Moore Observatory is an

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, ...

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 ...

owned and operated by

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

(U of L). It is located on the Horner Wildlife Refuge in Oldham County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

(USA) approximately northeast of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. It opened in 1978, and was dedicated to Walter Lee Moore, a Professor of Mathematics at U of L from 1929 to 1967. Moore Observatory is a research and advanced teaching facility of the University of Louisville. The observatory operates two research telescopes at the site, and a companion telescope at Mount Kent near

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

, Australia. The observatory is located on the Horner Wildlife Refuge. The Horner Family donated this land to the U of L in the early 1960s and another of the original farm surrounds the preserve.

Telescopes

* A

Ritchey–Chrétien telescope A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (RCT or simply RC) is a specialized variant of the Cassegrain telescope that has a hyperbolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror designed to eliminate off-axis optical errors (coma). The RCT has a ...

manufactured by

RC Optical Systems RC Optical Systems was a high-end American telescope and optics manufacturer that specialized in Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes with hyperbolic mirrors. RC also made related mounts and systems for the telescopes, with a focus on open and close ...

was installed in August 2006. It is currently used to measure transiting exoplanets. Other research performed with the telescope includes observing the physical process of

nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

. * A

manufactured by

on a altitude-azimuth mount was added in 2019. It is primarily used for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite observations, for near Earth object (NEO) characterization. * A

modified Dall–Kirkham telescope The Modified Dall-Kirkham telescope utilizes an elliptical primary and spherical secondary mirror as in the conventional Dall-Kirkham configuration, but also includes a lens group (usually two or three lens elements) ahead of the focal point to im ...

built by Planewave Instruments is at

Mount Kent Observatory Mount Kent Observatory near Toowoomba, in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, is an observatory owned and operated by the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). It is the only professional astronomical research observatory in ...

in Queensland, Australia. * Two identical

s at Moore Observatory and at Mount Kent are collaboratively operated by U of L and the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It of ...

(USQ). They were built by Planewave Instruments and installed in 2006. They are used for education, public astronomy outreach, and target of opportunity research. The telescopes are interfaced to

Internet2 Internet2 is a not-for-profit United States computer networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government. The Internet2 consortium administrative headquarters are located in Ann Arbor, M ...

, and are operated remotely by students from Kentucky public schools, undergraduate and graduate students at U of L, and students at USQ. This arrangement allows students to study the southern night sky during the day and the Australian students to study the northern night sky during their day.

References

External links

Department of Physics and Astronomy
at the University of Louisville

Forecasts of observing conditions. {{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in Kentucky University of Louisville Buildings and structures in Oldham County, Kentucky Scientific organizations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Kentucky Buildings and structures completed in 1978

Telescopes

See also

References

External links