50-467: The Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey , or TrES , used three 4-inch (10 cm) telescopes located at Lowell Observatory , Palomar Observatory , and Teide Observatory to locate exoplanets . It was made using the network of small, relatively inexpensive telescopes designed to look specifically for planets orbiting bright stars using the transit method . The array used 4-inch Schmidt telescopes having CCD cameras and automated search routines. The survey
100-701: A 156-element active optics system, regularly delivers sub-arcsecond seeing. The mirror was ground and polished into its hyperbolic shape at the Optical Fabrication and Engineering Facility of the College of Optical Sciences of the University of Arizona in Tucson . The LDT is housed in a 73-foot-tall, 62-foot-diameter metal dome located at an elevation of 7,800 feet (2,400 m) and about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Flagstaff. Groundbreaking for
150-522: A broad array of design and support tooling. A modern-day example of a fully robotic transit telescope is the small 0.20-meter (8-inch) Flagstaff Astrometric Scanning Transit Telescope (FASTT) completed in 1981 and located at the observatory. FASTT provides extremely precise positions of solar system objects for incorporation into the USNO Astronomical Almanac and Nautical Almanac . These ephemerides are also used by NASA in
200-457: A controlled-environment, optical and electronics lab for laser, adaptive optics, optics development, collimation, mechanical, and micro-electronic control systems needed for NOFS and NPOI. The KSAR Telescope's 18-meter (60-foot) diameter steel dome is quite large for the telescope's aperture, owing to its telescope's long f/9.8 focal ratio (favorable for very accurate optical collimation , or alignment, needed for astrometric observation). It uses
250-480: A national resource legacy for generations of humans to come. NOFS is adjacent to Northern Arizona's San Francisco Peaks, on the alpine Colorado Plateau and geographically above the Mogollon Rim . Flagstaff and Coconino County minimize northern Arizona light pollution through legislation of progressive code – which regulates local lighting . Indeed, despite a half-century-young history, NOFS has
300-451: A number of liquid nitrogen -cooled cameras, a coronagraph , and a nine- stellar magnitude neutral density spot focal plane array camera, through which star positions are cross-checked before use in fundamental NPOI reference frame astrometry. This telescope is also used to test internally developed optical adaptive optics (AO) systems, using tip-tilt and deformable mirror optics. The Shack–Hartmann AO system allows for corrections of
350-532: A position historically handed down through the family. The first trustee was Lowell's third cousin Guy Lowell (1916–1927). Percival's nephew Roger Putnam served from 1927 to 1967, followed by Roger's son Michael (1967–1987), Michael's brother William Lowell Putnam III (1987–2013), and current trustee W. Lowell Putnam. Multiple astronauts attended the Lowell Observatory in 1963 while the moon
400-519: A rich heritage which is derived from its parent organization, USNO , the oldest scientific institution in the U.S. Notable events have included support to the Apollo Astronaut program hosted by USGS' nearby Astrogeology Research Center ; and the discovery of Pluto's moon, Charon , in 1978 (discussed below). At an elevation of approximately 7,500 feet (2,300 m), NOFS is home to a number of astronomical instruments (some also described in
450-427: A successful inter-planetary impact with the celebrated Comet 9p/Tempel , in 2005. This telescope is particularly well-suited to perform stellar parallax studies, narrow-field astrometry supporting space navigation , and has also played a key role in discovering one of the coolest-ever known brown dwarf objects, in 2002. The KSAR dome is centrally located on NOFS grounds, with support and office buildings attached to
500-602: A suitable location for the observatory and in 1894 they agreed to build it in Flagstaff, Arizona due to its elevation, dark night skies, and proximity to the railroad. The materials for the construction of the observatory were all sourced locally, but the Clark Refracting Telescope was assembled in Boston. The observatory has carried out a wide array of research. One of its programs was the measurement of
550-553: A survey of the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune , a search for extrasolar planets , a decades-long study of the brightness stability of the sun, and a variety of investigations of star formation and other processes in distant galaxies. In addition, the Observatory staff designs and builds custom instrumentation for use on Lowell's telescopes and elsewhere. For example, Lowell staff built a sophisticated high-speed camera for use on
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#1732771721203600-451: A very wide 2-shutter, vertical slit. Development studies have taken place to successfully show that planned life-cycle replacement of this venerable instrument can be efficiently done within the original dome , for a future telescope with an aperture of up to 3.6-meter (140-inch), by using fast, modern-day optics. However, the 61-inch telescope remains unique in its ability to operationally conduct both very high-accuracy relative astrometry to
650-717: Is a partner with the United States Naval Observatory and Naval Research Laboratory in the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) also located at that site. The Observatory also operates smaller research telescopes at its historic site on Mars Hill and in Australia and Chile. Past Anderson Mesa, on the peak of Happy Jack , Lowell Observatory built the 4.28-meter (169-inch) Lowell Discovery Telescope in partnership with Discovery Communications, Inc. In 1877
700-691: Is also the first R-C telescope ever made from that famous optical prescription, and was coincidentally the last telescope built by George Ritchey himself. The telescope is still in operation after a half century of astronomy at NOFS. It performs key quasar -based reference frame operations ( International Celestial Reference Frame ), transit detections of exoplanets , Vilnius photometry , M-Dwarf star analysis, dynamical system analysis , reference support to orbiting space object information , horizontal parallax guide support to NPOI , and it performs photometric operations support to astrometric studies (along with its newer siblings). The 40-inch telescope can carry
750-703: Is named for the Discovery Channel television network. Discovery founder and CEO John Hendricks has long been a member of Lowell Observatory's Advisory Board, and Discovery and John and his wife Maureen made gifts of $ 16 million toward the $ 53 million cost of the project. These were gifts, not purchases: Discovery has no ownership in the telescope, nor any direction of the research conducted with it. In return for their contributions, they received naming rights and first right of refusal for use of images in educational broadcasts. Research use proceeds as it would at any other professional telescope. Boston University ,
800-497: Is the world's first full-scale planetary defense test. United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station The United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station ( NOFS ), is an astronomical observatory near Flagstaff, Arizona , US. It is the national dark-sky observing facility under the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). NOFS and USNO combine as the Celestial Reference Frame manager for
850-609: The LANL -produced RULLI single photon counter, nCam. Using the telescope's special software controls, the telescope can track both stars and artificial satellites orbiting the Earth, while the camera images both. The 1.3 m dome itself is compact, owing to the fast overall optics at f/4. It is located near by and southwest of, the very large 61-inch dome. In addition to astrometric studies (such as for Space Situational Awareness , SDSS and SST ), research on this telescope includes
900-557: The Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) in collaboration with Lowell Observatory and the Naval Research Laboratory at Anderson Mesa , 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Flagstaff. NOFS (the operational astrometric arm of USNO) funds all principle operations, and from this contracts Lowell Observatory to maintain the Anderson Mesa facility and make the observations necessary for NOFS to conduct
950-642: The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and DLR , the German space agency, and consists of a 2.5-meter (8.2-foot) telescope on board a Boeing 747 SP. Lowell astronomers, Nick Moskovitz, Brian Skiff, and Tom Polakis also contributed observations in NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) using both the 1.1-meter John Hall Telescope and 4.3-meter Lowell Discovery Telescope . This experiment
1000-401: The University of Maryland , the University of Toledo , Northern Arizona University , and Yale University have joined Lowell as partners with access to DCT. Lowell Observatory's astronomers conduct research on a wide range of solar system and astrophysical topics using ground-based, airborne, and space-based telescopes. Among the many current programs are a search for near-Earth asteroids ,
1050-612: The milliarcsecond level, and close-separation, PSF photometry . Several key programs take advantage of this capability to this day. The 1.3-meter (51-inch) large-field Ritchey–Chrétien telescope was produced by DFM Engineering and then corrected and automated by NOFS staff. Corning Glass Works and Kodak made the primary mirror. The hyperbolic secondary has an advanced, computer-controlled collimation (alignment) system in order to permit very precise positions of stars and satellites ( milliarcsecond astrometry) across its wide field of view. This system analyzes optical aberrations of
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#17327717212031100-453: The wavefront 's aberrations caused by scintillation ( degraded seeing ), to higher Zernike polynomials . AO systems at NOFS will migrate to the 1.55-m and 1.8-m telescopes for future incorporation there. The 40-inch dome is located at the summit and highest point of the modest mountain upon which NOFS is located. It is adjacent to a comprehensive instrumentation shop, which includes sophisticated, CAD-driven CNC fabrication machinery, and
1150-519: The 1.55-m telescope was used to "discover the moon of dwarf planet Pluto , named ' Charon '". (Pluto itself was discovered in 1930, across town at Lowell Observatory ). The Charon discovery led to mass calculations which ultimately revealed how tiny Pluto was, and eventually caused the IAU to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf (not a principal) planet . The 1.55-meter telescope was also used to observe and track NASA's Deep Impact Spacecraft , as it navigated to
1200-658: The Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli purported to have discovered a series of martian canals . Percival Lowell had seen these drawings and was fascinated by the idea of artificial canals in Mars. In the winter of 1893, he devoted to use his wealth and connections to establish an observatory in the US. His wealth stemmed from his connection to the influential Boston Lowell family and his successful career as an investment banker. Lowell hired American astronomer Andrew E. Douglas to find
1250-574: The Mars Hill campus is the 33-centimeter (13-inch) Pluto Discovery Telescope, used by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 to discover the dwarf planet Pluto . In 2014, the 8,000 square feet (740 m ) Putnam Center was opened. This observatory included many rooms with tools that were useful to observers including a library for research, a room for processing photographic glass plates, multiple antique instruments used by previous astronomers, and many artifacts. The observatory does contain areas that are closed to
1300-597: The U.S. Secretary of Defense. The Flagstaff Station is a command which was established by USNO (due to a century of eventually untenable light encroachment in Washington, D.C.) at a site five miles (8.0 km) west of Flagstaff, Arizona in 1955, and has positions for primarily operational scientists ( astronomers and astrophysicists ), optical and mechanical engineers, and support staff. NOFS science supports every aspect of positional astronomy to some level, providing national support and beyond. Work at NOFS covers
1350-477: The United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. In 2011, the Observatory was named one of "The World's 100 Most Important Places" by Time Magazine . It was at the Lowell Observatory that the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh . The observatory was founded by astronomer Percival Lowell of Boston's Lowell family and is overseen by a sole trustee,
1400-636: The b are used in the literature, the table here uses the designations assigned by the discoverers. TrES light curves of the Kepler field are available at the NASA Exoplanet Archive Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona , United States . Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in
1450-628: The contiguous United States and one of the most powerful in the world, thanks to a unique housing that can accommodate up to five instruments at the Ritchey-Chrétien focus. The LDT can switch between any of these instruments in about a minute, making it uniquely suited for time-domain programs as well as opportunity targets such as gamma ray bursts and supernovae. The 6700-pound primary mirror measures 4.3 m (170 in) in diameter yet only about 10 cm (3.9 in) in thickness. This finely figured, thin meniscus mirror, held in shape by
1500-538: The deep space navigation of its planetary and extra-orbital spacecraft. Instrumental to the navigation of many NASA deep space probes, data from this telescope is responsible for NASA JPL 's successful 2005 navigation-to-landing of the Huygens Lander on Titan , a major moon orbiting Saturn , and provided navigational reference for NASA's New Horizons deep space mission to Pluto, which arrived in July 2015. FASTT
