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Telescopes and Observatories 1st High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO 1. GSFC. NASA) The first of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories, HEAO 1 was launched aboard an Atlas Centaur rocket on 12 August 1977 and operated until 9 January 1979. During that time, it scanned the X-ray sky almost three times over 0.2 keV - 10 MeV, provided nearly constant monitoring of X-ray sources near the ecliptic poles, as well as more detailed studies of a number of objects through pointed observations. 2nd High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO 2, renamed Einstein. GSFC. NASA) The second High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO-B) was launched into an approximate 100-min low Earth orbit on 13 November 1978. Renamed the Einstein Observatory, it operated (with one significant interruption) until April 1981 and made over 5,000 targeted observations. A Broad-Band Imaging X-ray All-Sky Survey (ABRIXAS) ABRIXAS is a small satellite mission which was planned to observe the X-ray sky in the energy band 0.5-10 keV. The mission failed shortly after launch in Spring 1999. Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) will be installed in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during a Space Shuttle mission scheduled in 2000. ACS will increase the discovery efficiency of the HST by a factor of ten. ACS will consist of three electronic cameras and a complement of filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet at 1200 angstroms to the near infrared at 10,000 angstroms. Advanced Fiber-Optic Echelle (AFOE) A Spectrograph for Precise Stellar Radial Velocity Measurements. Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA ASTRO-D) ASCA (formerly named Astro-D) is Japan's fourth cosmic X-ray astronomy mission, and the second for which the United States is providing part of the scientific payload. The satellite was successfully launched February 20, 1993. Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS) Information about the Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS), located on Maui, Hawaii. This is a dual-use facility, supporting both US government agencies as well as the civilian community. Assets include visible and IR sensors, and a 3.67 meter telescope under construction. Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) The Anglo-Australian Observatory operates the Anglo-Australian and UK Schmidt Telescopes at Siding Spring, Australia, and a laboratory on the same campus as the ATNF in the Sydney Suburb of Epping. Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO) AST/RO is a 1.7m diameter telescope for submillimeter-wave astronomy and aeronomy at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. APO is privately owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium. Located near Sunspot, New Mexico, the observatory consists of a 3.5-meter telescope, the 2.5-meter Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope, and two smaller telescopes. A31RO is a privately owned astronomical radio observatory operated by the Interstellar Electromagnetics Institute/L'institut Electromagnetiques Interstellaires under cooperative agreement with the AREA31 Research Facility. Arecibo Observatory - National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) Aristarchos (The New Greek Telescope) The New Greek Telescope project of the AI-NOA for the 2.3m Ritchey-Chretien telescope, funded by the European Commission and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Development. Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors (ALEXIS) ALEXIS' X-ray telescopes feature curved mirrors whose multilayer coatings reflect and focus low-energy X-rays or extreme ultraviolet light the way optical telescopes focus visible light. The satellite and payloads were funded by the Department of Energy and built by Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratory and the University of California-Space Sciences Lab. The Launch was provided by the Air Force Space Test Program on a Pegasus Booster on April 25, 1993. The mission is entirely controlled from a small groundstation at LANL. Asiago Observatory (Padova) Association Sciences et Techniques Jeunesse - Secteur Astronomie (ANSTJ, France) Astro-2 (Astro-2. MSFC. NASA) Astro-2 is a high-tech observatory flying for 16 days in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-67 mission. The Astro-2 instruments allow astronomers to view stars, galaxies, planets and quasars in ultraviolet light, which is invisible to our eye Atacama Large Millimeter Array - ESO Web site (ALMA) The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is the new name for the merger of the major millimeter array projects into one global project: the European Large Southern Array (LSA), the U.S. Millimeter Array (MMA), and possibly the Japanese Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (LMSA). This will be the largest ground-based astronomy project of the next decade after VLT/VLTI, and, together with the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), one of the two major new facilities for world astronomy coming into operation by the end of the next decade. Atacama Large Millimeter Array - NRAO Web site (ALMA) The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a millimeter wavelength telescope. The U.S. side of the project is run by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), operated by Associated Universities, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). The European side of the project is a collaboration between the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy and Nederlandse Onderzoekschool Voor Astronomie, and the United Kingdom Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. ATNF - Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA, Narrabri) The Paul Wild Observatory, near Narrabri, is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), and operated by the CSIRO; the Officer-in-Charge is Dr Graham Nelson. The Narrabri site contains the Australia Telescope Compact Array, which consists of five antennas located along a 3-km railtrack, and a 6th antenna 3 km further to the west. ATNF - Australia Telescope National Facility (CSIRO) CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) is an organisation that supports and undertakes research in radio astronomy. It operates the Australia Telescope, the collective name for a set of radio telescopes in New South Wales. These telescopes are used, individually or together, to study objects in the Universe ranging from the remains of dead stars to entire galaxies. ATNF - Mopra Observatory (ATNF Mopra) The Mopra 22-m antenna is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), operated by the CSIRO. It is intended for use in conjunction with other AT antennas (the six 22-m dishes at Narrabri, and the 64-m Parkes dish) to form the Long Baseline Array. Like the Parkes antenna, it is also used for single-dish operation; mm-wavelength receivers are to be installed soon. ATNF - Parkes Observatory (ATNF Parkes) The CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility operates a group of radio telescopes collectively known as the Australia Telescope. The ATNF Parkes Observatory consists of a 64m telescope which is used as an independent instrument, and networked with other Australian and international radio telescopes for VLBI. Automated Patrol Telescope (APT) The Automated Patrol Telescope (APT) is a wide-field CCD imaging telescope, which is operated by the University of New South Wales at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. Links to Automated telescopes on the Internet. BeppoSAX Mission (SAX) The X-ray astronomy satellite BeppoSAX (Satellite per Astronomia X "Beppo" in honor of Giuseppe Occhialini) is a project of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with participation of the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programs (NIVR). Berkeley Illinois Maryland Association (BIMA - Hat Creek) BIMA is a consortium consisting of the The University of California at Berkeley, The University of Illinois at Urbana and The University of Maryland at College Park which operates and maintains a millimeter-wave radio interferometer at Hat Creek, California. Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) This site contains daily images from our solar optical telescope at Big Bear, California. Fulldisk images for the current month. H-alpha, white light, and Ca-II K-line images are generally available for every observing day; Ca-II K-line fulldisk archive; H-alpha fulldisk archive; White light fulldisk archive; Current high-resolution region images; Programs to read FITS images on IBM PCs and Macintoshes. Big Ear Radio Observatory (Ohio State University) Big Ear is a Kraus-type radio telescope which covers an area larger than three football fields. The telescope is famous for discovering some of the most distant known objects in the universe, and the longest-running SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) project. Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON) The current status of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network - a global network for helioseismology. Additionally some recent results and publications are available. [site under reconstruction] Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT. GSFC. NASA) The Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) was flown on the space shuttle Columbia (STS-35) on 1990 December 2-December 11, as part of the ASTRO-1 payload. The flight of BBXRT marked the first opportunity for performing X-ray observations over a broad energy range (0.3-12 keV) with a moderate energy resolution (typically 90 eV and 150 eV at 1 and 6 keV, respectively). Broadcast from Carl Sagan Observatory (ASTRO-USON WebTV) Live broadcast of solar observation from Observatorio "Carl Sagan", Universidad de Sonora, Mexico, from Monday to Saturday, 15 to 22 hrs UTC, weather permit. Brown University - Observatories Bucknell University Observatory Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (Armenia) Cagliari Astronomical Observatory (International Latitude Station) The Cagliari Astronomical Observatory was established as International Latitude Astronomical Station of Carloforte in 1899, a small town of the sardinian island of S. Pietro. It has been, for about 80 years, one of the five international stations devoted to study the Earth rotation and polar motion. Observations with the zenital telescope were carried out, except in the period of the second world's war. Starting from 1978, the headquarters were moved to Punta Sa Menta, a site 15 km far from Cagliari which has the same latitude of the Carloforte station. (Satellite Laser Ranging, Astrophysics, Planetary Dynamics, Time Laboratory, Data Processing). Calar Alto Observatory (Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman) The German-Spanish Astronomical Center at Calar Alto is located in the Sierra de Los Filabres in Southern Spain. It operates four telescopes with apertures from 1.2m to 3.5m as well as a Schmidt reflector. A 1.5m-telescope is operated under the control of the Observatory of Madrid. Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) is a cutting-edge facility for astronomical research and instrumentation development. It consists of a 10.4-meter diameter Leighton radio dish situated in a compact dome near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST) Canada France Hawaii Telescope (ftp) (CFHT) Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) CFHT is a joint facility of the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. The CFH observatory hosts a world-class, 3.6 meter optical/infrared telescope. The observatory is located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, a 4200 meter, dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii. The CFH Telescope became operational in 1979. Canadian Automatic Small Telescope for Orbital Research (CASTOR Satellite Tracking Project) The Canadian Automatic Small Telescopes for Orbital Research project, based at the Royal Military College of Canada, uses small optical telescopes to track medium to high earth orbit satellites such as Russian, Molniya satellites. Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (CMT) The Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (formerly the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle) is located on La Palma and is dedicated to carrying out high-precision optical astrometry. Carnegie Institution Observatories (OCIW) Case Western Reserve University - Nassau Station Robotic Telescope (CWRU) Cassini Mission to Saturn (UltraViolet Imaging Spectrograph, UVIS) Saturn and Titan will be the destination for the Cassini mission, a project under joint development by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The U.S. portion of the mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Catania Astrophysical Observatory (OAC) Daily solar images (chromosphere and photosphere). Cecil and Ida Green Piñon Flat Observatory (PFO) Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica (CARA) Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics (CEA / EUVE) The Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics (CEA) opened in September, 1990. CEA represents the culmination of twenty years of research and student training in the field of EUV astronomy brought to focus by the launch of NASA's research mission, the University of California at Berkeley Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), on June 7, 1992. Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia (CIDA) The National observatory CIDA (Merida, Venezuela) hosts the biggest telescopes of the earth equatorial belt: schmidt, reflector, refractor, astrograph. CERN Hybrid Oscillation Research apparatUS (CHORUS) Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO) Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile at an altitude of 2200 Meters. CfA 1.2 m Millimeter-Wave Telescope (CfA_mini) The 1.2 meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and its twin instrument at CTIO in Chile have been studying the distribution and properties of molecular clouds in our Galaxy and its nearest neighbours for over 20 years. Chandra X-ray Observatory (AXAF) The Chandra X-ray Observatory is the U.S. follow-on to the Einstein Observatory. Chandra was formerly known as AXAF, the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, but renamed by NASA in December, 1998. The Chandra spacecraft carries a high resolution mirror, two imaging detectors, and two sets of transmission gratings. The Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array will consist of five 1-m aperture telescopes (with an eventual goal of seven) in a Y-shaped array contained within a 400m diameter circle. This configuration will provide high resolution interferometry in the visible spectral region as well as the K spectral band (2.2 micron), with a limiting resolution of 0.2 milliarcsec in the visible. Cherenkov Array at Themis (CAT) Homepage of the CAT (Cherenkov Array at Themis) imager. This is an atmospheric Cherenkov imaging telescope for detection of high-energy gamma rays (>200 GeV), sited in the French Pyrenees. The Chicago Air Shower Array (CASA) is a very large array of scintillation counters located in Utah, fifty miles southwest of Salt Lake City. CASA has been operating since 1992 in coincidence with a second array, the Michigan Anti (MIA), is made of 2500 square meters of buried muon detectors. CASA is the most sensitive experiment built to date in the study of gamma-ray and cosmic ray interactions at energies above 100 TeV (10^14 electron-Volts). Research topics on data from this experiment cover a wide variety of physics issues, including the search for gamma-rays from extragalactic sources (quasars and gamma-ray bursts), the study of diffuse gamma-ray emission from the Galactic plane, and a measurement of the cosmic ray composition in the poorly understood region from 100 to 100,000 TeV. The Cincinnati Observatory Center is the first and oldest observatory in the United States. It has been founded in 1842. It hosts a 12-inch Merz und Mahler refractor and a 16-inch Alvan Clark refractor, each with a beautifully restored tube, mount, and mechanical clock drive. Collaboration between Australia and Nippon for a Gamma Ray Observatory in the Outback (CANGAROO) The project uses two gamma ray telescopes at a dark site 15 km from Woomera, a small town 500 km north of Adelaide. Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO) The Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito is an astronomical facility operated under agreement between the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina and the Universities of La Plata, Córdoba and San Juan. Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO. GSFC. NASA) The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory is the second of NASA's Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons, the heaviest astrophysical payload ever flown, was launched on April 5, 1991 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Compton has four instruments that cover an unprecedented six decades of the electromagnetic spectrum, from 30 keV to 30 GeV. Compton/GRO Observatory Science Support Center/Guest Observer (Facility) Query the Library Database; Archive Data Selector; Archive Data Selector Demonstrator; Trouble Report Generator; Access the GRONEWS Bulletin Board The Constellation X-ray Mission (formerly HTXS) is a Next Generation X-ray Observatory dedicated to observations at high spectral resolution, providing as much as a factor of 100 increase in sensitivity over currently planned high resolution X-ray spectroscopy missions. COROT - Asterosismology and Search for Exoplanets A space mission of the French Space Agency (CNES), with a launch planned in 2004. COROT stands for COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits. Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope (CAT) The CAT is a three-element interferometer for cosmic microwave background observations at 13 to 17 GHz. COsmic Background Explorer (COBE) Cracow - Solar radio emission in dm wavelength Continuous observations of solar radio emission in decimeter wavelength have been maintained in Cracow since 1957. Beginning from January 1995 we provide the reduced data on-line. The new instrument for solar radio observations is under construction. It is to start its operation in May, 1995. The Curtis Schmidt telescope is a 0.61/.91 meter diameter Schmidt telescope located at the Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory , about 500 km north of Santiago, Chile. This telescope was originally installed at the University of Michigan's Portage Lake Observatory in 1950, and moved to the much clearer skies of north central Chile in 1966. Two thirds of the time on this telescope is available to US and Chilean astronomers, with the remaining one third reserved for astronomers from the Dept. of Astronomy at the University of Michigan. Danish telescopes around the world Dark Matter Telescope (DMT) The Dark Matter Telescope is a proposed 8.4 meter, 3-degree-field, synoptic survey telescope. Darwin (Space IR Interferometry Mission) Darwin is a proposal for a European infrared interferometer in space. Its first aim is to detect Earth-like planets around nearby stars, and then to search for a signature of life, ozone in an atmosphere. It could also be used as a general-purpose infrared observatory. David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto (DDO) The David Dunlap Observatory is located in Richmond Hill, Canada. As part of the University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy it operates optical telescopes for research, the largest being a 1.88m telescope. DDO is also a centre for student training and public education. Deep Space Network - Goldstone Deep Space Station (DSN) The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports some Earth-orbiting missions, including emergency support of the Shuttle Space Transportation System. Deep Undersea Muon and Neutrino Detection (DUMAND) Directory tree of information about the DUMAND project, designed to serve the needs of the experimenters, as well as to make information about DUMAND progress available to the broader scientific public. Deutsches Interferometer fuer Vielkanalphotometrie und Astrometrie (DIVA) DIVA is a small astronomy satellite, planned for launch in 2004. It is aimed to measure positions, proper motions and parallaxes, brightness and color of at least 30 million stars. Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) The DAO is operated by the National Research Council of Canada's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics ( NRC-HIA) as a national centre for astronomical research within Canada, with emphasis on UV, optical and IR astronomy. The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) is a group within the DAO which is responsible for the Canadian archive of data from the Hubble Space Telescope as well the archive of data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. DAO's Facility Manual is now online. Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) Innovative new optical solar telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma (Canary Islands). The DOT provides extended sequences of solar images in various wavelengths with high angular resolution (0.2 arcsec). The Eddington mission was proposed in early 2000 to ESA in response to the ``Call for mission proposals for two flexi-missions''. The proposal was submitted by an international scientific team led by I.W. Roxburgh (Astronomy Unit, QMW, Univ. of London, UK), J. Christensen-Dalsgaard (University of Aarhus, Denmark) and F. Favata (ESA/ESTEC). The mission has two complementary scientific aims, to produce the data on stellar oscillations necessary for understanding the interior structure and evolution of stars, and to detect and characterize habitable planets around other stars. Effelsberg Radio Telescope (MPIfR) The Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR) operates the world's largest movable radio telescope, a 100-m single-dish near Effelsberg, 40 km south of Bonn, Germany. Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) The second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories, HEAO 2, renamed Einstein after launch, was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space. The few arcsecond angular resolution, the field-of-view of tens of arcminutes, and a sensitivity several 100 times greater than any mission before it provided, for the first time, the capability to image extended objects, diffuse emission, and to detect faint sources. It was also the first X-ray NASA mission to have a Guest Observer program. Overall, it was a key mission in X-ray astronomy and its scientific outcome completely changed the view of the X-ray sky. ESA - Villafranca Satellite Tracking Station (ESA - VILSPA: IUE, ISO) General information on the ESA Satellite Tracking Station and on the projects supported at Villafranca: IUE, Marecs and ISO (in the near future). The service includes links to other ESA Establishments. Estación de Observación Solar-Observatorio (EOS/OCS) The Astronomy Area of CIF-US (Center for Research on Physics/Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo Sonora, Mexico), operates EOS (Estacion de Observacion Solar/Solar Observational Station)and OCS (Observatorio "Carl Sagan"), the only two solar observatories in the country with an observational program of active regions at the continuum, and H-Alpha and Calcium lines, through a two-heliostat system and a 15 cm refractor telescope. Live broadcast of solar observations through ASTRO-USON WebTV with the new 14 cm Maksutov-H-Alpha telescope. European Northern Observatory (ENO) The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and its Observatories (the Observatorio de Teide, on Tenerife, and the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, on La Palma) make up a Spanish research and observational centre, which, since 1979, has been open to the international scientific community and effectively constitute the European Northern Observatory (ENO). European Southern Observatory (ESO) ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is a multinational organisation of eight European member states. It operates astronomical observatories in Chile and has its headquarters in Munich, Germany. European VLBI Network (EVN) The European VLBI network (EVN) home page includes general information on the EVN, including contact adresses around the network, Call for Proposals, the EVN PC page, EVN and global VLBI scheduling, VLBINFO account, EVN experiment feedback facility, Network monitoring reports and other technical documents, the EVN Newsletter archive and a description of the type of science that can be investigated with the EVN array. European X-ray Observatory (EXOSAT at GSFC. NASA) The European Space Agency's X-ray Observatory, EXOSAT, was operational from May 1983 to April 1986. During that time, EXOSAT made 1780 observations of a wide variety of objects, including active galactic nuclei, stellar coronae, cataclysmic variables, white dwarfs, X-ray binaries, clusters of galaxies, and supernova remnants. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text): European X-ray Observatory (EXOSAT at ESTEC, ESA) The Exosat satellite was operational from May 1983 until April 1986 and in that time made 1780 observations in the X-ray band of most classes of astronomical object. The payload consisted of three instruments that produced spectra, images and light curves in various energy bands. EUSO - Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) The "Extreme Universe Space Observatory - EUSO" is the first Space mission devoted to the investigation of cosmic rays and neutrinos of extreme energy (E > 5 x 10e19 eV), using the Earth's atmosphere as a giant detector, the detection being performed by looking at the streak of fluorescence light produced when such a particle interacts with the Earth's atmosphere. Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS) NASA's plan for the Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS) consists of a long term program of continuous scientific discovery and technological development leading ultimately to the detection and characterization of Earth-like planets around nearby stars. Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) Information on the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, a satellite astronomy project based at The Johns Hopkins University FAST Mission (NASA Small Explorer Program) The NASA Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST) Satellite is designed to investigate the plasma physics of the auroral phenomena which occur around both poles of the earth. Fiber Linked Unit for Optical Recombination (FLUOR) One of the three recombination instruments of IOTA interferometer. Fibre Large Area Multi Element Spectrograph (FLAMES, ESO VLT) FLAMES is a Fibre Facility for the ESO VLT. It includes an high and intermediate resolution optical spectrograph (GIRAFFE), with its own fibre system. Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO) The FCRAO was founded in 1969 by the University of Massachusetts, together with Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College. The original low frequency telescope was superseded in 1976 by a 14-m diameter radome-enclosed antenna for use at high radio frequencies (mm wavelengths), built primarily to study the physics and chemistry of interstellar clouds, circumstellar envelopes, planetary atmospheres, and comets. FOcal Reducer/low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS, ESO VLT) The two FORS instruments are designed as all-dioptric focal reducers for the ESO Very Large Telescope. They are capable of doing : direct imaging , long slit grism spectroscopy , multi object grism spectroscopy , polarimetry (FORS1), medium dispersion echelle grism spectroscopy (FORS2), and all sensible combinations of these modes (e.g. imaging- or spectropolarimetry) in the wavelength range from 330nm to 1100nm. Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory (OFXB) The François-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory, located above the village of St-Luc in the Swiss Alps, stands at an altitude of 2200 metres. It is intended not only for the experienced amateur wishing to produce work of a quasi-professional quality, but also for the use of schools and for simple visitors. curious. Fred Lawrence Whipple Gamma-Ray Telescopes (Tucson, Ariz) FUEGOS - Multi-Object Area Spectrograph (ESO VLT) The FUEGOS instrument stands for Fibre Unit for Extra-Galactic Optical Spectroscopy and will be capable of performing Multi-object spectroscopy and Area spectroscopy in the 370nm to 900nm wavelength range and with two resolving powers, 17000 and 7500. Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer (FAME) FAME is an astrometric satellite designed to determine with unprecedented accuracy the positions, distances, and motions of 40 million stars within our galactic neighborhood. It is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) and several other institutions. FAME will measure stellar positions to less than 50 microarcseconds. It is a NASA MIDEX mission scheduled for launch in 2004. FUSE (French site, IAP, Paris) [in French] Site of the French team contributing to Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST) Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) A Space Ultraviolet imaging and spectroscopic mission that will map the global history and probe the causes of star formation over the redshift range 0 < z < 2. Gamma-Ray Astronomy with COMPTEL (MPE Garching) Local project documentation and utilities as well as collaboration-wide information sources are maintained by the MPE COMPTEL people for: COMPTEL Data Reduction Group work: documents, scientific results and utilities used by the data analysts, the processing team and the scientists. COMPASS software system work : technical and management documents, used and maintained by the MPE software team. the local computing environment : documents on system configuration, maintained by the MPE/RZG software team. MPE - COMPTEL People Matters: the weekly activity list individual 'home pages' Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) The GLAST Mission is under study for flight in the first decade of the next century. GLAST is a next generation high-energy gamma-ray observatory designed for making observations of celestial gamma-ray sources in the energy band extending from 10 MeV to more than 100 GeV. Gemini - U.K. Support Group (UKGSG) The U.K. GEMINI Support Group based at Oxford University, England is aimed at supporting the U.K. astronomer community in the use of the GEMINI 8m Telescopes. This site is the main source of information on the telescopes themselves, their instrument compliment, applying for observing time, observing with the GEMINI telecopes and post-observing data reduction/analysis for U.K. researchers. Gemini 8m Telescopes (Gemini) The Gemini 8m Telescopes Project is an international project to build two infrared-optimized telescopes. One telescope will be located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the other will be on Cerro Pachon, Chile. Gemini Multiobject Spectrographs (GMOS) There will be one GMOS for each of the two GEMINI 8-m telescopes (UK mirror) which are due for completion in 1998 and 2000. They will provide a versatile low/medium resolution spectroscopic capability which will exploit the excellent image quality delivered by the telescopes at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. Giant Metrewave Radio telescope Observatory (GMRT) The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) consists of 30 fully steerable parabolic dish antennas of 45 m diameter and is located in western India about 100 kms east of Bombay (Mumbai). It is in the shape of a `Y' covering an area equivalent to a 25 km. dia. circle. GMRT operates currently in the range 120 to 1450 MHz and is the largest synthesis radio telescope in the world at metre wavelengths. Astro-C, renamed Ginga (Japanese for 'galaxy'), was launched from the Kagoshima Space Center on 5 February 1987. The primary instrument for observations was the Large Area Counter (LAC). Ginga was the third Japanese X-ray astronomy mission, following Hakucho and Tenma. Ginga reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 1 November 1991. Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA) GAIA is a preliminary concept for a second space astrometry mission (after HIPPARCOS), recently recommended within the context of ESA's Horizon 2000 Plus long-term scientific programme. It is aimed at the broadest possible astrophysical exploitation of optical interferometry using a modest baseline length. Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation Definition Team (GHRS-IDT) The GHRS is one of four axial instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope and is designed to obtain UV spectra over a wide range of resolutions. This page was set up as a reference source for team members and other users of the instrument. Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC), is a high performance segmented 10-meter telescope to be installed in one of the best sites of the Northern Hemisphere: the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain). First light is planed for 2002. Grand Interferometre a 2 Telescopes (GI2T REGAIN) Optical Interferometer, Plateau du Calern, Departement Fresnel, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, France. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank (West Virginia) is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. Grove Creek Observatory, Australia (GCO) Grove Creek Observatory in NSW Australia, specializes in CCD imaging and research. Accomodation is available for visiting amateur astronomers. Guillermo Haro Observatory (Cananea, Mexico) Haleakala Observatories (Hawaii) Hard Labor Creek Observatory (HLCO) Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) Hat Creek Radio Observatory (UMD) Herschel Space Observatory (FIRST) The `Herschel Space Observatory' - the mission formerly known as FIRST - will perform photometry and spectroscopy in the 60-670 µm range. High Energy Astrophysics Observatories (HEASARC. GSFC. NASA) Comprehensive list of satellites with high energy astrophysics instrumentation. Includes images from these missions. High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) Studying the Fundamental Aspects of Solar Flares. High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2) The High Energy Transient Explorer is a small scientific satellite designed to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts. High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE) The High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment is one of 3 common-user instruments on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) which was launched on 1995 December 30. The HEXTE is sensitive to X-rays from 15 to 250 keV and is able to time-tag photons in this energy range to 8 microseconds. High Resolution Fly's Eye Cosmic Ray Detector (HiRes) The HiRes detector - an atmospheric fluorescence detector: HiRes currently consists of two sites on top of two mountains separated by 13km in western Utah. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text): High Resolution Fly's Eye Cosmic Ray Detector (HiRes) The HiRes detector - an atmospheric fluorescence detector: HiRes currently consists of two sites on top of two mountains separated by 13km in western Utah. High-Resolution Near-Infrared Camera (CONICA, ESO VLT) The high-resolution near-IR camera CONICA covers the infrared wavelength range from 1 µm to 5 µm. It is installed at the Nasmyth B focus of the VLT Unit Telescope 1 to operate in conjunction with the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS). CONICA is designed to exploit the adaptively corrected telescope image at wavelengths longwards of 2 µm. Speckle interferometry can be performed, primarily at the shorter wavelengths. Hilal, Islam, Astronomy, and Cyberspace (Crescent Moon Sighting) This website provides Monthly Crescent Moon Sighting information for many locations around the world. This provides the basis for a lunar calendar. Hobby Eberly Telescope (HET) The Hobby-Eberly telescope (HET) is a new 9 meter telescope, built at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory near Ft. Davis Texas as a result of an international collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin, The Pennsylvania State University and Stanford University in the United States and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, and Goerg-August-Universitaet Goettingen. The HET has been tailored for spectroscopy, and in particular, fiber-coupled spectroscopy. Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) Astronomers at the Johns Hopkins University designed the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) to explore the far- and extreme-ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. HUT has a 36-inch primary mirror which collects ultraviolet light for a prime-focus spectrograph. The spectrograph disperses light in the 825 to 1850 Angstrom wavelength range with a resolution of 3 Angstroms Hubble Space Telescope (HST - from CADC) Also, there is a page from ST-ECF . The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text): The best images from the Hubble space telescope. IAC / Observatorio Roque de los Muchachos Infra-Red Space Interferometer DARWIN (IRSI / DARWIN) The `InfraRed Space Interferometry Mission' DARWIN (IRSI or DARWIN) is a cornerstone mission in the ESA `Horizon 2000+' science plan. Infra-Red Telescope Facility (IRTF) The IRTF is a 3.0 meter telescope optimized for use in the infrared. It was first built to support the Voyager missions to Jupiter. It is now the National facility for infrared astronomy providing continued support to planetary and deep space applications. Infrared and Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) Infrared Array Camera for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (IRAC) The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) contains three focal plane instruments, one of which is the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). IRAC is a four-channel camera that provides simultaneous 5.12 x 5.12 arcmin images at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 microns. Infrared Space Observatory U.S. Support Center (ISO) U.S. science support center for observers using the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), a fully approved and funded project of the European Space Agency (ESA). Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) is an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with the participation of ISAS (Japan) and NASA (USA). This WWW server is maintained at the ISO Data Centre, which is based at Villafranca, Madrid, and is part of the Astrophysics Division of the Space Science Department. Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC, ESO VLT) ISAAC covers the wavelength range 1-5µm and is designed primarily for: 'wide' (2.5x2.5') field imaging and long slit low & medium resolution spectroscopy. Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) IRAM is an international institute for research in millimeter astronomy, cofunded by the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), the MPG (Max Planck Gesellschaft, Germany), and since September 1990 the IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional, Spain). Institute of Astronomy, Bulgaria (IABG) Institute of Astronomy, Bulgaria (IABG) and National Astronomical Observatory "Rozhen". Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (IAR) Información sobre las características del Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía, sus facilidades instrumentales, tareas de investigación y desarrollo en curso, personal científico y técnico y actividades de extensión. Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica. Astrophysics Department (INAOE, Mexico) Information on the Large Millimeter Telescope an about the Cananea observatory Interferometry Center of Excellence (ICE, JPL) The Interferometry Center of Excellence (ICE), at JPL, has been established to ensure the development and maintenance of a leading edge capability in optical and near-infrared interferometric astrometry and imaging. International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL. ESTEC. ESA) Technical status of Integral. The mission utilises the service module (bus) under development for the ESA XMM project. Integral will be launched in 2001. The mission is conceived as an observatory led by ESA with contributions from Russia and NASA International Interference Mitigation (for Radio Astronomy) This Web site is a meeting place for anyone interested in the technical problems of making radio astronomical measurements in the presence of other radio signals. Postings on this site are from scientists and engineers around the world on subjects such as suppression of RFI from electronic devices, measurement of the electromagnetic environment, and techniques for separating weak cosmic signals from other radiation in the radio spectrum. International Liquid Mirror Telescope Project (ILMT) International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite was launched on the 26th of January 1978 by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cape Kennedy and transferred into a geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean. Information on the project is available at:
Iowa Robotic Observatory (IRTF) A Consortium consisting of faculty from the Regents Universities of the State of Iowa (University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa) manages this fully robotic Observatory for undergraduate teaching and research in astronomy and related fields. The Iowa Robotic Observatory (IRO) consists of a fully computerized telescope and enclosure, a large format imaging CCD camera and photometric filters. Iowa Robotic Telescopes Facilities (IRTF) The University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy Department maintains these pages as a guide to our suite of robotic, autonomous tasking telescopes. In addition to using these instruments for teaching and faculty and student research, limited observing time is made available to anyone with an interest in Astronomy and a valid observing request. IPS Radio & Space Services (IPS) IPS is a unit of the Australian Government Department of Administrative Services and provides the Australian radio propagation and space environment services. Includes: Sydney Regional Warning Centre; Culgoora Solar Observatory; Learmonth Solar Observatory; Prediction Services; Consultancy Services Isaac Newton Group - La Palma (ING) The Issac Newton Group consists of three telescopes, the 4.2 metre William Herschel Telescope, the 2.5 metre Isaac Newton Telescope, and the 1 metre Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope. They are situated