Tom
An Old Friend
This is a great list of links for those interested in space sciences.
All LinksTelescopes and Observatories
1st High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO 1. GSFC. NASA)
The first of NASA's three High Energy Astronomy Observatories, HEAO 1 was launched aboard an Atlas Centaur rocket on 12 August 1977 and operated until 9 January 1979. During that time, it scanned the X-ray sky almost three times over 0.2 keV - 10 MeV, provided nearly constant monitoring of X-ray sources near the ecliptic poles, as well as more detailed studies of a number of objects through pointed observations.
2nd High Energy Astrophysics Observatory (HEAO 2, renamed Einstein. GSFC. NASA)
The second High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO-B) was launched into an approximate 100-min low Earth orbit on 13 November 1978. Renamed the Einstein Observatory, it operated (with one significant interruption) until April 1981 and made over 5,000 targeted observations.
A Broad-Band Imaging X-ray All-Sky Survey (ABRIXAS)
ABRIXAS is a small satellite mission which was planned to observe the X-ray sky in the energy band 0.5-10 keV. The mission failed shortly after launch in Spring 1999.
Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE)
Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)
The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) will be installed in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during a Space Shuttle mission scheduled in 2000. ACS will increase the discovery efficiency of the HST by a factor of ten. ACS will consist of three electronic cameras and a complement of filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet at 1200 angstroms to the near infrared at 10,000 angstroms.
Advanced Fiber-Optic Echelle (AFOE)
A Spectrograph for Precise Stellar Radial Velocity Measurements.
Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA ASTRO-D)
ASCA (formerly named Astro-D) is Japan's fourth cosmic X-ray astronomy mission, and the second for which the United States is providing part of the scientific payload. The satellite was successfully launched February 20, 1993.
Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS)
Information about the Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS), located on Maui, Hawaii. This is a dual-use facility, supporting both US government agencies as well as the civilian community. Assets include visible and IR sensors, and a 3.67 meter telescope under construction.
Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO)
The Anglo-Australian Observatory operates the Anglo-Australian and UK Schmidt Telescopes at Siding Spring, Australia, and a laboratory on the same campus as the ATNF in the Sydney Suburb of Epping.
Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA)
Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO)
AST/RO is a 1.7m diameter telescope for submillimeter-wave astronomy and aeronomy at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Apache Point Observatory
APO is privately owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium. Located near Sunspot, New Mexico, the observatory consists of a 3.5-meter telescope, the 2.5-meter Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope, and two smaller telescopes.
AREA31 Radio Observatory
A31RO is a privately owned astronomical radio observatory operated by the Interstellar Electromagnetics Institute/L'institut Electromagnetiques Interstellaires under cooperative agreement with the AREA31 Research Facility.
It is located near Shelburne, Ontario, Canada, about 1-1/2 hrs drive NW of Toronto. The Project TARGET microwave SETI program (since 1985), previously conducted at the Hay River Radio Observatory and also the Algonquin Radio Observatory is the primary initiative.
Arecibo Observatory - National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC)
Aristarchos (The New Greek Telescope)
The New Greek Telescope project of the AI-NOA for the 2.3m Ritchey-Chretien telescope, funded by the European Commission and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Development.
Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors (ALEXIS)
ALEXIS' X-ray telescopes feature curved mirrors whose multilayer coatings reflect and focus low-energy X-rays or extreme ultraviolet light the way optical telescopes focus visible light. The satellite and payloads were funded by the Department of Energy and built by Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratory and the University of California-Space Sciences Lab. The Launch was provided by the Air Force Space Test Program on a Pegasus Booster on April 25, 1993. The mission is entirely controlled from a small groundstation at LANL.
Asiago Observatory (Padova)
Association Sciences et Techniques Jeunesse - Secteur Astronomie (ANSTJ, France)
Astro-2 (Astro-2. MSFC. NASA)
Astro-2 is a high-tech observatory flying for 16 days in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-67 mission. The Astro-2 instruments allow astronomers to view stars, galaxies, planets and quasars in ultraviolet light, which is invisible to our eye
Atacama Large Millimeter Array - ESO Web site (ALMA)
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is the new name for the merger of the major millimeter array projects into one global project: the European Large Southern Array (LSA), the U.S. Millimeter Array (MMA), and possibly the Japanese Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (LMSA). This will be the largest ground-based astronomy project of the next decade after VLT/VLTI, and, together with the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), one of the two major new facilities for world astronomy coming into operation by the end of the next decade.
Atacama Large Millimeter Array - NRAO Web site (ALMA)
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is a millimeter wavelength telescope. The U.S. side of the project is run by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), operated by Associated Universities, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). The European side of the project is a collaboration between the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy and Nederlandse Onderzoekschool Voor Astronomie, and the United Kingdom Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council.
ATNF - Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA, Narrabri)
The Paul Wild Observatory, near Narrabri, is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), and operated by the CSIRO; the Officer-in-Charge is Dr Graham Nelson. The Narrabri site contains the Australia Telescope Compact Array, which consists of five antennas located along a 3-km railtrack, and a 6th antenna 3 km further to the west.
ATNF - Australia Telescope National Facility (CSIRO)
CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) is an organisation that supports and undertakes research in radio astronomy. It operates the Australia Telescope, the collective name for a set of radio telescopes in New South Wales. These telescopes are used, individually or together, to study objects in the Universe ranging from the remains of dead stars to entire galaxies.
ATNF - Mopra Observatory (ATNF Mopra)
The Mopra 22-m antenna is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), operated by the CSIRO. It is intended for use in conjunction with other AT antennas (the six 22-m dishes at Narrabri, and the 64-m Parkes dish) to form the Long Baseline Array. Like the Parkes antenna, it is also used for single-dish operation; mm-wavelength receivers are to be installed soon.
ATNF - Parkes Observatory (ATNF Parkes)
The CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility operates a group of radio telescopes collectively known as the Australia Telescope. The ATNF Parkes Observatory consists of a 64m telescope which is used as an independent instrument, and networked with other Australian and international radio telescopes for VLBI.
Automated Patrol Telescope (APT)
The Automated Patrol Telescope (APT) is a wide-field CCD imaging telescope, which is operated by the University of New South Wales at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia.
Automated Telescopes
Links to Automated telescopes on the Internet.
BeppoSAX Mission (SAX)
The X-ray astronomy satellite BeppoSAX (Satellite per Astronomia X "Beppo" in honor of Giuseppe Occhialini) is a project of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with participation of the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programs (NIVR).
In the framework of past and future X-ray missions BeppoSAX stands out for its wide spectral coverage, ranging from 0.1 to over 200 keV. The sensitivity of the scientific payload allows the detailed study over the entire energy band of sources as weak as about 1/20 of 3C273. This opens new perspectives in the study of broad band X-ray spectra and variability of cosmic sources.
Berkeley Illinois Maryland Association (BIMA - Hat Creek)
BIMA is a consortium consisting of the The University of California at Berkeley, The University of Illinois at Urbana and The University of Maryland at College Park which operates and maintains a millimeter-wave radio interferometer at Hat Creek, California.
Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO)
This site contains daily images from our solar optical telescope at Big Bear, California. Fulldisk images for the current month. H-alpha, white light, and Ca-II K-line images are generally available for every observing day; Ca-II K-line fulldisk archive; H-alpha fulldisk archive; White light fulldisk archive; Current high-resolution region images; Programs to read FITS images on IBM PCs and Macintoshes.
Big Ear Radio Observatory (Ohio State University)
Big Ear is a Kraus-type radio telescope which covers an area larger than three football fields. The telescope is famous for discovering some of the most distant known objects in the universe, and the longest-running SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) project.
Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BiSON)
The current status of the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network - a global network for helioseismology. Additionally some recent results and publications are available. [site under reconstruction]
Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT. GSFC. NASA)
The Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) was flown on the space shuttle Columbia (STS-35) on 1990 December 2-December 11, as part of the ASTRO-1 payload. The flight of BBXRT marked the first opportunity for performing X-ray observations over a broad energy range (0.3-12 keV) with a moderate energy resolution (typically 90 eV and 150 eV at 1 and 6 keV, respectively).
Broadcast from Carl Sagan Observatory (ASTRO-USON WebTV)
Live broadcast of solar observation from Observatorio "Carl Sagan", Universidad de Sonora, Mexico, from Monday to Saturday, 15 to 22 hrs UTC, weather permit.
Brown University - Observatories
Bucknell University Observatory
Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (Armenia)
Cagliari Astronomical Observatory (International Latitude Station)
The Cagliari Astronomical Observatory was established as International Latitude Astronomical Station of Carloforte in 1899, a small town of the sardinian island of S. Pietro. It has been, for about 80 years, one of the five international stations devoted to study the Earth rotation and polar motion. Observations with the zenital telescope were carried out, except in the period of the second world's war. Starting from 1978, the headquarters were moved to Punta Sa Menta, a site 15 km far from Cagliari which has the same latitude of the Carloforte station. (Satellite Laser Ranging, Astrophysics, Planetary Dynamics, Time Laboratory, Data Processing).
Calar Alto Observatory (Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman)
The German-Spanish Astronomical Center at Calar Alto is located in the Sierra de Los Filabres in Southern Spain. It operates four telescopes with apertures from 1.2m to 3.5m as well as a Schmidt reflector. A 1.5m-telescope is operated under the control of the Observatory of Madrid.
Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO)
The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) is a cutting-edge facility for astronomical research and instrumentation development. It consists of a 10.4-meter diameter Leighton radio dish situated in a compact dome near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
Cambridge LFST
Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST)
Cambridge Ryle Telescope
Canada France Hawaii Telescope (ftp) (CFHT)
Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
CFHT is a joint facility of the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. The CFH observatory hosts a world-class, 3.6 meter optical/infrared telescope. The observatory is located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, a 4200 meter, dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii. The CFH Telescope became operational in 1979.
There is a Mirror copy of the Web site at CDS .
A CFHT page at CADC has information about the CFHT archive, CCDs, proposal template and manuals.
Canadian Automatic Small Telescope for Orbital Research (CASTOR Satellite Tracking Project)
The Canadian Automatic Small Telescopes for Orbital Research project, based at the Royal Military College of Canada, uses small optical telescopes to track medium to high earth orbit satellites such as Russian, Molniya satellites.
Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (CMT)
The Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (formerly the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle) is located on La Palma and is dedicated to carrying out high-precision optical astrometry.
Carnegie Institution Observatories (OCIW)
Case Western Reserve University - Nassau Station Robotic Telescope (CWRU)
Cassini Mission to Saturn (UltraViolet Imaging Spectrograph, UVIS)
Saturn and Titan will be the destination for the Cassini mission, a project under joint development by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The U.S. portion of the mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Catania Astrophysical Observatory (OAC)
Daily solar images (chromosphere and photosphere).
Cecil and Ida Green Piñon Flat Observatory (PFO)
Center for Astrophysical Research in Antarctica (CARA)
Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics (CEA / EUVE)
The Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics (CEA) opened in September, 1990. CEA represents the culmination of twenty years of research and student training in the field of EUV astronomy brought to focus by the launch of NASA's research mission, the University of California at Berkeley Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), on June 7, 1992.
Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia (CIDA)
The National observatory CIDA (Merida, Venezuela) hosts the biggest telescopes of the earth equatorial belt: schmidt, reflector, refractor, astrograph.
Observatorio nacional están ubicados los telescopios astronómicos más importantes de Venezuela y de la zona ecuatorial terrestre.
CERN Hybrid Oscillation Research apparatUS (CHORUS)
Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO)
Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile at an altitude of 2200 Meters.
CTIO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA), under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation as part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories .
CfA 1.2 m Millimeter-Wave Telescope (CfA_mini)
The 1.2 meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and its twin instrument at CTIO in Chile have been studying the distribution and properties of molecular clouds in our Galaxy and its nearest neighbours for over 20 years.
Chandra X-ray Observatory (AXAF)
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is the U.S. follow-on to the Einstein Observatory. Chandra was formerly known as AXAF, the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, but renamed by NASA in December, 1998. The Chandra spacecraft carries a high resolution mirror, two imaging detectors, and two sets of transmission gratings.
CHARA Array
The Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array will consist of five 1-m aperture telescopes (with an eventual goal of seven) in a Y-shaped array contained within a 400m diameter circle. This configuration will provide high resolution interferometry in the visible spectral region as well as the K spectral band (2.2 micron), with a limiting resolution of 0.2 milliarcsec in the visible.
Cherenkov Array at Themis (CAT)
Homepage of the CAT (Cherenkov Array at Themis) imager. This is an atmospheric Cherenkov imaging telescope for detection of high-energy gamma rays (>200 GeV), sited in the French Pyrenees.
Chicago Air Shower Array
The Chicago Air Shower Array (CASA) is a very large array of scintillation counters located in Utah, fifty miles southwest of Salt Lake City. CASA has been operating since 1992 in coincidence with a second array, the Michigan Anti (MIA), is made of 2500 square meters of buried muon detectors. CASA is the most sensitive experiment built to date in the study of gamma-ray and cosmic ray interactions at energies above 100 TeV (10^14 electron-Volts). Research topics on data from this experiment cover a wide variety of physics issues, including the search for gamma-rays from extragalactic sources (quasars and gamma-ray bursts), the study of diffuse gamma-ray emission from the Galactic plane, and a measurement of the cosmic ray composition in the poorly understood region from 100 to 100,000 TeV.
Cincinnati Observatory Center
The Cincinnati Observatory Center is the first and oldest observatory in the United States. It has been founded in 1842. It hosts a 12-inch Merz und Mahler refractor and a 16-inch Alvan Clark refractor, each with a beautifully restored tube, mount, and mechanical clock drive.
Climenhaga Observatory
Collaboration between Australia and Nippon for a Gamma Ray Observatory in the Outback (CANGAROO)
The project uses two gamma ray telescopes at a dark site 15 km from Woomera, a small town 500 km north of Adelaide.
Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO)
The Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito is an astronomical facility operated under agreement between the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina and the Universities of La Plata, Córdoba and San Juan.
Its main telescope is a 2.15 meter reflector, equipped with direct CCD camera, spectrographs, a photopolarimeter and other instruments. It is located at 2552 meters above the sea level, in a high quality astronomical site in the mountains of Calingasta, 240 km away from the city of San Juan (Argentina).
The use of this facility is open to the national and international astronomical community.
Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO. GSFC. NASA)
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory is the second of NASA's Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons, the heaviest astrophysical payload ever flown, was launched on April 5, 1991 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Compton has four instruments that cover an unprecedented six decades of the electromagnetic spectrum, from 30 keV to 30 GeV.
Compton/GRO Observatory Science Support Center/Guest Observer (Facility)
Query the Library Database; Archive Data Selector; Archive Data Selector Demonstrator; Trouble Report Generator; Access the GRONEWS Bulletin Board
Constellation-X
The Constellation X-ray Mission (formerly HTXS) is a Next Generation X-ray Observatory dedicated to observations at high spectral resolution, providing as much as a factor of 100 increase in sensitivity over currently planned high resolution X-ray spectroscopy missions.
COROT - Asterosismology and Search for Exoplanets
A space mission of the French Space Agency (CNES), with a launch planned in 2004. COROT stands for COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits.
Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope (CAT)
The CAT is a three-element interferometer for cosmic microwave background observations at 13 to 17 GHz.
COsmic Background Explorer (COBE)
Cracow - Solar radio emission in dm wavelength
Continuous observations of solar radio emission in decimeter wavelength have been maintained in Cracow since 1957. Beginning from January 1995 we provide the reduced data on-line. The new instrument for solar radio observations is under construction. It is to start its operation in May, 1995.
Curtis Schmidt Telescope
The Curtis Schmidt telescope is a 0.61/.91 meter diameter Schmidt telescope located at the Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory , about 500 km north of Santiago, Chile. This telescope was originally installed at the University of Michigan's Portage Lake Observatory in 1950, and moved to the much clearer skies of north central Chile in 1966. Two thirds of the time on this telescope is available to US and Chilean astronomers, with the remaining one third reserved for astronomers from the Dept. of Astronomy at the University of Michigan.
Danish telescopes around the world
Dark Matter Telescope (DMT)
The Dark Matter Telescope is a proposed 8.4 meter, 3-degree-field, synoptic survey telescope.
Darwin (Space IR Interferometry Mission)
Darwin is a proposal for a European infrared interferometer in space. Its first aim is to detect Earth-like planets around nearby stars, and then to search for a signature of life, ozone in an atmosphere. It could also be used as a general-purpose infrared observatory.
Darwin was proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) for a Cornerstone Mission in its Horizon 2000 Plus plan. In October 1995, ESA decided to study such an infrared interferometer as an option for its Interferometer Cornerstone. The Darwin and Edison teams have combined to promote the selection by ESA of this option. The Darwin advocacy team members are also members of the International Working Group on Space Interferometry , a pressure group for this type of mission. Final selection on cost, science and technology grounds will be made around 2000, for a launch in the period 2009 - 2017.
David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto (DDO)
The David Dunlap Observatory is located in Richmond Hill, Canada. As part of the University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy it operates optical telescopes for research, the largest being a 1.88m telescope. DDO is also a centre for student training and public education.
Deep Space Network - Goldstone Deep Space Station (DSN)
The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports some Earth-orbiting missions, including emergency support of the Shuttle Space Transportation System.
Deep Undersea Muon and Neutrino Detection (DUMAND)
Directory tree of information about the DUMAND project, designed to serve the needs of the experimenters, as well as to make information about DUMAND progress available to the broader scientific public.
Deutsches Interferometer fuer Vielkanalphotometrie und Astrometrie (DIVA)
DIVA is a small astronomy satellite, planned for launch in 2004. It is aimed to measure positions, proper motions and parallaxes, brightness and color of at least 30 million stars.
This amount and the high precision is unreached so far by any predecessor mission. In a sense it is a pathfinder mission for the technology of upcoming cornerstone missions in the ESA Horizon 2000+ and the NASA Origins programmes like GAIA, DARWIN, LISA, SIM etc.
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO)
The DAO is operated by the National Research Council of Canada's Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics ( NRC-HIA) as a national centre for astronomical research within Canada, with emphasis on UV, optical and IR astronomy. The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) is a group within the DAO which is responsible for the Canadian archive of data from the Hubble Space Telescope as well the archive of data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. DAO's Facility Manual is now online.
Dutch Open Telescope (DOT)
Innovative new optical solar telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma (Canary Islands). The DOT provides extended sequences of solar images in various wavelengths with high angular resolution (0.2 arcsec).
Eddington
The Eddington mission was proposed in early 2000 to ESA in response to the ``Call for mission proposals for two flexi-missions''. The proposal was submitted by an international scientific team led by I.W. Roxburgh (Astronomy Unit, QMW, Univ. of London, UK), J. Christensen-Dalsgaard (University of Aarhus, Denmark) and F. Favata (ESA/ESTEC). The mission has two complementary scientific aims, to produce the data on stellar oscillations necessary for understanding the interior structure and evolution of stars, and to detect and characterize habitable planets around other stars.
Effelsberg Radio Telescope (MPIfR)
The Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR) operates the world's largest movable radio telescope, a 100-m single-dish near Effelsberg, 40 km south of Bonn, Germany.
Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2)
The second of NASA's three High Energy Astrophysical Observatories, HEAO 2, renamed Einstein after launch, was the first fully imaging X-ray telescope put into space. The few arcsecond angular resolution, the field-of-view of tens of arcminutes, and a sensitivity several 100 times greater than any mission before it provided, for the first time, the capability to image extended objects, diffuse emission, and to detect faint sources. It was also the first X-ray NASA mission to have a Guest Observer program. Overall, it was a key mission in X-ray astronomy and its scientific outcome completely changed the view of the X-ray sky.
ESA - Villafranca Satellite Tracking Station (ESA - VILSPA: IUE, ISO)
General information on the ESA Satellite Tracking Station and on the projects supported at Villafranca: IUE, Marecs and ISO (in the near future). The service includes links to other ESA Establishments.
Estación de Observación Solar-Observatorio (EOS/OCS)
The Astronomy Area of CIF-US (Center for Research on Physics/Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo Sonora, Mexico), operates EOS (Estacion de Observacion Solar/Solar Observational Station)and OCS (Observatorio "Carl Sagan"), the only two solar observatories in the country with an observational program of active regions at the continuum, and H-Alpha and Calcium lines, through a two-heliostat system and a 15 cm refractor telescope. Live broadcast of solar observations through ASTRO-USON WebTV with the new 14 cm Maksutov-H-Alpha telescope.
European Northern Observatory (ENO)
The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and its Observatories (the Observatorio de Teide, on Tenerife, and the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, on La Palma) make up a Spanish research and observational centre, which, since 1979, has been open to the international scientific community and effectively constitute the European Northern Observatory (ENO).
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is a multinational organisation of eight European member states. It operates astronomical observatories in Chile and has its headquarters in Munich, Germany.
European VLBI Network (EVN)
The European VLBI network (EVN) home page includes general information on the EVN, including contact adresses around the network, Call for Proposals, the EVN PC page, EVN and global VLBI scheduling, VLBINFO account, EVN experiment feedback facility, Network monitoring reports and other technical documents, the EVN Newsletter archive and a description of the type of science that can be investigated with the EVN array.
European X-ray Observatory (EXOSAT at GSFC. NASA)
The European Space Agency's X-ray Observatory, EXOSAT, was operational from May 1983 to April 1986. During that time, EXOSAT made 1780 observations of a wide variety of objects, including active galactic nuclei, stellar coronae, cataclysmic variables, white dwarfs, X-ray binaries, clusters of galaxies, and supernova remnants. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text):
European X-ray Observatory (EXOSAT at ESTEC, ESA)
The Exosat satellite was operational from May 1983 until April 1986 and in that time made 1780 observations in the X-ray band of most classes of astronomical object. The payload consisted of three instruments that produced spectra, images and light curves in various energy bands.
EUSO - Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO)
The "Extreme Universe Space Observatory - EUSO" is the first Space mission devoted to the investigation of cosmic rays and neutrinos of extreme energy (E > 5 x 10e19 eV), using the Earth's atmosphere as a giant detector, the detection being performed by looking at the streak of fluorescence light produced when such a particle interacts with the Earth's atmosphere.
