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Organization | Louisiana State University & Baton Rouge Astronomical Society & The Recreation & Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge | ||
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Observatory code | 747 ![]() | ||
Location | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States | ||
Coordinates | 30°20′45.85″N91°04′14.84″W / 30.3460694°N 91.0707889°W | ||
Altitude | 5 meters (18 feet) | ||
Weather | Clear Sky Chart | ||
Established | 1997 | ||
Website | www | ||
Telescopes | |||
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Highland Road Park Observatory or Baton Rouge Observatory is an astronomical observatory jointly operated by Louisiana State University's astronomy department, Baton Rouge Astronomical Society, and The Recreation & Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge. It is in Baton Rouge, in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in Highland Road Park. [2] [3]
The observatory uses a 20-inch (51 cm) Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (f/8.1) with a hyperbolic figured 20-inch primary mirror and a 7.25-inch secondary mirror – both conical shaped, made of lightweight, low-expansion ceramic – an OGS140 equatorial fork mount, and a computer control system. [1]
The Baton Rouge Astronomical Society, also known as B.R.A.S., was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization. [3] Volunteer members of this organization meet monthly at the Highland Road Park Observatory. The society is a member organization of the Astronomical League, members volunteer in support of operation of the Highland Road Park Observatory and conduct many outreach activities including sidewalk astronomy and dark sky advocacy. [3]
(91239) 1999 CA10 | 15 February 1999 | list [5] |
More than 40 numbered minor planets have been discovered at the Highland Road Park Observatory since 1998. The Minor Planet Center credits these discoveries to the astronomers Walter R. Cooney Jr., Matthew Collier, Patrick M. Motl, Susannah Lazar, Katrina Wefel, Terry Martin, Merrill Hess, Geoffrey Burks, Ethan Kandler and Meredith Howard. [4] One minor planet is directly credited to the observatory (see table). [5]
The outer main-belt asteroid 11739 Baton Rouge, discovered by Walter R. Cooney Jr. in 1998, is named for the Louisiana state capital, where the discovering observatory is located. [6]
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten months. The telescope was a joint project of the United States (NASA), the Netherlands (NIVR), and the United Kingdom (SERC). Over 250,000 infrared sources were observed at 12, 25, 60, and 100 micrometer wavelengths.
Hermann Mayer Salomon Goldschmidt was a German-French astronomer and painter who spent much of his life in France. He started out as a painter, but after attending a lecture by the famous French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier turned to astronomy. His discovery of the asteroid Lutetia in 1852 was followed by further findings and by 1861 Goldschmidt had discovered 14 asteroids. He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1861 for having discovered more asteroids than any other person up to that time. He died from complications of diabetes.
Korado Korlević is a Croatian teacher and prolific amateur astronomer, who ranks among the world's top 20 discoverers of minor planets. As of 2016, he is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 1162 numbered minor planets he made at Višnjan Observatory during 1996–2001. In addition, he is credited with the co-discovery of another 132 minor planets. His discoveries include the slowly-rotating outer main-belt asteroid 10415 Mali Lošinj, and 10645 Brač, a member of the Eunomia family of asteroids. He has also discovered two comets, namely 183P/Korlević-Jurić and 203P/Korlević.
Marc William Buie is an American astronomer and prolific discoverer of minor planets who works at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado in the Space Science Department. Formerly he worked at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and was the Sentinel Space Telescope Mission Scientist for the B612 Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid impact events.
Walter R. Cooney Jr. is an American chemical engineer, amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets and variable stars.
The Oak Ridge Observatory, also known as the George R. Agassiz Station, is located at 42 Pinnacle Road, Harvard, Massachusetts. It was operated by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian as a facility of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) from 1933 until August 19, 2005.
Farpoint Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Northeast Kansas Amateur Astronomers' League, or NEKAAL. It is located on the grounds of Mission Valley High School at Eskridge, near Auburn, Kansas, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Topeka, Kansas, United States.
The Haute-Provence Observatory is an astronomical observatory in the southeast of France, about 90 km east of Avignon and 100 km north of Marseille. It was established in 1937 as a national facility for French astronomers. Astronomical observations began in 1943 using the 1.20 m telescope, and the first research papers based on observations made at the observatory were published in 1944. Foreign observers first used the observatory in 1949, when Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge visited.
Bassano Bresciano is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. As of 2011 Bassano Bresciano had a population of 2,237.
The Goethe Link Observatory, observatory code 760, is an astronomical observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States. It is owned by Indiana University and operated by the Indiana Astronomical Society https://iasindy.org/about.html, which efforts are dedicated to the pursuit of amateur astronomy.
The Starkenburg Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Heppenheim, Germany. It was founded in 1970, and currently has about 150 members.
The Badlands Observatory (IAU code 918) is an astronomical observatory named after the Badlands National Park, located in Quinn, South Dakota, near the city of Wall, United States. The observatory was founded in 2000. by American amateur astronomer Ron Dyvig, who was associated with the Optical Sciences Center and Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona. While there, he occasionally participated in observing runs using the telescopes on Kitt Peak. Kitt Peak Observatory As of November 2016, a total of 25 numbered minor planets were discovered at the observatory. The Minor Planet Center credits these discoveries to Ron Dyvig and to the observatory, respectively. The main-belt asteroid (315495) 2008 AQ3 was discovered by Italian amateur astronomer Fabrizio Tozzi while using the Badlands Observatory telescope remotely via the Internet in 2008. Asteroid 26715 South Dakota, discovered by Ron Dyvig in 2001, is named after the U.S. state South Dakota, where the Badlands observatory is located.
Cordell–Lorenz Observatory (850) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Sewanee:The University of the South. It is located in Sewanee, Tennessee, United States.
The Ondřejov Observatory is the principal observatory of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is located in the municipality of Ondřejov, 35 kilometres southeast of Prague, Czech Republic. It has a 2-metre wide telescope, which is the largest in the Czech Republic.
The Junk Bond Observatory is located in the Sonoran Desert at Sierra Vista, Arizona, United States.
79912 Terrell (provisional designation 1999 CC3) is a dark Adeonian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 February 1999, by astronomers Walter Cooney and Ethan Kandler at the Highland Road Park Observatory, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The asteroid was named after American astrophysicist Dirk Terrell.
Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) is an astronomical observation facility operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is located in Big Pines, California, in the Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood, north-northeast of Los Angeles, California.
Susannah Lazar is an American medical physicist, amateur astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets.
The Observatory of Saint-Veran is a French astronomical observatory located on the Pic de Château Renard in the municipality of Saint-Véran in the department of Hautes-Alpes in the French Alpes. At 2,930 meter altitude, it is one of the highest observatories in Europe next to the Sphinx Observatory. The Facility is managed by the French amateur astronomy association "AstroQueyras".
Tenagra Observatory and Tenagra Observatory II are astronomical observatories in Cottage Grove, Oregon and Arizona. The observatories house heavily automated robotic telescopes.