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22-694: The Heights Observatory is an Astronomical Observatory at The Heights School in Modbury Heights , Adelaide , South Australia . It is sometimes known as the Adelaide Observatory, but it is not to be confused with the observatory formerly established at the University of Adelaide. The Observatory consists of two buildings. In 1988–89, the Emanuel Papaelia Observatory (opened Nov'89) was built containing

44-607: A 1963 vintage 12" Dall-Kirkham Cassegrain reflecting telescope belonging to the Astronomical Society of South Australia (ASSA), and originally housed at Marryatville High School . In 1996, a second building with a roll off roof (the Ingham Family Rooms) was constructed. This contained a second hand 10" Meade LX-200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. In August 2011, the 10" Meade in the Inghams building

66-596: A remote 5,640 m (18,500 ft) mountaintop in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The oldest proto-observatories, in the sense of an observation post for astronomy, The oldest true observatories, in the sense of a specialized research institute , include: Space-based observatories are telescopes or other instruments that are located in outer space , many in orbit around the Earth. Space telescopes can be used to observe astronomical objects at wavelengths of

88-428: A slit or other opening in the roof that can be opened during observing, and closed when the telescope is not in use. In most cases, the entire upper portion of the telescope dome can be rotated to allow the instrument to observe different sections of the night sky. Radio telescopes usually do not have domes. For optical telescopes, most ground-based observatories are located far from major centers of population, to avoid

110-419: A week at the absolute reference point calibration measurements are performed. Example magnetic observatories include: Example seismic observation projects and observatories include: Example gravitational wave observatories include: A volcano observatory is an institution that conducts the monitoring of a volcano as well as research in order to understand the potential impacts of active volcanism. Among

132-833: Is a facility which precisely measures the total intensity of Earth's magnetic field for field strength and direction at standard intervals. Geomagnetic observatories are most useful when located away from human activities to avoid disturbances of anthropogenic origin, and the observation data is collected at a fixed location continuously for decades. Magnetic observations are aggregated, processed, quality checked and made public through data centers such as INTERMAGNET . The types of measuring equipment at an observatory may include magnetometers (torsion, declination-inclination fluxgate, proton precession, Overhauser-effect), variometer (3-component vector, total-field scalar), dip circle , inclinometer , earth inductor, theodolite , self-recording magnetograph, magnetic declinometer, azimuth compass. Once

154-444: Is a scientific institution whose main task is to make observations in the fields of meteorology, geomagnetism and tides that are important for the navy and civil shipping. An astronomical observatory is usually also attached. Some of these observatories also deal with nautical weather forecasts and storm warnings, astronomical time services, nautical calendars and seismology. Example marine observatories include: A magnetic observatory

176-658: Is that, because of their location above the Earth's atmosphere, their images are free from the effects of atmospheric turbulence that plague ground-based observations. As a result, the angular resolution of space telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope is often much smaller than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture . However, all these advantages do come with a price. Space telescopes are much more expensive to build than ground-based telescopes. Due to their location, space telescopes are also extremely difficult to maintain. The Hubble Space Telescope

198-613: Is the Mauna Kea Observatory , located near the summit of a 4,205 m (13,796 ft) volcano in Hawaiʻi. The Chacaltaya Astrophysical Observatory in Bolivia, at 5,230 m (17,160 ft), was the world's highest permanent astronomical observatory from the time of its construction during the 1940s until 2009. It has now been surpassed by the new University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory , an optical-infrared telescope on

220-478: The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy use airplanes to observe in the infrared , which is absorbed by water vapor in the atmosphere. High-altitude balloons for X-ray astronomy have been used in a variety of countries. Example underground, underwater or under ice neutrino observatories include: Example meteorological observatories include: A marine observatory

242-683: The southwestern United States , Hawaii , Canary Islands , the Andes , and high mountains in Mexico such as Sierra Negra . Major optical observatories include Mauna Kea Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory in the US, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in Spain, and Paranal Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile . Specific research study performed in 2009 shows that

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264-566: The 14" LX200 in the roll off roof building, and in July 2012 the 14" LX200 was installed in the Dome, in place of the old ASSA 12" Dall-Kirkham, which was moved to ASSA's Stockport Observatory for storage. A group of students known as the STAR Group learns astronomy at an advanced level, both in theory and practice. Students are actively involved with the observatory. In 2011, a Yr 12 Student used

