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The Manastash Ridge Observatory (MRO) is located
approximately 9 miles West-Southwest of Ellensburg, WA. The observatory
is at an altitude of 3930' (1198 m), a longitude of 120.7278 degrees West,
and a latitude of +46.9528 degrees.
MRO is operated by the Astronomy Department of the
University of Washington for the training of graduate and
undergraduate students as well as for astronomical research. Some
support for the observatory is also given by Central Washington
University which is located in Ellensburg. Outside views of the
observatory taken from the
North,
East
, and
West are shown here.
The observatory houses a computer controlled
30"
Boller and Chivens telescope with high
quality Ritchey-Chretian type optics. Here is
an alternate view
of the telescope from the
west. Instrumentation at the observatory includes focal reducing
optics which give the telescope an unusually wide field of view for a
telescope of this size (12 arcminutes), several sets of standard
filters for astronomical photometry, and a state-of-the-art
electronic 1024 x 1024 pixel Charged Coupled Device (CCD) in a
Thermo-Electrically cooled camera housing which allows observers to take
low-light images of astronomical objects. The telescope tracking and
pointing is under computer control and the observatory has available
a CCD offset guider for taking long exposures.
A
computer controlled filter slide capable
of holding 6, 2" square filters at a time is available to aid users
in CCD photometry.
Undergraduate students from the University of
Washington are the primary users of the observatory.
Two
UW students are shown here at the controls
of the telescope during a typical night. Students who use the
observatory must learn the basics of astronomical observing as well
as the care and operation of the instrumentation.
The observatory was built in 1972 at the
initiative of George Wallerstein, a professor of Astronomy at the UW.
Its construction was funded by grants from the National Science
Foundation as well as by funds from the state of Washington. The
location of the site was carefully chosen to allow Seattle students
reasonable access to dry and dark sky conditions which are available
on the eastern slopes of the Cascades. Owing to its remote location,
the observatory includes a kitchen,
a living room,
three bedrooms
, and two bath rooms on-site which
allow students and faculty the opportunity for multiple-night
observing programs with a minimum of travel. The observatory is
normally open between the months of April and November with August
and September being the busiest and most productive months of
observation. Snowfall usually closes the road to the facility during
the winter months.
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