EUSO is a mission of the European Space Agency ESA, and it is currently under "Phase A" study with a goal for a three year mission starting in 2009. EUSO will be accommodated, as an external payload of the Columbus module, on the ISS International Space Station.
Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS)
NASA's plan for the Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS) consists of a long term program of continuous scientific discovery and technological development leading ultimately to the detection and characterization of Earth-like planets around nearby stars.
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)
Information on the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, a satellite astronomy project based at The Johns Hopkins University
FAST Mission (NASA Small Explorer Program)
The NASA Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST) Satellite is designed to investigate the plasma physics of the auroral phenomena which occur around both poles of the earth.
Fiber Linked Unit for Optical Recombination (FLUOR)
One of the three recombination instruments of IOTA interferometer.
Fibre Large Area Multi Element Spectrograph (FLAMES, ESO VLT)
FLAMES is a Fibre Facility for the ESO VLT. It includes an high and intermediate resolution optical spectrograph (GIRAFFE), with its own fibre system.
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory (FCRAO)
The FCRAO was founded in 1969 by the University of Massachusetts, together with Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College. The original low frequency telescope was superseded in 1976 by a 14-m diameter radome-enclosed antenna for use at high radio frequencies (mm wavelengths), built primarily to study the physics and chemistry of interstellar clouds, circumstellar envelopes, planetary atmospheres, and comets.
FOcal Reducer/low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS, ESO VLT)
The two FORS instruments are designed as all-dioptric focal reducers for the ESO Very Large Telescope. They are capable of doing : direct imaging , long slit grism spectroscopy , multi object grism spectroscopy , polarimetry (FORS1), medium dispersion echelle grism spectroscopy (FORS2), and all sensible combinations of these modes (e.g. imaging- or spectropolarimetry) in the wavelength range from 330nm to 1100nm.
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory (OFXB)
The François-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory, located above the village of St-Luc in the Swiss Alps, stands at an altitude of 2200 metres. It is intended not only for the experienced amateur wishing to produce work of a quasi-professional quality, but also for the use of schools and for simple visitors. curious.
Equipped with numerous instruments (60 cm reflecting telescope with CCD camera, 20 cm refracting telescope, coelostat, 16 cm coronagraph) it may be used day or night.
Fred Lawrence Whipple Gamma-Ray Telescopes (Tucson, Ariz)
FUEGOS - Multi-Object Area Spectrograph (ESO VLT)
The FUEGOS instrument stands for Fibre Unit for Extra-Galactic Optical Spectroscopy and will be capable of performing Multi-object spectroscopy and Area spectroscopy in the 370nm to 900nm wavelength range and with two resolving powers, 17000 and 7500.
Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer (FAME)
FAME is an astrometric satellite designed to determine with unprecedented accuracy the positions, distances, and motions of 40 million stars within our galactic neighborhood. It is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) and several other institutions. FAME will measure stellar positions to less than 50 microarcseconds. It is a NASA MIDEX mission scheduled for launch in 2004.
FUSE (French site, IAP, Paris)
[in French] Site of the French team contributing to Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE).
FUSE est un satellite observatoire de la NASA dédié à la spectroscopie haute résolution dans le domaine ultraviolet. Ce programme est realisé en coopération avec l'Agence Spatiale Canadienne et le Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales ( CNES).
Galactic Exoplanet Survey Telescope (GEST)
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
A Space Ultraviolet imaging and spectroscopic mission that will map the global history and probe the causes of star formation over the redshift range 0 < z < 2.
Gamma-Ray Astronomy with COMPTEL (MPE Garching)
Local project documentation and utilities as well as collaboration-wide information sources are maintained by the MPE COMPTEL people for: COMPTEL Data Reduction Group work: documents, scientific results and utilities used by the data analysts, the processing team and the scientists. COMPASS software system work : technical and management documents, used and maintained by the MPE software team. the local computing environment : documents on system configuration, maintained by the MPE/RZG software team. MPE - COMPTEL People Matters: the weekly activity list individual 'home pages'
Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)
The GLAST Mission is under study for flight in the first decade of the next century. GLAST is a next generation high-energy gamma-ray observatory designed for making observations of celestial gamma-ray sources in the energy band extending from 10 MeV to more than 100 GeV.
Gemini - U.K. Support Group (UKGSG)
The U.K. GEMINI Support Group based at Oxford University, England is aimed at supporting the U.K. astronomer community in the use of the GEMINI 8m Telescopes. This site is the main source of information on the telescopes themselves, their instrument compliment, applying for observing time, observing with the GEMINI telecopes and post-observing data reduction/analysis for U.K. researchers.
Gemini 8m Telescopes (Gemini)
The Gemini 8m Telescopes Project is an international project to build two infrared-optimized telescopes. One telescope will be located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the other will be on Cerro Pachon, Chile.
Gemini Multiobject Spectrographs (GMOS)
There will be one GMOS for each of the two GEMINI 8-m telescopes (UK mirror) which are due for completion in 1998 and 2000. They will provide a versatile low/medium resolution spectroscopic capability which will exploit the excellent image quality delivered by the telescopes at optical and near-infrared wavelengths.
Giant Metrewave Radio telescope Observatory (GMRT)
The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) consists of 30 fully steerable parabolic dish antennas of 45 m diameter and is located in western India about 100 kms east of Bombay (Mumbai). It is in the shape of a `Y' covering an area equivalent to a 25 km. dia. circle. GMRT operates currently in the range 120 to 1450 MHz and is the largest synthesis radio telescope in the world at metre wavelengths.
GMRT has been opened for world wide use since January 2002.
Ginga
Astro-C, renamed Ginga (Japanese for 'galaxy'), was launched from the Kagoshima Space Center on 5 February 1987. The primary instrument for observations was the Large Area Counter (LAC). Ginga was the third Japanese X-ray astronomy mission, following Hakucho and Tenma. Ginga reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 1 November 1991.
Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA)
GAIA is a preliminary concept for a second space astrometry mission (after HIPPARCOS), recently recommended within the context of ESA's Horizon 2000 Plus long-term scientific programme. It is aimed at the broadest possible astrophysical exploitation of optical interferometry using a modest baseline length.
Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG)
Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation Definition Team (GHRS-IDT)
The GHRS is one of four axial instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope and is designed to obtain UV spectra over a wide range of resolutions. This page was set up as a reference source for team members and other users of the instrument.
Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC)
The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC), is a high performance segmented 10-meter telescope to be installed in one of the best sites of the Northern Hemisphere: the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain). First light is planed for 2002.
The GTC project is a Spanish initiative, led by the IAC ( Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias ) with the aim of becoming an international project. GRANTECAN has undertaken the construction of this telescope.
Grand Interferometre a 2 Telescopes (GI2T REGAIN)
Optical Interferometer, Plateau du Calern, Departement Fresnel, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, France.
Green Bank
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank (West Virginia) is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.
Grove Creek Observatory, Australia (GCO)
Grove Creek Observatory in NSW Australia, specializes in CCD imaging and research. Accomodation is available for visiting amateur astronomers.
Guillermo Haro Observatory (Cananea, Mexico)
Haleakala Observatories (Hawaii)
Hard Labor Creek Observatory (HLCO)
Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO)
Hat Creek Radio Observatory (UMD)
Haystack Observatory
Herschel Space Observatory (FIRST)
The `Herschel Space Observatory' - the mission formerly known as FIRST - will perform photometry and spectroscopy in the 60-670 µm range.
High Energy Astrophysics Observatories (HEASARC. GSFC. NASA)
Comprehensive list of satellites with high energy astrophysics instrumentation. Includes images from these missions.
High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI)
Studying the Fundamental Aspects of Solar Flares.
High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-2)
The High Energy Transient Explorer is a small scientific satellite designed to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts.
High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE)
The High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment is one of 3 common-user instruments on board the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) which was launched on 1995 December 30. The HEXTE is sensitive to X-rays from 15 to 250 keV and is able to time-tag photons in this energy range to 8 microseconds.
High Resolution Fly's Eye Cosmic Ray Detector (HiRes)
The HiRes detector - an atmospheric fluorescence detector: HiRes currently consists of two sites on top of two mountains separated by 13km in western Utah. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text):
High Resolution Fly's Eye Cosmic Ray Detector (HiRes)
The HiRes detector - an atmospheric fluorescence detector: HiRes currently consists of two sites on top of two mountains separated by 13km in western Utah.
High-Resolution Near-Infrared Camera (CONICA, ESO VLT)
The high-resolution near-IR camera CONICA covers the infrared wavelength range from 1 µm to 5 µm. It is installed at the Nasmyth B focus of the VLT Unit Telescope 1 to operate in conjunction with the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS). CONICA is designed to exploit the adaptively corrected telescope image at wavelengths longwards of 2 µm. Speckle interferometry can be performed, primarily at the shorter wavelengths.
Hilal, Islam, Astronomy, and Cyberspace (Crescent Moon Sighting)
This website provides Monthly Crescent Moon Sighting information for many locations around the world. This provides the basis for a lunar calendar.
Hobby Eberly Telescope (HET)
The Hobby-Eberly telescope (HET) is a new 9 meter telescope, built at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory near Ft. Davis Texas as a result of an international collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin, The Pennsylvania State University and Stanford University in the United States and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, and Goerg-August-Universitaet Goettingen. The HET has been tailored for spectroscopy, and in particular, fiber-coupled spectroscopy.
Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT)
Astronomers at the Johns Hopkins University designed the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) to explore the far- and extreme-ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. HUT has a 36-inch primary mirror which collects ultraviolet light for a prime-focus spectrograph. The spectrograph disperses light in the 825 to 1850 Angstrom wavelength range with a resolution of 3 Angstroms
Hubble Space Telescope (HST - from CADC)
Also, there is a page from ST-ECF . The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text):
Hubble Space Telescope
The best images from the Hubble space telescope.
IAC / Observatorio del Teide
IAC / Observatorio Roque de los Muchachos
Infra-Red Space Interferometer DARWIN (IRSI / DARWIN)
The `InfraRed Space Interferometry Mission' DARWIN (IRSI or DARWIN) is a cornerstone mission in the ESA `Horizon 2000+' science plan.
The goals for this space mission is for the first time to detect terrestial planets in orbit around other stars than our Sun.
Infra-Red Telescope Facility (IRTF)
The IRTF is a 3.0 meter telescope optimized for use in the infrared. It was first built to support the Voyager missions to Jupiter. It is now the National facility for infrared astronomy providing continued support to planetary and deep space applications.
Also contains an Anonymous FTP site: Manuals, Forms, Instrument information, Software tools.
Infrared and Optical Telescope Array (IOTA)
Infrared Array Camera for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (IRAC)
The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) contains three focal plane instruments, one of which is the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). IRAC is a four-channel camera that provides simultaneous 5.12 x 5.12 arcmin images at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8 microns.
Infrared Space Observatory U.S. Support Center (ISO)
U.S. science support center for observers using the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), a fully approved and funded project of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO)
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) is an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with the participation of ISAS (Japan) and NASA (USA). This WWW server is maintained at the ISO Data Centre, which is based at Villafranca, Madrid, and is part of the Astrophysics Division of the Space Science Department.
Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC, ESO VLT)
ISAAC covers the wavelength range 1-5µm and is designed primarily for: 'wide' (2.5x2.5') field imaging and long slit low & medium resolution spectroscopy.
Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
IRAM is an international institute for research in millimeter astronomy, cofunded by the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), the MPG (Max Planck Gesellschaft, Germany), and since September 1990 the IGN (Instituto Geografico Nacional, Spain).
The three IRAM sites are: Grenoble, France : the IRAM headquarters, Laboratories (the SIS junction lab the backend group, the receiver group ; Plateau de Bure, France : the interferometer of four 15-m antennas ; Granada, Spain : the Granada laboratories, the 30-m telescope located on Pico Veleta.
Institute of Astronomy, Bulgaria (IABG)
Institute of Astronomy, Bulgaria (IABG) and National Astronomical Observatory "Rozhen".
Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (IAR)
Información sobre las características del Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía, sus facilidades instrumentales, tareas de investigación y desarrollo en curso, personal científico y técnico y actividades de extensión.
Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica. Astrophysics Department (INAOE, Mexico)
Information on the Large Millimeter Telescope an about the Cananea observatory
Interferometry Center of Excellence (ICE, JPL)
The Interferometry Center of Excellence (ICE), at JPL, has been established to ensure the development and maintenance of a leading edge capability in optical and near-infrared interferometric astrometry and imaging.
International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL. ESTEC. ESA)
Technical status of Integral. The mission utilises the service module (bus) under development for the ESA XMM project. Integral will be launched in 2001. The mission is conceived as an observatory led by ESA with contributions from Russia and NASA
International Interference Mitigation (for Radio Astronomy)
This Web site is a meeting place for anyone interested in the technical problems of making radio astronomical measurements in the presence of other radio signals. Postings on this site are from scientists and engineers around the world on subjects such as suppression of RFI from electronic devices, measurement of the electromagnetic environment, and techniques for separating weak cosmic signals from other radiation in the radio spectrum.
International Liquid Mirror Telescope Project (ILMT)
International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE)
The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite was launched on the 26th of January 1978 by a Thor-Delta rocket from Cape Kennedy and transferred into a geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean. Information on the project is available at:
* IUEDAC GSFC, NASA
* IUE Observatory Villafranca, ESA
Iowa Robotic Observatory (IRTF)
A Consortium consisting of faculty from the Regents Universities of the State of Iowa (University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa) manages this fully robotic Observatory for undergraduate teaching and research in astronomy and related fields. The Iowa Robotic Observatory (IRO) consists of a fully computerized telescope and enclosure, a large format imaging CCD camera and photometric filters.
The Winer Mobile Observatory is providing a site in southeastern Arizona to maintain and operate the telescope.
Iowa Robotic Telescopes Facilities (IRTF)
The University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy Department maintains these pages as a guide to our suite of robotic, autonomous tasking telescopes. In addition to using these instruments for teaching and faculty and student research, limited observing time is made available to anyone with an interest in Astronomy and a valid observing request.
IPS Radio & Space Services (IPS)
IPS is a unit of the Australian Government Department of Administrative Services and provides the Australian radio propagation and space environment services. Includes: Sydney Regional Warning Centre; Culgoora Solar Observatory; Learmonth Solar Observatory; Prediction Services; Consultancy Services
Isaac Newton Group - La Palma (ING)
The Issac Newton Group consists of three telescopes, the 4.2 metre William Herschel Telescope, the 2.5 metre Isaac Newton Telescope, and the 1 metre Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope. They are situated at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, and are operated by the Royal Observatories of the UK. This resource contains documentation for many of the major instruments, details of how to apply for time, brief descriptions of the telescopes, details and status of the service programme, current telescope schedules, weather information for La Palma, and pointers to other institutions which share the site.
The site is mirrored at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/ING/ for faster access to UK users.
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT)
The 15-m JCMT is situated close to the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and is the largest submillmetre facility in the world. It is owned and operated by the UK, Canada and the Netherlands on behalf of astronomers worldwide. Its home page contains information about the site, the antenna and the instrumentation, as well as a description of the JCMT-CSO interferometer, and details of the various time allocation processes.
Jicamarca Radio Observatory (Peru)
Radar studies of the ionosphere and upper atmosphere.
Jodrell Bank Observatory (University of Manchester)
Jodrell Bank Observatory is part of the University of Manchester's Department of Physics and Astronomy. The Laboratories are home to the Lovell Telescope and the MERLIN & VLBI National Facility which is operated by the University on behalf of PPARC.
Joint Astronomy Centre (Hilo, Hawaii)
The Joint Astronomy Centre incorporates the 15m James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the 3.8m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) on the 4200m summit of Mauna Kea along with the Centre's Hawaii headquarters in Hilo. The facility is operated by the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh on behalf of the Science and Engineering Research Council of the United Kingdom, the Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek and the National Research Council of Canada.
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe / European VLBI Network (JIVE / EVN)
The European VLBI Network (EVN) was formed in 1980 by a consortium of five of the major radio astronomy institutes in Europe (the European Consortium for VLBI). Since 1980, the EVN and the Consortium has grown to include 9 institutes with 12 telescopes in 8 western European countries as well as associated institutes with telescopes in Poland, Russia, Ukraine and China. Proposals for additional telescopes in Spain and Italy are under consideration, and furthermore, the EVN can be linked to the 7-element Jodrell Bank MERLIN interferometer in the UK and to the US Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to create a " global network" . In 1993 the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) was created, with the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy (Dwingeloo) acting as the host institute. It will provide both scientific user support and a correlator facility. Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) achieves ultra-high angular resolution and is a multi-disciplinary technique e.g. imaging of extragalactic radio sources, geodesy and astrometry.
Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory
The Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory is operated by the Institute of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Meteorology (IGAM) of the University of Graz, Austria. It is located near Villach, close to the Italian and Slovenian border. Operated continuously and devoted also to Solar surveillance since its foundation in 1943 it houses a rich archive of observations.
Keck Observatory (CalTech)
Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik (KIS)
The Kiepenheuer-Institut is a research institution of the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, dedicated to the study of the Sun. It is located in Freiburg, Germany, and operates solar observing facilities at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain.
Kirkwood Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO)
There is also an anonymous ftp
Kitt Peak Observing Information (KPNO)
Koelner Observatorium fuer SubMillimeter Astronomie (KOSMA)
The 3-m KOSMA telescope at Gornergrat (Switzerland) is operated by the I. Physikalisches Institut (Cologne, Germany). It can be used for observations between 210 and 820 GHz.
Kvistaberg Observatory
The Observing Station of the Uppsala Observatory.
La Silla - ESO Facilities
Lake Afton Public Observatory (Wichita State University)
Large Angle and Spectrographic Coronagraph for SOHO (LASCO/SOHO)
This instrument monitors the solar corona above the Sun's limb in a similar way as we perceive the corona during a solar eclipse. It produces images of the corona in the visible spectrum and with distance off the Sun's center ranging from 1.1 to 32 solar radii.
Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)
The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is a collaboration between Arizona (25%), Italy (25%, represented by the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory in Florence), Research Corporation (12.5%), the Ohio State University (12.5%), and Germany (25%, represented by the LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft).
The goal of the LBT project is to construct and exploit a binocular telescope consisting of two 8.4-meter mirrors on a common mount. This telescope will be equivalent in light-gathering power to a single 11.8-meter instrument. Because of its binocular arrangement, the telescope will have a resolving power (ultimate image sharpness) corresponding to a 23-meter telescope.
Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array Project (LMSA)
Large Millimeter Telescope / Gran Telescopio Milimétrico (LMT)
The Large Millimeter Telescope is a bi-national project sponsored by both U.S. and Mexican governments and institutions to build the largest single-dish millimeter-wavelength radio telescope ontop of the mountain Cerro La Negra near Puebla in Mexico. The telescope is currently under construction with a rough completion date near 2003.
Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LLNL)
The focus of the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is the development of integrated adaptive optics (AO) and sodium-layer laser guide star (LGS) systems for use on large astronomical telescopes.
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)
LECS Instrument on BeppoSAX (SAX, ESTEC, ESA)
SAX is devoted to systematic, integrated and comprehensive studies of galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources in the energy band 0.1 - 200 keV; the observational goal to be addressed is to continue and expand upon previous spectral and timing observations of celestial sources in those areas for which the existing information is missing or inadequate and will remain uncovered in the foreseable future.
Leonardo da VINCI - Interferometry (VINCI)
VINCI is the VLT INnterferometer Commissionning Instrument, a collaboration of ESO, DESPA (Observatoire de Paris), MPE and OMP. It combines the light coming from two telescopes using single-mode fluoride glass optical fibers.
Liquid Mirrors at Université Laval (LM)
Liquid Mirror (LM) technology is being developed at Université Laval. A f/1.2, 2.5 meter diameter, mercury mirror is being extensively tested in our testing tower. We are also exploring the use of gallium eutectics as reflecting liquids. The design of novel optical correctors to increase the accessible field of view of liquid mirrors up to 45 degrees is also addressed.
Live images from a remote controlled telescope. (L)
This is the first remote controlled telescope by internet with live images and free photos with long exposure. Register for free with a personal password and enjoy the Italian Sky (-1 UT time).
Liverpool John Moores University, Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI, Liverpool JMU)
Details of the research and teaching interests of the group, as well as information on the Liverpool Telescope project - a fully-robotic 2m telescope to be situated at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma.
As well as the Astrophysics degree-course with Liverpool University, we also have an innovative distance learning course.
Loiano Telescopes - Bologna
Loiano Telescopes (Bologna, Italy)
Tools and informations for observers at the 152 cm Loiano Telescope of Bologna Astronomical Observatory. Tools include a web form for submitting proposals. Informations on road map, weather and accomodations are available.
Low Energy Gamma-Ray Imager (LEGRI)
LEGRI is a payload for the first mission of the Spanish MINISAT platform. The objective of LEGRI is to demonstrate the viability of HgI2 detectors for space astronomy, providing imaging and spectroscopical capabilities in the 10-100 keV range.
Low Frequency Array (LOFAR)
The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) is a radio telescope that will operate at the lowest frequencies that are accessible from earth. The current plan is that LOFAR will work in the range from 10-240 MHz. The telescope is being developed by ASTRON, based in Dwingeloo (the Netherlands), the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC (USA) and MIT Haystack Observatory (USA).
Magellan Mission to Venus
NASA's Magellan spacecraft made a dramatic conclusion to its highly successful mission at Venus when it is commanded to plunge into the planet's dense atmosphere Tuesday, October 11, 1994. During its four years in orbit around Earth's sister planet, the spacecraft has radar-mapped 98 percent of the surface and collected high-resolution gravity data of Venus. The purpose of the crash landing is to gain data on the planet's atmosphere and on the performance of the spacecraft as it descends. Up-to-date status reports will be available from this WWW page, which also offers Venus images and other highlights from the mission.
Maidanak Foundation
The Maidanak Foundation is dedicated to supporting the scientific teams currently running the Mt. Maidanak Observatory, and to provide funding for key scientific equipment.
Mauna Kea Observatories
Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT)
MRT is a southern sky survey telescope, which is making a complimentary survey to 6C (southern sky) and observing selected southern sky pulsars. See UK and original MRT pages.