at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, and are operated by the Royal Observatories of the UK. This resource contains documentation for many of the major instruments, details of how to apply for time, brief descriptions of the telescopes, details and status of the service programme, current telescope schedules, weather information for La Palma, and pointers to other institutions which share the site. James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) The 15-m JCMT is situated close to the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and is the largest submillmetre facility in the world. It is owned and operated by the UK, Canada and the Netherlands on behalf of astronomers worldwide. Its home page contains information about the site, the antenna and the instrumentation, as well as a description of the JCMT-CSO interferometer, and details of the various time allocation processes. Jicamarca Radio Observatory (Peru) Radar studies of the ionosphere and upper atmosphere. Jodrell Bank Observatory (University of Manchester) Jodrell Bank Observatory is part of the University of Manchester's Department of Physics and Astronomy. The Laboratories are home to the Lovell Telescope and the MERLIN & VLBI National Facility which is operated by the University on behalf of PPARC. Joint Astronomy Centre (Hilo, Hawaii) The Joint Astronomy Centre incorporates the 15m James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the 3.8m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) on the 4200m summit of Mauna Kea along with the Centre's Hawaii headquarters in Hilo. The facility is operated by the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh on behalf of the Science and Engineering Research Council of the United Kingdom, the Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek and the National Research Council of Canada. Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe / European VLBI Network (JIVE / EVN) The European VLBI Network (EVN) was formed in 1980 by a consortium of five of the major radio astronomy institutes in Europe (the European Consortium for VLBI). Since 1980, the EVN and the Consortium has grown to include 9 institutes with 12 telescopes in 8 western European countries as well as associated institutes with telescopes in Poland, Russia, Ukraine and China. Proposals for additional telescopes in Spain and Italy are under consideration, and furthermore, the EVN can be linked to the 7-element Jodrell Bank MERLIN interferometer in the UK and to the US Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to create a " global network" . In 1993 the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) was created, with the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy (Dwingeloo) acting as the host institute. It will provide both scientific user support and a correlator facility. Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) achieves ultra-high angular resolution and is a multi-disciplinary technique e.g. imaging of extragalactic radio sources, geodesy and astrometry. The Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory is operated by the Institute of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Meteorology (IGAM) of the University of Graz, Austria. It is located near Villach, close to the Italian and Slovenian border. Operated continuously and devoted also to Solar surveillance since its foundation in 1943 it houses a rich archive of observations. Keck Observatory (CalTech) Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS) The Kiepenheuer-Institut is a research institution of the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, dedicated to the study of the Sun. It is located in Freiburg, Germany, and operates solar observing facilities at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) There is also an anonymous ftp Kitt Peak Observing Information (KPNO) Koelner Observatorium fuer SubMillimeter Astronomie (KOSMA) The 3-m KOSMA telescope at Gornergrat (Switzerland) is operated by the I. Physikalisches Institut (Cologne, Germany). It can be used for observations between 210 and 820 GHz. The Observing Station of the Uppsala Observatory. Lake Afton Public Observatory (Wichita State University) Large Angle and Spectrographic Coronagraph for SOHO (LASCO/SOHO) This instrument monitors the solar corona above the Sun's limb in a similar way as we perceive the corona during a solar eclipse. It produces images of the corona in the visible spectrum and with distance off the Sun's center ranging from 1.1 to 32 solar radii. Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is a collaboration between Arizona (25%), Italy (25%, represented by the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory in Florence), Research Corporation (12.5%), the Ohio State University (12.5%), and Germany (25%, represented by the LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft). Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array Project (LMSA) Large Millimeter Telescope / Gran Telescopio Milimétrico (LMT) The Large Millimeter Telescope is a bi-national project sponsored by both U.S. and Mexican governments and institutions to build the largest single-dish millimeter-wavelength radio telescope ontop of the mountain Cerro La Negra near Puebla in Mexico. The telescope is currently under construction with a rough completion date near 2003. Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LLNL) The focus of the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is the development of integrated adaptive optics (AO) and sodium-layer laser guide star (LGS) systems for use on large astronomical telescopes. Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) LECS Instrument on BeppoSAX (SAX, ESTEC, ESA) SAX is devoted to systematic, integrated and comprehensive studies of galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources in the energy band 0.1 - 200 keV; the observational goal to be addressed is to continue and expand upon previous spectral and timing observations of celestial sources in those areas for which the existing information is missing or inadequate and will remain uncovered in the foreseable future. Leonardo da VINCI - Interferometry (VINCI) VINCI is the VLT INnterferometer Commissionning Instrument, a collaboration of ESO, DESPA (Observatoire de Paris), MPE and OMP. It combines the light coming from two telescopes using single-mode fluoride glass optical fibers. Liquid Mirrors at Université Laval (LM) Liquid Mirror (LM) technology is being developed at Université Laval. A f/1.2, 2.5 meter diameter, mercury mirror is being extensively tested in our testing tower. We are also exploring the use of gallium eutectics as reflecting liquids. The design of novel optical correctors to increase the accessible field of view of liquid mirrors up to 45 degrees is also addressed. Live images from a remote controlled telescope. (L) This is the first remote controlled telescope by internet with live images and free photos with long exposure. Register for free with a personal password and enjoy the Italian Sky (-1 UT time). Liverpool John Moores University, Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI, Liverpool JMU) Details of the research and teaching interests of the group, as well as information on the Liverpool Telescope project - a fully-robotic 2m telescope to be situated at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma. Loiano Telescopes (Bologna, Italy) Tools and informations for observers at the 152 cm Loiano Telescope of Bologna Astronomical Observatory. Tools include a web form for submitting proposals. Informations on road map, weather and accomodations are available. Low Energy Gamma-Ray Imager (LEGRI) LEGRI is a payload for the first mission of the Spanish MINISAT platform. The objective of LEGRI is to demonstrate the viability of HgI2 detectors for space astronomy, providing imaging and spectroscopical capabilities in the 10-100 keV range. Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) is a radio telescope that will operate at the lowest frequencies that are accessible from earth. The current plan is that LOFAR will work in the range from 10-240 MHz. The telescope is being developed by ASTRON, based in Dwingeloo (the Netherlands), the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC (USA) and MIT Haystack Observatory (USA). NASA's Magellan spacecraft made a dramatic conclusion to its highly successful mission at Venus when it is commanded to plunge into the planet's dense atmosphere Tuesday, October 11, 1994. During its four years in orbit around Earth's sister planet, the spacecraft has radar-mapped 98 percent of the surface and collected high-resolution gravity data of Venus. The purpose of the crash landing is to gain data on the planet's atmosphere and on the performance of the spacecraft as it descends. Up-to-date status reports will be available from this WWW page, which also offers Venus images and other highlights from the mission. The Maidanak Foundation is dedicated to supporting the scientific teams currently running the Mt. Maidanak Observatory, and to provide funding for key scientific equipment. Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) MRT is a southern sky survey telescope, which is making a complimentary survey to 6C (southern sky) and observing selected southern sky pulsars. See UK and original MRT pages. McDonald Observatory (University of Texas, Austin) McDonald Observatory is located 450 miles west of Austin, Texas, in the Davis Mountains. At present, there are three operating telescopes: 2.7-meter, 2.1-meter, and .76-meter reflectors. The Observatory is equipped with a wide range of state-of-the-art instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy in the optical and infrared, and it boasts one of the first and most productive lunar ranging stations. MDM Observatory (MDM Observatory) MDM Observatory was founded by the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Current operating partners include Michigan, Dartmouth, MIT, Ohio State University, and Columbia University. The Observatory is located on the southwest ridge of the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ. It operates two telescopes: the 2.4-m Hiltner telescope and the 1.3-m McGraw-Hill telescope. Mees Solar Observatory (MSO, Hawaii) Metsahovi Radio Research Station The Metsähovi Radio Research Station, a separate research institute of the Helsinki University of Technology since May 1988, operates a 14 m diameter radome enclosed radio telescope at Metsähovi, 40 km west of Helsinki, Finland. The Cassegrain telescope system can be used at frequencies 10 - 230 GHz (wavelengths 3 cm - 1.8 mm). Michelle: A mid-infrared spectrometer and imager for the UKIRT and Gemini telescopes Michigan State's Telescope Initative Outreach efforts to merge astronomy research and non-science education. Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST - First Canadian Space Telescope) MOST is a suitcase-sized (65x65x30cm, 60kg) microsatellite designed to probe other stars and extrasolar planets by measuring tiny light variations undetectable from Earth. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text): Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) MOST is Canada's first space science microsatellite and its first optical space telescope project, aiming for launch in late 2001. MOST is designed to measure (as its acronym implies) Microvariability & Oscillations of STars in broadband light with a precision of a few micromagnitudes over timescales from minutes to days. The resulting eigenfrequency data will be used primarily for stellar seismology, to probe the structure and ages of Sun-like stars, magnetic stars, Wolf-Rayet stars and halo subdwarfs. The subdwarfs are expected to yield age estimates which would place a meaningful lower limit on the age of the Universe. MOST should also be capable of confirming the presence of giant extrasolar planets identified in Doppler surveys. Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) NASA has selected MAP has one of the next MIDEX missions. It will map the microwave background fluctuations over the whole sky and provide insights into the formation of galaxies and the basic parameters of cosmology. Mid-InfraRed Large Imager (MIRLIN) MIRLIN is a 128 x 128 pixel, 7 - 25 micrometer infrared astronomical camera built at JPL by a team led by Dr. Michael Ressler and used on the Palomar 5 meter (200 inch) telescope, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility 3 meter telescope, and the Keck II 10 meter telescope. Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) The MSX observatory is a Ballistic Missile Defense Organization project which offers major benefits for both the defense and civilian sectors. It was launched on a Delta II vehicle on April 24, 1996, into a 900 km, polar, near-Sun synchronous orbit. The spacecraft featured an advanced multispectral image capability to gather data on test targets and space background phenomena. Millstone Hill Observatory (MHO, Haystack) The Millstone Hill Observatory, located in Westford Massachusetts, is a broad-based atmospheric sciences research facility owned and operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Atmospheric Sciences Group, which staffs and manages the observatory, is a part of M.I.T's Haystack Observatory, a basic research organization whose focus is radio wave and radar science, instrumentation and techniques. The following resources may be of interest. EISCAT is a particularly good source of data and useful information. See, for example, incoherent scatter radar and magnetosphere Millstone Hill Observatory: Information, data, etc., including real-time radar status and data when the radar is operating. EISCAT: European Incoherent Scatter Association. NCAR: National Center for Atmospheric Research. NSF: National Science Foundation Gopher server. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NGDC: National Geophysical Data Center. Mississippi State University - Howell Observatory Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) The MOST consists of two cylindrical paraboloids, 778m x 12m, separated by 15m and aligned East-West. A line feed system of 7744 circular dipoles collects the signal and feeds 176 preamplifiers and 88 IF amplifiers. The telescope is steered by mechanical rotation of the cylindrical paraboloids about their long axis, and by phasing the feed elements along the arms. The resulting `alt-alt' system can follow a field for +/- 6 hours (necessary for a complete synthesis with an East-West array) only if the field is south of declination -30 degrees. For fields near this limit the signal-to-noise ratio is considerably lower for the first and last hour or so due to the lower gain of the system at large `meridian distance' angles. MOnitoring X-ray Experiment (MOXE) The MOnitoring X-ray Experiment (MOXE) is an X-ray all-sky monitor to be launched on the Russian Spectrum-X-Gamma satellite. It will monitor several hundred X-ray sources on a daily basis, and will be the first instrument to monitor the complete X-ray sky simultaneously. MOXE is built by Los Alamos Nat Lab, Goddard Space Flight Center and Space Research Institute (Moscow). MONOPTEC's Fixed Shutter Dome (FSD) MONOPTEC licenses the Fixed Shutter Dome, an enabling technology in observatory enclosures and satellite laser ranging systems. Four FSD's now reside in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the Keystone Project. Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA) The Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy is a non-profit astronomical observatory, founded in 1972 and dedicated to research and education in astronomy. Mount Evans Meyer-Womble Observatory (Denver Univ.) Mt.Evans Meyer-Womble Observatory, elev. 4,303 meters, in the Colorado Rockies. Dual 0.7 meter R-C telescopes, optical and mid-infrared instrumentation. Summer access. Collaborations invited. Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO) The Mt. Graham International Observatory is located on Mt. Graham near Safford , Arizona. Two telescopes are now in operation, the Vatican Observatory/Arizona 1.8m Lennon telescope(VATT) and the 10m diameter Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope (SMT), a joint project of Arizona and the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Germany. Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory (Tasmania) Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories - Observing facilities (MSSSO) The Australian National University runs the following telescopes: 2.3m at Siding Springs ; 74in at Mount Stromlo ; 50in at Mount Stromlo ; 40in at Siding Springs ; 24in at Siding Springs. Mount Suhora Observatory (Cracow Pedagogical University) The Mt.Suhora Observatory is a part of Astronomy Department at the Pedagogical University in Cracow, Poland. It is located in Gorce mountain, near Koninki village, 60 km south-east of Cracow. The mountain is host to several ongoing observing projects using the onsite facilities. The observatory has two primary nighttime telescopes: the 60-inch telescope, built in 1908 is home to the HK Project and the Atmospheric Compensation Experiment; and the 100-inch (Hooker) telescope, built in 1917, which is available to the scientific community. Two solar observatories, the 60-foot tower telescope (operated by USC), and the 150-foot tower telescope (operated by UCLA) maintain long-term exploration of the magnetic activity behavior of the Sun. There are also two interferometers onsite: the Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI, operated by U.C. Berkeley), and the NRL Optical Interferometer. The Telescopes in Education (TIE) Project operates a 24" telescope, as well as the Snow Solar Telescope (built in 1904). Finally, a fully-robotic 32-inch Automatic Photoeletric Telescope (APT) is operated by Tennessee State University. Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN - Jodrell Bank) Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF (MIPS) The Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF (MIPS) is a far-infrared photometer, scheduled for launch into a solar orbit in December, 2001. It is one of three instruments that will fly on SIRTF. Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory (1) (MMTO) Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory (2) (MMTO) The Nançay Radio Observatory is a scientific department (the Unite Scientifique de Nançay) of the Paris Observatory, and it is also associated to the CNRS (the French National Scientific Research Council). Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS, ESO VLT) National Astronomical Observatory of Spain (OAN) OAN is a 200 year old institution devoted to research in astronomy that operates several observatories. The Yebes Observatory is the site of a mm-wave 14m telescope devoted to spectroscopy and VLBI. A 1.5m optical telescope is located at the Calar Alto Observatory. The OAN is also the Spanish partner of IRAM, which runs a 30m mm-wave telescope and a 5x15m mm-wave interferometer. National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) National Centre for Radio Astrophysics is the leading centre in India for reseach in radio astronomy. It operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope(GMRT), one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world for radio astronomy at metre wavelengths. National Laboratory for Astrophysics (LNA, Brazil) LNA is an Institute of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). At present, LNA supports 3 telescopes: the 1.6-m Ritchey-Chretien and coudé, the 0.6-m Cassegrain and the 0.6-m telescope of the University of São Paulo. National Schools' Observatory (NSO) The National Schools' Observatory is a major web-based resource that allows UK schools to use world-class astronomical telescopes sited all around the world. Using the resources and software developed by the Observatory, students can prepare and carry out their own astronomical research and share in the excitement of discovery. National Solar Observatory / Sacramento Peak, Sunspot, NM (NSO/SP) National Solar Observatory (NSO) Synoptic Solar Magnetograms National Undergraduate Research Observatory (NURO) The National Undergraduate Research Observatory (NURO) at Lowell Observatory and Northern Arizona University is a 0.8m telescope located on Anderson Mesa south of Flagstaff, Arizona. NURO is a consortium of Universities and small colleges to provide a research grade telescope for undergraduate research and education. Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) NEAT is an autonomous celestial observatory located at the USAF/Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) site on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii. It is designed to complete a comprehensive search of the sky for near-Earth asteroids and comets. Neutrino Oscillation MAgnetic Detector (NOMAD) Nomad (Neutrino Oscillation MAgnetic Detector) is CERN experiment WA96. The experiment searches for the oscillation nu_mu -> nu_tau in the CERN wide-band neutrino beam. It aims at detecting tau-neutrino charged-current interactions by observing the production of the tau lepton through its various decay modes by means of kinematical criteria. New Radio Telescope Technologies Laboratory (NRTT Lab) NRRT Lab. of JSEC "Astronomy" in St.Petersburg, Russia. Current research: Antenna testing and research, development of new antenna technologies for radio telescopes including multielement feed arrays, MMIC focal receiver arrays, active phased arrays for radio telescopes. Development, investigation and introduction of new observation modes at RATAN-600 radio telescope. Next Generation Space Telescope listservs (NGST Listservs) This URL takes you to a WWW page where you can subscribe to a number of listservs devoted to the Next Generation Space Telescope project. You may subscribe to any of them. Posting is restricted. Right now, these are used as ways to inform the community about progress in the project. The web site contains links for feedback to the project team members. Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) is a critical component of NASA's Origins Program. It will be a telescope of aperture greater than 4m, radiatively cooled to 30 - 60 deg.K, permitting extremely deep exposures at near infrared wavelengths with a 10 year life. A key requirement is to break the HST cost paradigm through the use of new technology and management methods. This site is designed to serve as the starting point for finding online NGST Study documentation. NFO's Automatic Radio Linked Telescope Observatory associated with Western New Mexico University in Silver City, NM (USA). NICMOS UofA (NICMOS) The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) is a second-generation instrument to be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the February 13, 1997 on-orbit servicing mission. NICMOS will provide infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets between 0.8-2.5 microns. Nobeyama Radio Observatory, NAOJ (NRO) Information regarding the 45-m Telescope, the Millimeter Array(NMA), the Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (LMSA) project, and much more. Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT, La Palma) Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP) The Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP) is an optical observatory in southeast France offering small and medium-sized observing facilities to astronomers in France, Europe and abroad. Includes information about instruments and user manuals. Observatoire du Mont Megantic (OMM) The Centre de recherche Observatoire du mont Mégantic (OMM) is an inter-university collaborative organisation which brings together researchers from Université de Montréal, Université Laval, with axis centred on the télescope du mont Mégantic (TMM). Observatoire du Mont Mégantic (OMM) [in French] Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees (OMP) The Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) is an Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers placed under the administrative supervison of both the Institute des Sciences de l'Univers (INSU) of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Education. It has laboratories located on the Rangueuil campus of Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse (UPS), in Bagnères, Lannemezan and on the summit of Pic du Midi de Bigorre. Observatorio Astronomico da Serra da Piedade (OAP, Mainas Gerais, Brazil) The Serra da Piedade observatory belongs to the Federal University of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is opened to the general public every first Saturday of each month for observations. Tutorials and workshops are also part of the program, presented by astronomers and undergraduate students of the university. Observatorio Astronómico Nacional The Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN) operates 3 telescopes (2.1m, 1.5m, and 0.84m) up in the mountains of the Sierra San Pedro Martir of Baja California. The observatory offices and workshops are located in Ensenada, B.C. overlooking the Pacific ocean. OAN is a part of the Instituto de Astronomía of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Observatorio Nacional, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) [in Portuguese] Observatorium Hoher List (Bonn) The Wide Field Imager for the VST at Paranal. Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) OSO is the Swedish National Facility for Radio Astronomy. Optical Correctors for Liquid Mirror Telescopes One of the often cited limitations of liquid mirror telescopes pertains to the small region of sky which they can observe. Because the aberrations of a parabola increase rapidly with field angle, classical corrector designs cannot yield subarcsecond images for angles significantly greater than one degree. To access larger fields, innovative corrector designs must be explored. |
