Catalina Station

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The Catalina Station (CS) , also known as Steward Observatory Catalina Station , is an astronomical observation station and is located at an altitude of 2,518 m on the summit of Mount Bigelow in the Santa Catalina Mountains about 28 kilometers (17 mi) northeast of Tucson , US state Arizona . The facility in the Coronado National Forest is operated with a special permit from the US Forest Service through the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona .

History of the observatory

The location of the Catalina Station was selected in 1960 by Gerard P. Kuiper of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) of the University of Arizona. He was convinced that a slightly higher location than the alternative site at Kitt Peak National Observatory would be better suited for the LPL's projects; and Mount Bigelow was both higher up and easily accessible from the University of Arizona campus via the Catalina Highway . Construction began in late 1962 and the first instrument, a 54 cm reflector telescope , went into operation in early 1963. At that time, the facility was called the Catalina Observatory . The first telescope was the CS Site I facility and was supplemented in the course of 1963 by a 70 cm reflector telescope at the CS Site II located about 500 m to the southeast . In 1965 a 154 cm reflector telescope followed on Site I , followed shortly afterwards by two similar 152 cm reflector telescopes on Site II . In 1969 a 102 cm reflecting telescope was built near Site II in the vicinity of an FAA transmitter . As a precondition for the use of the Mount Lemmon Observatory (MLO), the US Forest Service ordered the evacuation of Site II , which was completed in 1972 and for which the 152 cm telescopes were moved to the MLO. The 102 cm telescope remained in place until 1975, when it was also moved to the MLO. In 1972 the 54 cm reflector telescope was replaced by a 70 cm Schmidt telescope . The 154 cm Kuiper telescope and the Schmidt telescope are used to this day, but have been upgraded several times. In 1978 the Steward Observatory took over the operation of the facility from the LPL. In 1989 the facility was first referred to as the Catalina Site (Catalina Site) and is currently known as the Catalina Station .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Gerard P. Kuiper: NO. 172 THE LUNAR AND PLANETARY LABORATORY AND ITS TELESCOPES (PDF; 10.3 MB) University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. December 31, 1972. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ Harold J. Johnson: NO. 111 THE DESIGN OF LOW COST PHOTOMETRIC TELESCOPES (PDF; 2.4 MB) University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. 1967. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  3. ^ G. Van Biesbroeck: NO. 41 GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES OF THE CATALINA STATION (PDF; 958 kB) University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. October 16, 1965. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  4. ^ Sonett, C. P: University of Arizona, Department of Planetary Sciences and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. Observatory report covering the period from 1 October 1974 to 30 September 1975. . In: Bulletin of the Astronomical Society . 8, No. 11-19, January 1976. bibcode : 1976BAAS .... 8 ... 11S .
  5. ^ Hubbard, WB: University of Arizona, Department of Planetary Sciences / Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. Report from 1 October 1976 to 30 September 1977. . In: Bulletin of the Astronomical Society . January 10, 1978, pp. 16-23. bibcode : 1978BAAS ... 10 ... 16H .
  6. ↑ Narayan, R .; Strittmatter, PA: Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85,721th Report for the period 1 January 1987 - 31 dec 1987 . In: Bulletin of the Astronomical Society . 21, No. 1, January 1989, pp. 40-62. bibcode : 1989BAAS ... 21 ... 40N .
  7. ^ Arizona Telescopes . University of Arizona Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.

Coordinates: 32 ° 24 ′ 54 ″  N , 110 ° 42 ′ 52 ″  W.