McDonald Observatory (University of Texas, Austin)
McDonald Observatory is located 450 miles west of Austin, Texas, in the Davis Mountains. At present, there are three operating telescopes: 2.7-meter, 2.1-meter, and .76-meter reflectors. The Observatory is equipped with a wide range of state-of-the-art instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy in the optical and infrared, and it boasts one of the first and most productive lunar ranging stations.
MDM Observatory (MDM Observatory)
MDM Observatory was founded by the University of Michigan, Dartmouth College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Current operating partners include Michigan, Dartmouth, MIT, Ohio State University, and Columbia University. The Observatory is located on the southwest ridge of the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ. It operates two telescopes: the 2.4-m Hiltner telescope and the 1.3-m McGraw-Hill telescope.
Mees Solar Observatory (MSO, Hawaii)
Metsahovi Radio Research Station
The Metsähovi Radio Research Station, a separate research institute of the Helsinki University of Technology since May 1988, operates a 14 m diameter radome enclosed radio telescope at Metsähovi, 40 km west of Helsinki, Finland. The Cassegrain telescope system can be used at frequencies 10 - 230 GHz (wavelengths 3 cm - 1.8 mm).
Michelle: A mid-infrared spectrometer and imager for the UKIRT and Gemini telescopes
Michigan State's Telescope Initative
Outreach efforts to merge astronomy research and non-science education.
Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST - First Canadian Space Telescope)
MOST is a suitcase-sized (65x65x30cm, 60kg) microsatellite designed to probe other stars and extrasolar planets by measuring tiny light variations undetectable from Earth. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text):
Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST)
MOST is Canada's first space science microsatellite and its first optical space telescope project, aiming for launch in late 2001. MOST is designed to measure (as its acronym implies) Microvariability & Oscillations of STars in broadband light with a precision of a few micromagnitudes over timescales from minutes to days. The resulting eigenfrequency data will be used primarily for stellar seismology, to probe the structure and ages of Sun-like stars, magnetic stars, Wolf-Rayet stars and halo subdwarfs. The subdwarfs are expected to yield age estimates which would place a meaningful lower limit on the age of the Universe. MOST should also be capable of confirming the presence of giant extrasolar planets identified in Doppler surveys.
Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP)
NASA has selected MAP has one of the next MIDEX missions. It will map the microwave background fluctuations over the whole sky and provide insights into the formation of galaxies and the basic parameters of cosmology.
Mid-InfraRed Large Imager (MIRLIN)
MIRLIN is a 128 x 128 pixel, 7 - 25 micrometer infrared astronomical camera built at JPL by a team led by Dr. Michael Ressler and used on the Palomar 5 meter (200 inch) telescope, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility 3 meter telescope, and the Keck II 10 meter telescope.
Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX)
The MSX observatory is a Ballistic Missile Defense Organization project which offers major benefits for both the defense and civilian sectors. It was launched on a Delta II vehicle on April 24, 1996, into a 900 km, polar, near-Sun synchronous orbit. The spacecraft featured an advanced multispectral image capability to gather data on test targets and space background phenomena.
The infrared sensors operated at 11 to 12 degrees Kelvin by employing a solid hydrogen cryostat. The IR instruments span the range 4.2 - 26 microns. The focal plane array consists of five bands and the radiometer beam-size is more than 25 times smaller than IRAS. As a result, much greater spatial resolution than anything currently available has been obtained. The cryogen phase of the mission ended on 26 February 1997. During the ten month cryogen phase of the mission over 200 Giga Bytes of data on Celestial Backgrounds were obtained.
See the MSX Celestial Backgrounds Team Home Page for additional details.
Millstone Hill Observatory (MHO, Haystack)
The Millstone Hill Observatory, located in Westford Massachusetts, is a broad-based atmospheric sciences research facility owned and operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Atmospheric Sciences Group, which staffs and manages the observatory, is a part of M.I.T's Haystack Observatory, a basic research organization whose focus is radio wave and radar science, instrumentation and techniques. The following resources may be of interest. EISCAT is a particularly good source of data and useful information. See, for example, incoherent scatter radar and magnetosphere Millstone Hill Observatory: Information, data, etc., including real-time radar status and data when the radar is operating. EISCAT: European Incoherent Scatter Association. NCAR: National Center for Atmospheric Research. NSF: National Science Foundation Gopher server. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NGDC: National Geophysical Data Center.
Mississippi State University - Howell Observatory
Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST)
The MOST consists of two cylindrical paraboloids, 778m x 12m, separated by 15m and aligned East-West. A line feed system of 7744 circular dipoles collects the signal and feeds 176 preamplifiers and 88 IF amplifiers. The telescope is steered by mechanical rotation of the cylindrical paraboloids about their long axis, and by phasing the feed elements along the arms. The resulting `alt-alt' system can follow a field for +/- 6 hours (necessary for a complete synthesis with an East-West array) only if the field is south of declination -30 degrees. For fields near this limit the signal-to-noise ratio is considerably lower for the first and last hour or so due to the lower gain of the system at large `meridian distance' angles.
MOnitoring X-ray Experiment (MOXE)
The MOnitoring X-ray Experiment (MOXE) is an X-ray all-sky monitor to be launched on the Russian Spectrum-X-Gamma satellite. It will monitor several hundred X-ray sources on a daily basis, and will be the first instrument to monitor the complete X-ray sky simultaneously. MOXE is built by Los Alamos Nat Lab, Goddard Space Flight Center and Space Research Institute (Moscow).
MONOPTEC's Fixed Shutter Dome (FSD)
MONOPTEC licenses the Fixed Shutter Dome, an enabling technology in observatory enclosures and satellite laser ranging systems. Four FSD's now reside in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the Keystone Project.
Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA)
The Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy is a non-profit astronomical observatory, founded in 1972 and dedicated to research and education in astronomy.
Mount Evans Meyer-Womble Observatory (Denver Univ.)
Mt.Evans Meyer-Womble Observatory, elev. 4,303 meters, in the Colorado Rockies. Dual 0.7 meter R-C telescopes, optical and mid-infrared instrumentation. Summer access. Collaborations invited.
Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO)
The Mt. Graham International Observatory is located on Mt. Graham near Safford , Arizona. Two telescopes are now in operation, the Vatican Observatory/Arizona 1.8m Lennon telescope(VATT) and the 10m diameter Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope (SMT), a joint project of Arizona and the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Germany.
Mount Laguna Observatory
Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory (Tasmania)
Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories - Observing facilities (MSSSO)
The Australian National University runs the following telescopes: 2.3m at Siding Springs ; 74in at Mount Stromlo ; 50in at Mount Stromlo ; 40in at Siding Springs ; 24in at Siding Springs.
Mount Suhora Observatory (Cracow Pedagogical University)
The Mt.Suhora Observatory is a part of Astronomy Department at the Pedagogical University in Cracow, Poland. It is located in Gorce mountain, near Koninki village, 60 km south-east of Cracow.
The scientific staff of 9 people works on photometry of variable stars.
Mount Wilson Observatory
The mountain is host to several ongoing observing projects using the onsite facilities. The observatory has two primary nighttime telescopes: the 60-inch telescope, built in 1908 is home to the HK Project and the Atmospheric Compensation Experiment; and the 100-inch (Hooker) telescope, built in 1917, which is available to the scientific community. Two solar observatories, the 60-foot tower telescope (operated by USC), and the 150-foot tower telescope (operated by UCLA) maintain long-term exploration of the magnetic activity behavior of the Sun. There are also two interferometers onsite: the Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI, operated by U.C. Berkeley), and the NRL Optical Interferometer. The Telescopes in Education (TIE) Project operates a 24" telescope, as well as the Snow Solar Telescope (built in 1904). Finally, a fully-robotic 32-inch Automatic Photoeletric Telescope (APT) is operated by Tennessee State University.
Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN - Jodrell Bank)
Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF (MIPS)
The Multiband Imaging Photometer for SIRTF (MIPS) is a far-infrared photometer, scheduled for launch into a solar orbit in December, 2001. It is one of three instruments that will fly on SIRTF.
Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory (1) (MMTO)
Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory (2) (MMTO)
Muriwai Beach Observatory NZ
Nancay Observatory
The Nançay Radio Observatory is a scientific department (the Unite Scientifique de Nançay) of the Paris Observatory, and it is also associated to the CNRS (the French National Scientific Research Council).
Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS, ESO VLT)
Nation River Observatory
National Astronomical Observatory of Spain (OAN)
OAN is a 200 year old institution devoted to research in astronomy that operates several observatories. The Yebes Observatory is the site of a mm-wave 14m telescope devoted to spectroscopy and VLBI. A 1.5m optical telescope is located at the Calar Alto Observatory. The OAN is also the Spanish partner of IRAM, which runs a 30m mm-wave telescope and a 5x15m mm-wave interferometer.
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA)
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics is the leading centre in India for reseach in radio astronomy. It operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope(GMRT), one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world for radio astronomy at metre wavelengths.
National Laboratory for Astrophysics (LNA, Brazil)
LNA is an Institute of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). At present, LNA supports 3 telescopes: the 1.6-m Ritchey-Chretien and coudé, the 0.6-m Cassegrain and the 0.6-m telescope of the University of São Paulo.
National Schools' Observatory (NSO)
The National Schools' Observatory is a major web-based resource that allows UK schools to use world-class astronomical telescopes sited all around the world.
Using the resources and software developed by the Observatory, students can prepare and carry out their own astronomical research and share in the excitement of discovery.
National Solar Observatory / Sacramento Peak, Sunspot, NM (NSO/SP)
Anonymous ftp.
National Solar Observatory (NSO)
Synoptic Solar Magnetograms
National Undergraduate Research Observatory (NURO)
The National Undergraduate Research Observatory (NURO) at Lowell Observatory and Northern Arizona University is a 0.8m telescope located on Anderson Mesa south of Flagstaff, Arizona. NURO is a consortium of Universities and small colleges to provide a research grade telescope for undergraduate research and education.
Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT)
NEAT is an autonomous celestial observatory located at the USAF/Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) site on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii. It is designed to complete a comprehensive search of the sky for near-Earth asteroids and comets.
Neutrino Oscillation MAgnetic Detector (NOMAD)
Nomad (Neutrino Oscillation MAgnetic Detector) is CERN experiment WA96. The experiment searches for the oscillation nu_mu -> nu_tau in the CERN wide-band neutrino beam. It aims at detecting tau-neutrino charged-current interactions by observing the production of the tau lepton through its various decay modes by means of kinematical criteria.
New Radio Telescope Technologies Laboratory (NRTT Lab)
NRRT Lab. of JSEC "Astronomy" in St.Petersburg, Russia. Current research: Antenna testing and research, development of new antenna technologies for radio telescopes including multielement feed arrays, MMIC focal receiver arrays, active phased arrays for radio telescopes. Development, investigation and introduction of new observation modes at RATAN-600 radio telescope.
Next Generation Space Telescope listservs (NGST Listservs)
This URL takes you to a WWW page where you can subscribe to a number of listservs devoted to the Next Generation Space Telescope project. You may subscribe to any of them. Posting is restricted. Right now, these are used as ways to inform the community about progress in the project. The web site contains links for feedback to the project team members.
Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST)
The Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) is a critical component of NASA's Origins Program. It will be a telescope of aperture greater than 4m, radiatively cooled to 30 - 60 deg.K, permitting extremely deep exposures at near infrared wavelengths with a 10 year life. A key requirement is to break the HST cost paradigm through the use of new technology and management methods. This site is designed to serve as the starting point for finding online NGST Study documentation.
There is also a public home page at NASA, and a European site at ST-ECF.
NFO's Automatic Radio Linked Telescope
Observatory associated with Western New Mexico University in Silver City, NM (USA).
NICMOS UofA (NICMOS)
The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) is a second-generation instrument to be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the February 13, 1997 on-orbit servicing mission. NICMOS will provide infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets between 0.8-2.5 microns.
Nobeyama Radio Observatory, NAOJ (NRO)
Information regarding the 45-m Telescope, the Millimeter Array(NMA), the Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (LMSA) project, and much more.
Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT, La Palma)
Noto VLBI Station
Oak Ridge Observatory
Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP)
The Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP) is an optical observatory in southeast France offering small and medium-sized observing facilities to astronomers in France, Europe and abroad. Includes information about instruments and user manuals.
Observatoire du Mont Megantic (OMM)
The Centre de recherche Observatoire du mont Mégantic (OMM) is an inter-university collaborative organisation which brings together researchers from Université de Montréal, Université Laval, with axis centred on the télescope du mont Mégantic (TMM).
The Centre unites most of the professional researchers working in astronomy and astrophysics in Québec.
Observatoire du Mont Mégantic (OMM)
[in French]
Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees (OMP)
The Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) is an Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers placed under the administrative supervison of both the Institute des Sciences de l'Univers (INSU) of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Education. It has laboratories located on the Rangueuil campus of Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse (UPS), in Bagnères, Lannemezan and on the summit of Pic du Midi de Bigorre.
Observatorio Astronomico da Serra da Piedade (OAP, Mainas Gerais, Brazil)
The Serra da Piedade observatory belongs to the Federal University of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is opened to the general public every first Saturday of each month for observations. Tutorials and workshops are also part of the program, presented by astronomers and undergraduate students of the university.
The observatory is equipped with one Zeiss 0.6 meter reflector and one Zeiss 15cm Coudè refractor. The observatory is located 50km east of Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil.
Observatorio Astronómico Nacional
The Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (OAN) operates 3 telescopes (2.1m, 1.5m, and 0.84m) up in the mountains of the Sierra San Pedro Martir of Baja California. The observatory offices and workshops are located in Ensenada, B.C. overlooking the Pacific ocean. OAN is a part of the Instituto de Astronomía of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Observatorio Nacional, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
[in Portuguese]
Observatorium Hoher List (Bonn)
OmegaCAM
The Wide Field Imager for the VST at Paranal.
Onsala Space Observatory (OSO)
OSO is the Swedish National Facility for Radio Astronomy.
Optical Correctors for Liquid Mirror Telescopes
One of the often cited limitations of liquid mirror telescopes pertains to the small region of sky which they can observe. Because the aberrations of a parabola increase rapidly with field angle, classical corrector designs cannot yield subarcsecond images for angles significantly greater than one degree. To access larger fields, innovative corrector designs must be explored.
In these pages we discuss the Optical Design and Testing of a family of two-mirror correctors to compensate the aberrations of a fixed parabolic mirror observing at a large angle from the zenith.
Orbiting Very Long Baseline Interferometry (OVLBI)
Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO)
Palomar Observatory (CalTech)
Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI)
Perkins Observatory
Public Observatory located in Deleware, Ohio, USA. Offers public programs almost every weekend. Owned and operated by the Ohio Wesleyan University.
Perugia University Astronomical Observatory
Articles, data, researches, and new developments at Perugia University Astronomical Observatory.
Pine Mountain Observatory (University of Oregon)
PLANCK
Planck is the third Medium-Sized Mission (M3) of ESA's Horizon 2000 Scientific Programme. It is designed to image the anisotropies of the Cosmic Background Radiation Field over the whole sky, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. Planck will provide a major source of information relevant to several cosmological and astrophysical issues, such as testing theories of the early universe and the origin of cosmic structure.
Planck was formerly called COBRAS/SAMBA. After the mission was selected and approved, it was renamed in honor of the German scientist Max Planck (1858-1947), Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.
Pushchino Radioastronomy Observatory (PRAO) (PRAO)
Pushchino Radioastronomy Observatory of Astro Space Center of P.N.Lebedev Physical Institute (PRAO ASC LPI).
Radio Ice Cherenkov Experiment (RICE)
A prototype ultra-high energy neutrino detector/obervatory located at the South Pole. RICE consists of an array of radio antennas buried deep in the ice which detect coherent Cherenkov emission from electromagnetic cascades produced as a by product of ultra-high energy neutrino interactions.
RadioAstron Project
RadioAstron is a project led by the Astro Space Center of the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow, Russia, that will put a 10-meter radio telescope into a high elliptical orbit in order to make VLBI observations in conjunction with radio telescopes on the ground. It is part of the Spectrum series of spacecraft, also including Spectrum X-Gamma and Spectrum-UV.
Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)
RHESSI's primary mission is to explore the basic physics of particle acceleration and explosive energy release in solar flares. RHESSI is a NASA Small Explorer. RHESSI was launched on February 5, 2002.
Robotic Lunar Observatory (ROLO)
The Robotic Lunar Observatory (ROLO) is dedicated to studying one of the remaining unknowns of the Moon: what is its precise brightness? ROLO is currently part of the NASA Earth Observing Spacecraft Mission. The concept of the project is that the Moon will be observed repeatedly, and data gathered, so that we can predict the brightness of the Moon to better than two percent. Then, spacecraft orbiting the Earth can look at the Moon as part of a calibration sequence to get an absolute brightness reference.
Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE)
ROTSE is an experimental program to search for astrophysical optical transients on time scales of a fraction of a second to a few hours. This is an area of astronomical science that has been relatively unexplored until now. The primary incentive for this research is to find the optical counterparts of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Two sets of instruments are now under construction: ROTSE-I, a 4-fold camera array using telephoto lenses to cover a 16 degree by 16 degree field of view and ROTSE-II, a pair of 0.45 meter aperture telescopes to cover a 2 degree by 2 degree field of view. The expected sensitivities of these two systems is expected to be m_v ~ 15 and 18 respectively.
ROentgen SATellite (ROSAT at GSFC. NASA)
ROSAT, the ROentgen SATellite, is an X-ray observatory developed through a cooperative program between the Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The satellite was designed and is operated by Germany, and was launched by the United States on June 1, 1990.
ROSAT Guest Observer Facility (ROSAT)
The ROSAT Science Data Center (RSDC) is responsible for execution of the guest investigator program, including such activities as providing assistance in the preparation of proposals, the receiving, processing, and distributing ROSAT pointed data, and providing facilities for the scientific analysis of these data.
ROSAT
Roentgen Satellite (X-ray satellite) operated by the Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Garching, Germany.
Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer Project (RXTE)
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer is designed to facilitate the study of time variability in the emission of X-ray sources with moderate spectral resolution.
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE)
This site offers information about the extensive activities of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, a PPARC establishment responsible for building common-user IR and sub-mm instrumentation and managing telescope sites and data archive resources, as well as the UK Schmidt Telescope and the SuperCOSMOS measuring machine. The ROE site also has links to, or acts as the home page for:
* Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh;
* latest research e-prints;
* the Crawford library;
* the ROE Visitor Centre;
* the UKIRT data archive;
* Public Understanding of Science;
* ROE Photolabs;
* Teacher Research Inititive
and much more information besides.
RXTE Guest Observer Facility (GFSC)
Santiago de Compostela - Astronomical Observatory Ramón María Aller (AO RMA)
SAtellite for Measurement of cosmological Background Anisotropies (SAMBA)
SAMBA will use bolometers to survey the sky in the 0.3-6mm wavelength range. The project has been selected by ESA for a merging with the COBRAS proposal, which gives the COBRAS/SAMBA mission, now named PLANCK.
Schaller Observatory (Amateur High Speed Stellar Photometry)
Schaller Observatory is dedicated to high speed stellar photometry and optical SETI. The site describes the observatory, computer controlled telescope. photomultiplier tube detector, amplifiers, filters, data acquisition and FFT analysis.
Schmidt telescope at Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur
The Telescope is located at the "Observatoire de Calern", above the city of Grasse.
Equipped with a 2K CCD camera, it is mainly used for the OCA-DLR Asteroid Survey program. It is also used for geostationnaary Space Debris detection and GRB optical counterparts follow ups.
Small Explorers (SMEX)
NASA's Small Explorer (SMEX) program provides frequent flight opportunities for highly focused and relatively inexpensive science missions.
Soft X-Ray Telescope onboard Yohkoh Satellite, ISAS, Japan (description at LMSAL, USA)
Yohkoh (" Sunbeam" in Japanese) is a satellite of the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) dedicated to high-energy observations of the Sun, specifically of flares and other coronal disturbances
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
The SOHO project is being carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a cooperative effort between the two agencies in the framework of the Solar Terrestrial Science Program (STSP).
SOHO was launched on December 2, 1995. The SOHO spacecraft was built in Europe by an industry team led by Matra, and instruments were provided by European and American scientists.
Solar Extreme-ultraviolet Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS)
The Solar Extreme-ultraviolet Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS) instrument obtains spatially resolved spectra and spectroheliograms over a wide range of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths characteristic of temperatures between 5x10^4-3x10^7K, providing information about the Sun's corona and upper transition region. Wavelength coverage is 170-450A with spectral resolution near 10000, spatial resolution as good as 5arcsec, and relative photometric accuracy within +/- 20% over most of its range. This page contains links to information about the instrument, a solar EUV line list between 170 and 450 A from the SERTS-89 flight, and a list of SERTS-related publications. Soon to be added is information about upcoming launches. Also included are links to other WWW servers relevant to solar astronomers.
Solar Group of RATAN-600
The group provides Solar Radio Monitoring on RATAN-600. Observations are performed with a high spatial, one - dimensional resolution scan near UT 9-00 at 30-40 wavelengths in the range from 1.67 cm up to 32 cm with left (LCP) and right (RCP) circular polarization.
There are FITS and GIF data archives available from May 1997.
Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE)
STACEE is a new experiment for detecting gamma-rays with energies from 20 to 300 GeV, corresponding to the last unopened window in the electromagnetic spectrum. STACEE will use a the heliostats available at a large solar power facility to collect Cherenkov light that results from gamma-ray air showers. STACEE is currently under development and should be operational sometime in 1997 or 1998.
South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO)
The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the National Facility for optical/infrared astronomy in South Africa. Its prime function is to further fundamental research in astronomy and astrophysics at a national and international level through the provision and use of a world-class astronomical facility.
Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA)
The SARA telescope consortium operates the 0.9 meter SARA optical telescope on Kitt Peak.
Southern African Large Telescope (SALT)
SALT, a 9-m class southern hemisphere twin of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) in Texas, to be built at the Sutherland observing station of the South African Astronomical Observatory.
