Oil Region Astronomical Observatory

Last updated
Oil Region Astronomical Observatory
OrganizationOil Region Astronomical Society
Location Pennsylvania, US
Coordinates 41°28′13″N79°47′01″W / 41.47028°N 79.78361°W / 41.47028; -79.78361
Website www.oras.org/obsphoto.htm
Telescopes
Unnamed Telescope Unknown size reflector
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location of Oil Region Astronomical Observatory

Oil Region Astronomical Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Oil Region Astronomical Society. The Oil Region Astronomical Society was founded in 1993. It is located in Venango County, Pennsylvania (USA).

Contents

History

The Oil Region Astronomical Society started as an idea in March 1991 when a small group of people with a passion for astronomy decided to unite throughout northwest Pennsylvania. These collected efforts led to the formation of the Venango County Astronomy Club, the predecessor of the Oil Region Astronomical Society. Within a short time, the group acquired a lease from Venango County for a parcel of land and began building the observatory. In 1993, the Oil Region Astronomical Observatory opened to the public and remained home to ORAS until January 2015 when the lease was terminated.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitt Peak National Observatory</span> United States astronomical observatory

The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 mi) west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With more than twenty optical and two radio telescopes, it is one of the largest gatherings of astronomical instruments in the Earth's northern hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venango County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Venango County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,454. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1805.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauna