Kitt Peak National Observatory
Explanation:
At the top of Kitt Peak Mountain near
Tucson,
Arizona lies one of the
world's great collections of telescopes.
As pictured, in the dome at the far left lies the 3.5-meter
WIYN Telescope, famous recently for tracking distant supernovae.
The next major dome to the right houses a
36-inch telescope now used mostly for imaging.
Farther to the right beside a thin tower is a
2.1-meter Telescope
used currently for imaging and spectroscopy.
The unusual triangular building houses the
McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope.
In front of it lies the
Vacuum Tower Telescope while
in back are the
Burrell-Schmidt Telescope and the
SARA 0.9-meter automated telescope.
At the far right lies one of the world's largest telescopes:
the 4-meter
Mayall Reflector.
Kitt Peak recently celebrated its
40th year
during which it helped establish the existence of
dark matter and the first
gravitational lens.
Kitt Peak National Observatory is part of the United States'
National Optical Astronomical Observatories
and is operated under agreement with the
National Science Foundation.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
