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22-447: The telescope is owned and operated by LCOGT . This telescope and its sister telescope Faulkes Telescope South are used by research and education groups around the globe. The Faulkes Telescope Project is one such group which provides observing time (awarded by LCOGT) for educational projects for UK schools and amateur astronomers. In 2013, it imaged the defunct Herschel Space Observatory . This Hawaiʻi state location article

44-488: A 26 arcminute square field of view. During 2017, a set of high-resolution (R = 50,000), high-stability spectrographs (NRES) were deployed to four of the LCO sites to be coupled by optical fibres to the 1 meter telescopes. The 40 centimetres (16 in) telescopes are equipped with SBIG STX-6303 optical imagers. The global telescope network operates as a single observatory. Users request observations only for

66-474: A 50 arcminute-diameter fully corrected field of view. The 40 centimetres (16 in) telescopes use the optics and tubes from Meade 16 inch RCX telescopes. The mount has been replaced by a scaled-down version of the LCO 1 meter telescope mount. The 2 meter telescopes are instrumented with optical imagers and low-resolution optical spectrographs (FLOYDS). The 1 meter telescopes are instrumented with “Sinistro” optical imagers that have

88-402: A generic class of telescope/instrument and the software scheduler determines an optimum observing schedule for each telescope. The scheduler revises the observing schedules for all telescopes as necessary and updates can be provided within 15 minutes. The rapid-response request mode bypasses the scheduler and can begin an observation within a few minutes after submission. Each telescope carries out

110-449: A nightly calibration program and adjusts its pointing and focus several times per night. The telescopes are all instrumented uniformly to facilitate the combining of data from multiple telescopes or sites. Data are returned to LCO headquarters, where they are processed to remove instrumental signature and ingested into an archive. Users have immediate access to their observations and all data are made public after 12 months. The network

132-948: A robotically operated network. Over the next few years, Rosing and the LCO staff came to understand that a network composed of many smaller telescopes would provide greater observing capacity. The organization designed its own 1 meter telescope with a plan to locate several of these at each chosen site. An even smaller 40 cm telescope was also developed primarily for use in education projects. During 2012 and 2013, nine 1 meter telescopes were constructed and deployed to McDonald Observatory at Fort Davis, Texas; Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO) in Chile; South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), near Sutherland, South Africa; and SSO in Australia. During 2015 and 2016, seven 40 cm telescopes were deployed to CTIO, Haleakala Observatory, SSO, and to Teide Observatory on Tenerife in

154-711: Is 6,714 m (22,028 ft) above sea level and is the main peak of the Transhimalaya (also called the Kailash Range or Gangdisê Mountains). The holy mountain and lake are associated with number of religions: Buddhism , Hinduism , and Bon , among others, attracting numerous domestic and international religious pilgrims and tourists. Surrounding Mount Kailash are four ancient and famous monasteries: Zhabura , Chiu Gompa, Zheri and Zhozhub . Manasarovar lies 4,588 m (15,052 ft) above sea level, covers an area of 412 km (159 sq mi) and reaches

176-486: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) is a network of astronomical observatories run by a non-profit private operating foundation directed by the technologist Wayne Rosing . Its offices are in Goleta, California . The telescopes are located at both northern and southern hemisphere sites distributed in longitude around

198-432: Is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum . Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe . It is one of the least densely populated areas in the world, with 0.3 people per kilometer (0.85 per mile). Ngari was once the heart of the ancient kingdom of Guge . Later Ngari, along with Ü and Tsang, composed Ü-Tsang , one of

220-530: Is administered through a peer-review proposal process run by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Several science teams and individuals also purchase time on the LCO network. The design and operation of the LCO global telescope network provide the unique capabilities required for time domain astronomy. The LCO network offers the ability to observe objects or events continuously and the ability to obtain data rapidly upon

242-538: Is available to researchers at institutions that are members of the LCO science collaboration. Institutions that operate the sites hosting the LCO telescopes and a few institutions that have contributed resources to help build the network are members of the collaboration. The entire U.S. astronomical community gained access to the LCO network in 2016 as a result of an award from the National Science Foundation's Mid-Scale Innovation Program. The program

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264-681: The Canary Islands. After completion of the construction and installation of these telescopes, LCO began its transition to operating a global observatory. In 2013, a Board of Directors was established and a President was hired to lead the organization. Full science scheduling began on 1 May 2014, with the two 2 meter and nine 1 meter telescopes operating as a single, integrated, observatory. The 40 cm telescopes were added to this system as they were commissioned. The National Science Foundation made an award to LCO in 2016 through its Mid-Scale Innovations Program, purchasing access to