1550-631: The dome structures. The large vacuum coating chamber facility is also located in this complex. The chamber can provide very accurate coatings and overcoatings of 100 ± 2 Angstrom thickness (approximately 56 aluminium atoms thick), for small-to-multi-ton optics up to 1.8-meter (72-inch) in diameter, in a vacuum exceeding 7 × 10 Torr , using a vertical-optic, 1500-ampere discharge system. A dielectric coating capability has also been demonstrated. Large optics and telescope components can be moved about NOFS using its suite of cranes, lifts, cargo elevators and specialized carts. The main complex also contains
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1600-536: The facility occurred on July 11, 2005. A little over six years later, the first image from just the primary mirror was recorded, using a small test camera mounted where the secondary mirror would eventually go. The secondary mirror was installed in January 2012. To celebrate first light, Lowell hosted a gala celebration on July 21, 2012, featuring a keynote address by Neil Armstrong . This was his final public appearance before his death several weeks later. The telescope
1650-526: The gamut of astrometry and astrophysics in order to facilitate its production of accurate/precise astronomical catalogs . Also, owing to the celestial dynamics (and relativistic effects ) of the huge number of such moving objects across their own treks through space, the time expanse required to pin down each set of celestial locations and motions for a perhaps billion-star catalog, can be quite long. Multiple observations of each object may themselves take weeks, months or years, by themselves. This, multiplied by
1700-417: The large number of cataloged objects that must then be reduced for use, and which must be analyzed after observation for a very careful statistical understanding of all catalog errors, forces the rigorous production of most extremely precise and faint astrometric catalogs to take many years, sometimes decades, to complete. The United States Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station celebrated its 50th anniversary of
1750-537: The largest telescope operated by the U.S. Navy. Congress appropriated funding in 1961 and it saw first light in 1964. This status will change when the NPOI four 1.8-meter telescopes see their own first light in the near future. KSAR rides in the arms of an equatorial fork mount. The telescope is used in both the visible spectrum , and in the near infrared (NIR), the latter using a sub-30- kelvin , helium-refrigerated, InSb ( Indium antimonide ) camera, "Astrocam". In 1978,
1800-579: The move there from Washington, D.C., in late 2005. Dr. John Hall, Director of the Naval Observatory's Equatorial Division from 1947, founded NOFS. Dr. Art Hoag became its first director in 1955 (until 1965); both later were to also become directors of nearby Lowell Observatory. NOFS has had 6 directors since 1955; its current and 7th acting director is Dr. Scott Dahm. NOFS remains active in supporting regional dark skies, both to support its national protection mission, and to promote and protect
1850-479: The opportunity to learn hands-on about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through a variety of activities that include games, experiments, story time, art, music, and more. In 2016, Kevin Schindler published Lowell Observatory , a 128-page book containing over 200 captions and pictures. Arcadia Publishing 's Images of America included it in their series, which increased the enthusiasm of space in
1900-414: The optical path, modeled by taking slope fits of the wavefront deviations revealed using a Hartmann mask . The telescope also now sports a state-of-the art, cryogenic wide-field mosaic CCD camera. It will also permit employment of the new "Microcam", an orthogonal transfer array (OTA), with Pan-STARRS heritage. Other advanced camera systems are also deployed for use on this telescope, such as
1950-461: The primary astrometric science. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) also provides additional funds to contract Lowell Observatory's and NRL's implementation of additional, long-baseline siderostat stations, facilitating NRL's primary scientific work, synthetic imaging (both celestial and of orbital satellites). The three institutions – USNO, NRL, and Lowell – each provide an executive to sit on an Operational Advisory Panel (OAP), which collectively guides
2000-408: The public view, although there are multiple places that tourists are welcome to visit. Lowell Observatory currently operates four research telescopes at its Anderson Mesa dark-sky site, located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Flagstaff, including the 180-centimeter (72-inch) Perkins Telescope (in partnership with Boston University) and the 110-centimeter (42-inch) John S. Hall Telescope. Lowell