286-707: The Public through the 14" LX200 in the Dome and the portable scopes. Observatory The term observatoire has been used in French since at least 1976 to denote any institution that compiles and presents data on a particular subject (such as public health observatory ) or for a particular geographic area ( European Audiovisual Observatory ). Astronomical observatories are mainly divided into four categories: space-based , airborne , ground-based, and underground-based. Historically, ground-based observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant (for measuring

308-770: The best known are the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and the Vesuvius Observatory . Mobile volcano observatories exist with the USGS VDAP (Volcano Disaster Assistance Program), to be deployed on demand. Each volcano observatory has a geographic area of responsibility it is assigned to whereby the observatory is tasked with spreading activity forecasts, analyzing potential volcanic activity threats and cooperating with communities in preparation for volcanic eruption . Atmospheric turbulence Too Many Requests If you report this error to

330-954: The best possible location for ground-based observatory on Earth is Ridge A  — a place in the central part of Eastern Antarctica. This location provides the least atmospheric disturbances and best visibility. Beginning in 1933, radio telescopes have been built for use in the field of radio astronomy to observe the Universe in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Such an instrument, or collection of instruments, with supporting facilities such as control centres, visitor housing, data reduction centers, and/or maintenance facilities are called radio observatories . Radio observatories are similarly located far from major population centers to avoid electromagnetic interference (EMI) from radio , TV , radar , and other EMI emitting devices, but unlike optical observatories, radio observatories can be placed in valleys for further EMI shielding. Some of

352-423: The distance between stars ) or Stonehenge (which has some alignments on astronomical phenomena). Ground-based observatories, located on the surface of Earth, are used to make observations in the radio and visible light portions of the electromagnetic spectrum . Most optical telescopes are housed within a dome or similar structure, to protect the delicate instruments from the elements. Telescope domes have

374-477: The effects of light pollution . The ideal locations for modern observatories are sites that have dark skies, a large percentage of clear nights per year, dry air, and are at high elevations. At high elevations, the Earth's atmosphere is thinner, thereby minimizing the effects of atmospheric turbulence and resulting in better astronomical " seeing ". Sites that meet the above criteria for modern observatories include

396-463: The electromagnetic spectrum that cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and are thus impossible to observe using ground-based telescopes. The Earth's atmosphere is opaque to ultraviolet radiation, X-rays , and gamma rays and is partially opaque to infrared radiation so observations in these portions of the electromagnetic spectrum are best carried out from a location above the atmosphere of our planet. Another advantage of space-based telescopes

418-725: The original 10" LX200 and a 8bit DMK camera to detect the transit of an Exo-planet as his SACE Research Project. Bimonthly, on the Friday night nearest the First Quarter Moon, the Astronomical Society of South Australia holds a public viewing night at the observatory, where members of the public can visit the observatory to view the night sky through the observatory's telescopes and telescopes brought in by members of ASSA. Members of STAR Group demonstrate real time imaging on their Research Grade OGS telescope, and show

440-795: The world's major radio observatories include the Very Large Array in New Mexico , United States, Jodrell Bank in the UK , Arecibo in Puerto Rico , Parkes in New South Wales , Australia, and Chajnantor in Chile . A related discipline is Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI). Since the mid-20th century, a number of astronomical observatories have been constructed at very high altitudes , above 4,000–5,000 m (13,000–16,000 ft). The largest and most notable of these

462-483: Was able to be serviced by the Space Shuttles while many other space telescopes cannot be serviced at all. Airborne observatories have the advantage of height over ground installations, putting them above most of the Earth's atmosphere. They also have an advantage over space telescopes: The instruments can be deployed, repaired and updated much more quickly and inexpensively. The Kuiper Airborne Observatory and

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484-593: Was replaced by a 14" Meade LX-200 GPS-ACF. This was purchased with a grant from the Education Minister (Jay Weatherill), topped up with fund-raising money from the STAR Group. The observatory also houses a portable 10" Dobsonian, a 90mm computerised SkyWatcher refractor and two Coronado solar telescopes. In April 2012, the Heights School purchased a research-grade, 12.5" space-certified Ritchey–Chrétien built by Optical Guidance Systems. That replaced

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