286-494: The Earth. For some astronomical objects, the longitudinal spacing of telescopes allows continuous observations over 24 hours or longer. The operating network currently consists of two 2 meter telescopes, nine 1 meter telescopes, and seven 40 cm telescopes, placed at six astronomical observatories. The network operates as a single, integrated, observing facility, using a software scheduler that continuously optimizes

308-538: The LCO network for all astronomers at U.S. institutions. The goal of this program is to prepare this community to carry out effective research following discoveries being made by current and future time domain astronomy surveys. LCO operates its network at seven sites. The operating sites are all professional astronomical observatories. In the southern hemisphere: In the northern hemisphere: The Ngari Observatory in Ngari Prefecture , western Tibet, China

330-944: The Middle East, Australia, or running entirely online programs, for students, teachers, and the wider public. In 2019 the reported direct impact of the program was 13,000 individuals exclusively using the LCO 0.4-meter network, predominantly school children and teachers. The LCO education team also maintains in-house educational programs to trigger observations and make use of data from the LCO network. These programs are designed to inspire anyone with an interest in astronomy to explore science using robotic telescopes. Recent successful programs include Asteroid Tracker, Agent Exoplanet, and Serol's Cosmic Explorers. Ngari Prefecture Ngari Prefecture ( Tibetan : མངའ་རིས་ས་ཁུལ། , Wylie : mnga' ris sa khul , ZYPY : ngari sakü ) or Ali Prefecture ( simplified Chinese : 阿里地区 ; traditional Chinese : 阿里地區 ; pinyin : Ālǐ Dìqū )

352-451: The beginning of LCO, education has been one of its core missions. In 2017, for the first time in LCO's history it issued an open call for education partners, Global Sky Partners —groups who could use their robotic telescopes to inspire diverse audiences with educational and outreach projects that they support. In 2019 there are 20 LCO Global Sky Partners based in the US, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa,

374-577: The capital, Lhasa . Ali Kunsha Airport began operations on July 1, 2010, becoming the fourth civil airport in Tibet (shortening the trip to Lhasa to one-and-a-half hours from three or four days by car) along with Lhasa Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, Qamdo Bamda Airport in Chamdo and Nyingchi Mainling Airport . Ngari is best known for Mount Kailash , also called Sumeru , and Lake Manasarovar . Mount Kailash

396-422: The discovery or announcement of an event. The LCO network has been used to study supernovae and other explosive transients; exoplanets , through observations of both transits and microlensing; asteroids ; and AGN variability. In 2017 LCO played a critical part in two major discoveries: first visible counterpart of a gravitational wave event, and a new type of supernova with successive explosions. Since

418-469: The planned observing schedule of each individual telescope. Rosing incorporated Las Cumbres Observatory in 1993 with the goal of aiding universities, observatories, and individuals in the acquisition and improvement of telescopes, optics, and instrumentation. He also set the objective for the organization to build and implement a global telescope system. In 2005, Rosing established the global telescope version of Las Cumbres Observatory. LCO initially acquired

440-508: The traditional provinces of Tibet , the others being Amdo and Kham . The prefecture has close cultural links with Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti district of the bordering Indian state of Himachal Pradesh . The paved Xinjiang-Tibet Highway ( 新藏公路 ) passes through this area. There are well-known prehistoric petroglyphs near the far western town of Rutog . The town of Ngari lies 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) above sea level in northwest Tibet some 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) west of

462-474: The two Faulkes 2 meter telescopes. Faulkes Telescope North (FTN) located at Haleakala Observatory , on Maui, Hawaii, and Faulkes Telescope South (FTS) at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO), in eastern Australia. LCO also purchased the company that built the Faulkes telescopes, Telescope Technologies Limited of Liverpool, with the intent of installing additional 2-meter telescopes at different sites to form

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484-561: Was added as a node to the network. LCO also operates an identical 1 meter telescope at its headquarters in Goleta for engineering development and a 0.8 meter telescope at Sedgwick Reserve near Santa Ynez, California. The 2 meter telescopes are the two Faulkes telescopes built by Telescope Technologies Ltd. They are f/10 Ritchey-Chrétien optical configurations on alt-az mounts. The 1 meter telescopes are f/7.95 Ritchey-Chrétien optical systems on equatorial mounts. They have

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