Mount Lemmon Observatory (MLO), also known as the Mount Lemmon Infrared Observatory, is an astronomical

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. H ...

located on

Mount Lemmon Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of , is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon, ...

in the Santa Catalina Mountains approximately northeast of

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

(US). The site in the Coronado National Forest is used with special permission from the U.S. Forest Service by the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

Steward Observatory Steward Observatory is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson, Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were f ...

, and contains a number of independently managed telescopes.

History

The MLO site was first developed in 1954 as Mount Lemmon Air Force Station, a

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

installation of the

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...

. Upon transfer to the Steward Observatory 1970, the site was converted to an

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

observatory. Until 2003, a radar tower operated from

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, a ...

was used to track launches from the

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

in New Mexico and

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg Sp ...

in California.

Telescopes

Below are the 8 telescopes currently operating at the observatory. * The Steward Observatory Telescope is a Cassegrain reflector used for the Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS), which is part of the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS). It was built in the late 1960s and first installed at Catalina Station on Mount Bigelow, which is nearby in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It was moved to Mt. Lemmon in 1972, and then re-housed in its current location in 1975. Its original metal

primary mirror A primary mirror (or primary) is the principal light-gathering surface (the objective) of a reflecting telescope. Description The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is a spherical or parabolic shaped disks of polished reflective met ...

performed poorly and was replaced in 1977 with a glass mirror made of Cer-Vit. It is one of the telescopes used by students at Astronomy Camp. It discovered

2011 AG5 , provisional designation , is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It has a diameter of about . It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 21 December 2012 and as s ...

, an asteroid which achieved 1 on the Torino Scale. * The UMN-MLOF (University of Minnesota Mount Lemmon Observing Facility) telescope began operating in 1970. It is a Dall-Kirkham optical/

near infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

and is of the same general design as the 1.5 m Steward telescope and another at San Pedro Mártir. The original metal mirror performed poorly and was replaced with a Cer-Vit mirror in 1974. The

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

(UCSD) was originally a partner of UMN in operating the telescope. * The CSS (Catalina Sky Survey) reflecting telescope is an unusual Pressman-Camichel design and is used to provide automated follow up observations of newly discovered

near-Earth object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU) ...

s. It was originally located at Catalina Station and was moved to MLO in 1975. It was refurbished in 2008 and placed in a new dome in 2009 before being integrated into CSS operations. * The KASI robotic telescope was installed in 2003 and is the only instrument of the Mt. Lemmon Optical Astronomy Observatory (LOAO) operated by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). Comet ISON Oct 08 2013

* The Schulman Telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by RC Optical Systems and installed in September 2010. It is operated by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter and is Arizona's Largest dedicated public observatory. The Schulman Telescope was designed from inception for remote control over the internet by amateur and professional astrophotographers worldwide, and is currently the world's largest telescope dedicated for this purpose. * A reflecting telescope installed in 1963 at Catalina Station was moved to MLO in 1972. * A Ritchey-Chrétien reflector was built by RC Optical Systems and is operated by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter. * The John Jamieson Telescope was donated to UA in 1999 and dedicated in 2005. It is optimized for

observing and is operated by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter.

References

External links

University of Arizona Steward Observatory
– official site
Mount Lemmon SkyCenter
– official site

Forecasts of observing conditions. {{Portal bar, Arizona, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in Arizona Santa Catalina Mountains Buildings and structures in Pima County, Arizona Tourist attractions in Pima County, Arizona Education in Pima County, Arizona University of Arizona 1970 establishments in Arizona

History

Telescopes

See also

References

External links