2050-577: The public. The book itself features the popular reputation of Lowell Observatory, encompassing the revolutionary research of scientists and how they contributed to the field of astronomy. Lowell Observatory owns and operates the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT, formerly the Discovery Channel Telescope) located near Happy Jack, Arizona . This 4.3-meter reflecting telescope is the fifth-largest telescope in
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2100-677: The science and operations of the interferometer. The OAP commissioned the chief scientist and director of the NPOI to effect the science and operations for the Panel; this manager is a senior member of the NOFS staff and reports to the NOFS Director. NPOI is a successful astronomical interferometer of the venerable and proven Michelson interferometer design. As noted, the majority of interferometric science and operations are funded and managed by NOFS; however, Lowell Observatory and NRL join in
2150-453: The scientific efforts through their fractions of time to use the interferometer; 85% Navy (NOFS and NRL); and 15% Lowell. NPOI is one of the few major instruments globally which can conduct optical interferometry . See an illustration of its layout, at bottom. NOFS has used NPOI to conduct a wide and diverse series of scientific studies, beyond just the study of absolute astrometric positions of stars. Additional NOFS science at NPOI includes
2200-418: The study of blue and K-Giant stars, celestial mechanics and dynamics of multiple star systems, characterizations of artificial satellites , and the astrometry and transit photometry of exoplanets . The 1.0-meter (40-inch) "Ritchey–Chrétien Telescope" is also an equatorially driven, fork-mounted telescope. The Ritchey is the original Station telescope which was moved from USNO in Washington in 1955. It
2250-521: The variability of solar irradiance . When Harold L. Johnson took over as the director in 1952, the stated objective became to focus on light from the Sun reflecting from Uranus and Neptune . In 1953, the current 53 cm (21-inch) telescope was erected. Beginning in 1954, this telescope began monitoring the brightness of these two planets, and comparing these measurements with a reference set of Sun-like stars. Self-taught astronomer Robert Burnham Jr.
2300-594: The worldwide list of optical telescopes ); some additional instrumentation is on nearby Anderson Mesa . NOFS (with parent USNO) also do fundamental science on the UKIRT Infrared telescope in Hawaii. The Navy provides stewardship of the facility, land and related dark sky protection efforts through its Navy Region Southwest , through Naval Air Facility El Centro . The 1.55-meter (61-inch) Kaj Strand Telescope (or Kaj Strand Astrometric Reflector, KSAR ) remains
2350-446: Was also used to help NASA's SOFIA Airborne Observatory correctly locate, track and image a rare Pluto occultation. FASTT is located 150 yards (140 meters) southwest of the primary complex. Attached to its large "hut" is the building housing NOFS' electronics and electrical engineering laboratories and clean rooms, where most of the advanced camera electronics, cryogenics and telescope control drives are developed and made. NOFS operates
2400-487: Was an employee at Lowell observatory from 1958 to 1979, being known for his Celestial Handbook . Beginning in 2012, Lowell Observatory began offering camps for children known as LOCKs (Lowell Observatory Camps for Kids). The first camp was established for elementary students. Later on, in 2013, they added an additional camp program for preschool children. The following year they added another program for middle school students. ("Kelly", Manager at Lowell Observatory). Kids have
2450-560: Was being mapped for the Apollo Program . The observatory operates several telescopes at three locations in the Flagstaff area. The main facility, located on Mars Hill just west of downtown Flagstaff, houses the original 61-centimeter (24-inch) Clark Refracting Telescope, which is now used for public education, with 85,000 annual visitors. The telescope, built in 1896 for $ 20,000, was assembled in Boston by Alvan Clark & Sons and then shipped by train to Flagstaff. Also located on
2500-605: Was created by David Charbonneau of the Center for Astrophysics , Timothy Brown of the National Center for Atmospheric Research , and Edward Dunham of Lowell Observatory . The TrES survey is no longer operational. The TrES project discovered a total of five planets in its years of operation. All were discovered using the transit method . Note that the discovery papers do not use the "b" suffix typically used in extrasolar planet designations. While forms with and without
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