A solar tower, in the context of astronomy, is a structure used to support equipment for studying the Sun, and is typically part of

solar telescope A solar telescope is a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun. Solar telescopes usually detect light with wavelengths in, or not far outside, the visible spectrum. Obsolete names for Sun telescopes include heliograph and photoheliograph ...

designs. Generically, the term solar tower has many more uses especially for a type of power production using Earth's Sun. Solar tower observatories are also called vacuum tower telescopes. Solar towers are used to raise the observation equipment above atmospheric turbulence caused by solar heating of the ground and the radiation of the heat into the atmosphere. Traditional observatories do not have to be placed high above ground level, as they do most of their observation at night, when ground radiation is at a minimum. The horizontal Snow solar observatory was built on Mount Wilson in 1904. It was soon found that heat radiation was disrupting observations. Almost as soon as the Snow Observatory opened, plans were started for a tower that opened in 1908 followed by a tower in 1912. The tower is currently used to study helioseismology, while the tower is active in UCLA's Solar Cycle Program. The term has also been used to refer to other structures used for experimental purposes, such as the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (

STACEE The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), is a gamma ray detector located near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Observations with STACEE began in and concluded in . Gamma rays were observed from objects such as the Crab Nebula, ...

), which is being used to study Cherenkov radiation, and the

Weizmann Institute The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli un ...

solar power tower.

Examples

List of solar telescopes This is a list of solar telescopes built in various countries around the world. A solar telescope is a specialized telescope that is used to observe the Sun. This list contains ground-based professional observatory telescopes at optical wavelength ...

Solar Observatory Tower Meudon Solar Observatory Tower Meudon is a 36.47 metre tall tower built of reinforced concrete on the area of Meudon Observatory in Meudon, France, which has in its interior a spectrograph for examination of the sun. Solar Observatory Tower Meudon was ...

in France

External links

Mount Wilson60 ft Solar TowerSTACEE home page
Astronomical observatories Telescope types {{observatory-stub