Southern Columbia Millimeter Telescope (1.2 Meter)
Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) - Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)
The Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) is one of three instruments to be flown in the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF).
Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)
The Space InfraRed Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the fourth and final element in NASA's family of "Great Observatories", has entered development. SIRTF consists of a 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically-cooled science instruments capable of performing imaging and spectroscopy in the 3 - 180 micron wavelength range. Incorporating the latest in large-format infrared detector arrays, SIRTF offers orders-of-magnitude improvements in capability over existing programs. While SIRTF's mission lifetime requirement remains 2.5 years, recent programmatic and engineering developments have brought a 5-year cryogenic mission within reach. A fast-track development schedule will lead to a launch in December 2001. SIRTF represents an important scientific and technical bridge to NASA's new Origins program.
Space Interferometry Mission (SIM)
SIM will be NASA's first space interferometer designed specifically for measuring the position of stars. SIM will utilize multiple telescopes placed along a 10-meter (33-foot) structure.
Special Astrophysical Observatory of Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS)
SAO is Russia's main centre for ground-based space research. The Observatory is located in the South of Russia, in the Caucasus mountains of Karachaevo-Cherkesia. The basic instruments of the Observatory are the 6-meter optical telescope BTA (Big Alt-azimuth Telescope) and the 600-meter radio telescope RATAN-600.
Spectrum UV
SPECTRUM UV is planned as a general purpose ultraviolet observatory. Phase A study activities are supported by the Space Agencies of Russia, Ukraine, Italy and Germany. Spectrum UV is planned to be launched round the turn of the century.
Spectrum-X-Gamma Coordination facility (SXG. University of Harvard)
Spectrum-X-Gamma (SXG) is an international high-energy astrophysics observatory which is being built under the leadership of the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI). The US SXG CF supports the US astronomical community in obtaining information about SXG, proposing for and making SXG observations, and performing archival research using the SXG archive
Square Kilometer Array - Interferometer radio telescope project (SKA)
This site provides information about the world-wide efforts to develop the next generation of radio telescope.
Square Kilometre Array (SKA - Australian contribution)
A web resource covering SKA scientific and engineering developments. Contains access to reports, meetings announcements, discussions of SKA issues, links to SKA related research.
Stardial:an autonomous astronomical camera on the World Wide Web (Stardial)
Stardial delivers images of the night sky nearly in real-time to the world wide web. It is used primarily for educational purposes. Its archive consists of images taken at 15 minute (sidereal) intervals since July 1996. The survey covers from 0 to -8 degrees declination to 12th magnitude. Highlights and possible classroom assignments are described.
Stardust
A space mission that will fly close to a comet and, for the first time ever, bring cometary material back to Earth
STellar Astrophysics & Research on Exoplanets (STARE)
STARE (STellar Astrophysics & Research on Exoplanets) uses precise time-series photometry to search for extrasolar giant planets transiting their parent stars. An important byproduct of STARE will be an unusually complete survey of variable stars within its selected fields-of-view.
Stephen F. Austin State University Observatory (SFASU)
Facilities, research, and personnel of the SFASU Observatory.
Steward Observatory
The Steward Observatory Home Page provides information on the academic and research activities of the University of Arizona Department of Astronomy as well as information on the facilities of Steward Observatory.
Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)
The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) will be a 2.5 meter, optical/infrared/sub-millimeter telescope mounted in a Boeing 747, to be used for many basic astronomical observations performed at stratospheric altitudes. The Facility will accommodate installation of different focal plane instruments, with in-flight accessibility, provided by investigators selected from the international science community. The Facility objective is to have an operational lifetime in excess of 20 years.
SUBARU astronomical observatory
Japan national optical-infrared telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea. The site includes astrophotographs from Subaru.
Subaru Telescope at Hilo (NAOJ)
The SUBARU is an 8.3-m diameter new-generation telescope being constructed and to be operated by the National Astronomical Observatory, under the Ministry of Education of Japan.
Submillimeter Array (SMA)
The Submillimeter Array (SMA), now under construction near the summit of Mauna Kea, was conceived as an exploratory instrument for high angular resolution observations at submillimeter wavelengths (1.3 to 0.3 mm).
Submillimeter Polarimeter for Antarctic Remote Observing (SPARO)
Mapping Interstellar Magnetic Fields from the South Pole.
Submillimeter Receiver Laboratory (SAO)
Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO)
The Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO) is operated as a joint facility for the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory and the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (Bonn). The SMTO is located on Emerald Peak of Mt. Graham, approximately 75 miles north-east of Tucson, Arizona.
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)
SWAS, the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite, is a pathfinding mission for studying the chemical composition of interstellar galactic clouds to help determine the process of star formation.
Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (SCUBA)
SCUBA is a bolometer camera for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope operating at submillimetre and millimetre wavelengths.
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO at Queen's University)
SNO is an astronomical neutrino observatory that is being built below ground in the deepest section of INCO Limited's Creighton Mine near Sudbury, Ontario. SNO is an international collaboration of scientists from Canada, USA and UK. Information services are available at
* Queen's University
* University of Guelph.
Super-Kamiokande
Super-Kamiokande is a joint Japan-US collaboration to construct the world's largest underground neutrino observatory.
Superconducting Tunnel Junction Detector Research (STJ)
Such devices promise to yield the near-ideal astronomical photon-counting detector in which not just the location, but also the energy of each photon is recorded at extremely high efficiency. STJ detectors have previously been considered mainly for X-ray astronomy applications, but recent theoretical and laboratory research in the division has led to a dramatic breakthrough in extending the technique to visible and UV wavelengths where energy discrimination up until now has had to rely on filters or low efficiency dispersive optics.
Supernova / Acceleration Probe (SNAP)
The Supernova / Acceleration Probe (SNAP) Mission is expected to provide an understanding of the mechanism driving the acceleration of the universe. The satellite observatory is capable of measuring up to 2,000 distant supernovae each year of the three-year mission lifetime.
Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (NSST)
1m solar vacuum telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory operated by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Swedish-ESO SUbmillimetre Telescope (SEST)
Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer
Swift is a three-telescoipe space observatory (gamma-ray telescope, X-ray telescope, and ultraviolet/optical telescope) for studying gamma ray bursts. It is a NASA MIDEX mission selected for launch in 2003.
Sydney University Molonglo Sky Survey (SUMSS)
SUMSS is a deep radio survey of the entire sky south of declination -30 degrees, made using the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, operating at 843MHz and recording right-circular polarization.
SUMSS matches (approximately) the resolution and depth of the NRAO-VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). The principal data products are mosaics which cover a 4x4 degree square on the sky. The centres of the mosaics mirror the NVSS centres in the north. The resolution is 45" x 45"/sin(dec), and the rms noise limit varies from 1.3 to 2mJy/beam (lower toward the south celestial pole).
The survey began in March 1997 and will take eight years to complete. SUMSS is suported by funding from the Australian Research Council.
The primary reference for a description of the survey is: Bock, D., Large, M. and Sadler, E.
Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory (TRAO)
Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory (TRAO) is part of the Korea Astronomy Observatory, which is operated under a cooperative agreement with the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Tartu Observatory
Telescope a Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires (TAROT)
TAROT is an automatic, autonomous observatory whose first objective is the real-time detection of optical transient counterparts of cosmic gamma ray bursts.
Telescope Array Project
A project of ground-based detector for Astrophysics.
Telescopio Infrarosso del Gornergrat (TIRGO)
Italian national 1.5m telescope optimized for infrared observations, operated by CAISMI-CNR, Florence.
Telescopio Nazionale Galileo - Italian National Telescope Galileo (TNG, La Palma)
The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo is the national facility of the Italian astronomical community, set in the Canary island of La Palma (Spain). The Astronomical Observatory of Padova had the responsibility of its construction through the TNG Project Office.
Tennessee State University 2-m Automatic Spectroscopic Telescope Project (2-m AST)
This site details development of an 80-inch automatic telescope that Tennessee State University is developing for high-dispersion spectroscopy. It includes engineering reports and extensive pictures of the instrument.
Terrestrial Planet Finder (Origins of Stars, Planets, and Life)
The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) is a key element of NASA Origins Program. It will study all aspects of planets: from their formation and development in disks of dust and gas around newly forming stars to the presence and features of those planets orbiting the nearest stars; from the numbers at various sizes, and places to their suitability as an abode for life. By combining the high sensitivity of space telescopes with the sharply detailed pictures from an interferometer, TPF will be able to reduce the glare of parent stars by a factor of more than one hundred-thousand to see planetary systems as far away as 50 light years.
The Wilderness Center Astronomy Club (WCAC)
Astronomy club in Canton, Ohio area. New observatory with refurbished 16" Ealing Cassegrain telescope. Planetarium and Educational programs.
THEMIS - Heliographic Telescope for the Study of the Magnetism and Instabilities on the Sun (THEMIS)
THEMIS (Télescope Héliographique pour l'Etude du Magnétisme et des Instabilités Solaires) is a new generation Franco-Italian solar telescope built by INSU/CNRS (France) and CNR (Italy). The main scientific goal for which it has been designed is the accurate determination of the vector magnetic field.
Thueringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS)
The observatory is running a 2m telescope which can be used in three different optical configurations: Schmidt telescope Cassegrain telescope Coude telescope
Torun Radio Astronomy Observatory (TRAO)
Torun Radio Astronomy Observatory (TRAO), now part of Torun Centre for Astronomy is an educational and research facility of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Faculty of Astronomy and Physics, Torun, Poland. The Observatory main instrument is 32m modern design radio telescope usable up to 50 GHz. Presently equipped with cooled receivers for L and C bands is used extensively for VLBI, pulsar timing and spectroscopy. Since April 1998 Torun is the full member of the EVN.
Transition Region And Coronal Explorer (TRACE)
TRACE will enable solar physicists to study the connections between fine-scale magnetic fields and the associated plasma structures on the Sun in a quantitative way by observing the photosphere, transition region, and corona.
U.S. Space Very Long Baseline Interferometry Project (U.S. Space VLBI)
This project supports the VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme) mission led by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan, and the RadioAstron mission led by the Astro Space Center of the Lebedev Physical Institute in Russia. VSOP is scheduled for launch in September 1996, while RadioAstron is scheduled for launch in 1997. Each mission involves an orbiting 8-10 meter radio telescope dedicated to astronomical radio interferometry experiments using baselines formed between the spacecraft and a number of ground radio telescopes. A variety of information is now on line, describing the JPL Project, each of the space missions, and the science goals of the missions.
Uhuru Satellite (GSFC. NASA)
Uhuru was the first earth-orbiting mission dedicated entirely to celestial X-ray astronomy. It was launched on 12 December 1970 into an orbit of about 560 km apogee, 520 km perigee, 3 degrees inclination, with a period of 96 minutes. The mission ended in March 1973.
