Magdalena Ridge Observatory

Building of the 2.4m telescope

The Magdalena Ridge Observatory, engl. Magdalena Ridge Observatory (MRO) , is an observatory in Socorro County , New Mexico about 20 miles west of the city of Socorro in the Magdalena Mountains near the summit of South Baldy at an altitude of 3,180m.

The observatory houses a 2.4-meter mirror telescope , the main mirror of which is identical to that of the Hubble space telescope . It was put into operation in 2006 ( first light ) and has been in regular operation since 2008. It is characterized by a high mobility of 10 ° per second and is mainly used by NASA to observe objects close to the earth . It was involved in the 2007 WD ₅ tracking .

Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer. Computer generated overlay

The observatory also houses the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer , which is currently under construction . It is an astronomical interferometer , which consists of ten reflecting telescopes with a diameter of 1.4 meters and a base length, the maximum distance between two telescopes, of 400 meters. Commissioning is expected by 2021.

See also

• List of the largest optical telescopes
• Very Large Telescope Interferometer
• Keck Observatory
• Large Binocular Telescope
• CHARA array

credentials

1. ↑ Status: bibcode : 2016AAS ... 22714620C
2. ↑ https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020AAS...23530104C/abstract

Web links

• Magdalena Ridge Observatory homepage
• Description of the interferometer from Cambridge University website
• Detailed description of the array (PDF file; 434 kB)
• MRO Interferometer Project Abstract (PDF file; 670 kB)

Coordinates: 33 ° 58 ′ 36 "  N , 107 ° 11 ′ 5"  W.