UK Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT)
UK Schmidt Telescope - Anglo-Australian Observatory (UKST / AAO)
UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST)
The initial task of the UKST was to construct a photographic survey of the entire southern sky. The telescope still takes some 700 plates a year - about half for current surveys and the remainder taken at the request of research astronomers around the world. To date the UKST has taken over 17,000 plates, the plates are stored in the Plate Library at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) and represent a huge source of data for the astronomical community. Some 300 active research programmes make use of UKST plate material. Many plates are copied in the ROE Photolabs and sold as Sky Atlases or Teaching Packages. In addition to its photographic role the UKST also has a multi-object fibre spectroscopy system known as FLAIR. e-mail ukstu@roe.ac.uk
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT - Archives at STScI MAST)
The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope UIT was one of three ultraviolet telescopes on the ASTRO-1 mission flown on the space shuttle Columbia during 2-10 December 1990. The same three instruments were later flown on the space shuttle Endeavour from 3-17 March 1995, as part of the ASTRO-2 mission. Exposures were obtained on 70-mm photographic film in the 1200-3300 Å range using broadband filters and later digitized using a Perkin-Elmer microdensitometer. Image resolution was 3" over a 40' field of view. Overall, UIT-1 obtained 821 exposures of 66 targets, and UIT-2 obtained 758 images of 193 targets.
Ulysses Mission (JPL)
The Ulysses Mission is the first spacecraft to explore interplanetary space at high solar latitudes. Ulysses is a joint endeavor of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the USA. Instruments include: Magnetometer (VHM/FGM), Solar Wind Plasma Experiment (SWOOPS), Solar Wind Ion Composition Instrument (SWICS), Unified Radio and Plasma Wave Instrument (URAP), Energetic Particle Instrument (EPAC), Low-Energy Ion and Electron Experiment (HISCALE), Cosmic Ray and Solar Particle Instrument (COSPIN), Solar X-ray and Cosmic Gamma-Ray Burst Instrument (GRB)
University of Bradford - Robotic Telescope
The engineering in astronomy Team in the Department of Industrial Technology are currently working on low-cost fully-robotic telescopes.
University of California Observatories - Lick Observatory (WWW) (UCO/Lick)
Lick Observatory Anonymous ftp
University of California, Irvine, Observatory (UCI Observatory)
The University of California, Irvine, Observatory is located on campus. It consists of a computer-controlled telescope with a 24-inch primary mirror and numerous other portable telescopes. The instruments on the primary telescope include CCD cameras and a spectrograph. The Observatory is used primarily for undergraduate astronomy classes. In addition, Visitor Nights open to the general public are held quarterly, and special tours for community groups can be arranged.
University of Denver Astronomy
Mt.Evans Meyer-Womble Observatory located at 14,124 feet above sea level, on Mt.Evans in the Front Range of Colorado, used for infrared astronomy research.
University of Hawaii IfA: 2.2m Telescope
University of Louisville - Moore Observatory
Moore Observatory is located in the Horner Wildlife Sanctuary near Louisville, KY. A computer-controlled 0.5 meter telescope, fiber optically coupled spectrograph, and wide field spectral imaging camera are used there to investigate physical processes in comets and low surface brightness emission nebulae. This resource describes the observatory and its environs, and provides a link to astrophysics research at the University of Louisville.
University of Toronto Southern Observatory (UTSO)
UTSO operates the 60cm Helen Sawyer Hogg Telescope located on Cerro Las Campanas in north-central Chile. This homepage provides information useful to potential users and others interested in our facility.
Ventspils International Radioastronomy Center (VIRAC)
The Ventspils 32-m antenna is the largest in the Baltics. At VIRAC, observations of solar and cosmic radio sources are carried out, as well as work in geophysics. VLBI experiments have been made, and a current goal is to join the European VLBI network.
Very Large Array (VLA) The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text):
Very Large Array (VLA)
Very Large Telescope Project (VLT, ESO)
ESO is building what will be the World's largest optical telescope array, The Very Large telescope (VLT).
The ESO Very Large Telescope will consist of four 8-meter telescopes which can work independently or in combined mode. In this latter mode the VLT provides the total light collecting power of a 16 meter single telescope, making it the largest optical telescope in the world. The four 8-m telescopes supplemented with 3 auxilliary 1 m telescopes may also be used in interferometric mode providing high angular resolution imaging. The useful wavelength range extends from the near UV up to 25 microns in the infrared.
Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
Very Small Array (VSA)
The Very Small Array is an interferometer array designed to make images of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation on angular scales around one degree. The VSA consists of an array of 14 small antennas, working at a frequency in the range 26-36 GHz, and will be sited at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife.
Virgo Interferometer (VIRGO)
VIRMOS (ESO-VLT Project)
The VIRMOS project aims to deliver 2 spectrographs for the ESO- VLT . VIMOS is a visible imaging spectrograph with outstanding multiplex capabilities, allowing to take spectra of more than 800 objects simultaneously (10 arcsec slits), or spectroscopy of all objects in a 1x1 arcmin2 area. NIRMOS is a near-infrared imaging spectrograph with a multiplex of 180 (10 arcsec slits), and allows spectroscopy of all objects in a 30x30 arcsec2 area. Together VIMOS and NIRMOS allow to get spectroscopy from 0.37 to 1.8 microns, with unsurpassed efficiency for large surveys.
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA)
VISTA is the Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy: a 4-m Wide Field Survey telescope for the Southern Hemisphere, being built at Cerro Paranal, close to ESO VLT, by a consortium of 18 UK universities.
VLBI Antenna at Radio-Observatorio Espacial do Nordeste (ROEN)
Site of Fortaleza, Brazil.
VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP)
The VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Programme) mission is led by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, in collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The first VSOP satellite was successfully launched 12 February 1997 on the new ISAS M-V rocket from the Kagoshima Space Center. The satellite, renamed HALCA after its successful launch, sucessfully deployed an 8 meter diameter radio telescope in orbit on 27 & 28 February 1997. HALCA is in an elliptical Earth orbit, with an apogee height of 21,000km and a perigee height of 560km, which enables VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) observations on baselines up to three times longer than those acheivable on Earth.
VLT Mid Infrared Imager Spectrometer (VISIR, ESO VLT)
VLT Survey Telescope (VST)
The VST project is a cooperation between the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory (OAC) for the study, design and construction of a wide field alt-az telescope of 2.6 m aperture, specialized for high quality astronomical imaging to be installed and operated on Cerro Paranal, next to ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT).
Vulcan Camera Project
The Vulcan Camera Project, sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center, is designed to detect transits of large extrasolar planets using differential photometry.
Vulcan uses a 15cm aperture refactor at Lick Observatory to image a wide field in which ~6000 stars are monitored for two months, in a search for the ~1% transit signal expect from a 51 Pegasi-type planet.
Vulcan is a ground-based test-bed for the proposed Kepler Mission to detect Earth-sized exoplanets.
WAVES : The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation on the WIND Spacecraft (waves)
WAVES radio astronomy instrument on the ISTP-Wind spacecraft.
Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT - ASTRON)
The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope is a linear 3 kilometer array located near the village of Westerbork in the North-East of the Netherlands. The WSRT consists of fourteen 25m dishes along a perfect east-west line. By combining these fourteen elements one can synthesize a radio telescope with a diameter of 3 kilometers.
WFCAM - Wide Field Camera (UKIRT)
WFCAM is an IR wide field camera for the UK Infrared Telescope on Mauna Kea. WFCAM will be operational as an IR imaging survey instrument in late 2002. The camera has been designed to maximize survey speed at J, H and K while retaining excellent image quality.
Whately Telescope
Whipple Observatory (FLWO)
Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT)
The WEB Telescope (WEBT) is a network of optical observers who in concert have the capability to obtain continuous, high-temporal-density, optical monitoring of blazars.
Whole Earth Telescope (WET)
In 1986, astronomers from the University of Texas established a world--wide network of cooperating astronomical observatories to obtain uninterrupted time--series measurements of variable stars. The technological goal was to resolve the multi-periodic oscillations observed in these objects into their individual components; the scientific goal was to construct accurate theoretical models of the target objects, constrained by their observed behavior, from which their fundamental astrophysical parameters could be derived. This approach has been extremely successful, and has placed the fledgling science of stellar seismology at the forefront of stellar astrophysics. The following resources are similar (same sort-key, different text):
Whole Earth Telescope (WET, site of University of Texas at Austin)
The Whole Earth Telescope (WET) is a collaboration of astronomers who observe variable stars (white dwarfs and Delta Scuti stars) and cataclysmic variables Typically twice a year, we coordinate a global time-series photometry campaign at ~10 observatories worldwide such that our target objects are visible from the night side of the planet 24 hours a day
Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE)
This is the website for NASA's Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE). The primary purpose of WIRE was a four month infrared survey of the universe, focusing specifically on starburst galaxies and luminous protogalaxies.
On 29 Mar 1999, the WIRE mission has been declared a loss.
Wilcox Solar Observatory (WSO)
The Wilcox Solar Observatory began daily observations of the Sun's global magnetic field in May 1975, with the goal of understanding changes in the Sun and how those changes affect the Earth; this is now called space weather. Now low-resolution maps are also made of the Sun's magnetic field each day, as are observations of solar surface motions. The observatory is located in the foothills just west of the Stanford University campus.
Winer Observatory
Robotic observatory for small telescopes located in southeastern Arizona hosting telescopes from other institutions for a fee. See our Web site for details. Our own scientific interests are NEO's and minor planet astrometry and photometry.
Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE)
The Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) was a pioneering effort to explore polarization and photometry in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. It was the first and most comprehensive effort to exploit the unique powers of polarimetry at wavelengths not visible on Earth. The instrument was designed and built at the University of Wisconsin Space Astronomy Laboratory in the 1980's. WUPPE flew on two NASA Space Shuttle missions: ASTRO-1 and ASTRO-2.
WIYN, from Indiana University
Wolfgang-Amadeus, The University of Vienna Twin Automatic Photoelectric Telescope (APT)
We operate two robotic 75-cm telescopes for photoelectric photometry at Fairborn Observatory in the Sonoran desert near Tucson, Arizona. Not only are the telescopes automatic, but the observatory itself is automatic. A site-control computer monitors weather sensors, operates the observatory roof, and provides a nightly report to the observatory staff, who are located in Vienna, Austria.
Wyoming Infrared Observatory (WIRO)
X-Ray Timing Explorer (XTE. GSFC.NASA)
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer is a Goddard mission which was launched on December 30th, 1995. RXTE is designed to facilitate the study of time variability in the emission of X-ray sources with moderate spectral resolution. Time scales from microseconds to months are covered in an instantaneous spectral range from 2 to 250 keV. It is designed for a required lifetime of two years, with a goal of five years.
XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre (XMM, ESA)
ESA s X-ray Multi Mirror mission XMM-Newtion is the second Cornerstone in ESA's Long Term Scientific Programme. With a large collecting area of its mirrors and the high sensitivity of its cameras, XMM-Newton is expected to increase radically our understanding of high-energy sources - clues to a mysterious past, and keys to understanding the future of the Universe.
XMM-Newton (ESA)
The European Space Agency's X-ray Multi-Mirror satellite is the most powerful X-ray telescope ever placed in orbit. It has an unprecedented sensitivity and the mission will help solve many cosmic mysteries, ranging from enigmatic black holes to the formation of galaxies.
Yerkes Observatory (University of Chicago)
Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay Wisconsin hosts the 40" refractor, a 41" reflector, a 24" Boller & Chivens reflector, a 10" educational telescope, and support facilities. The 41" telescope is used for research including adaptive optics studies.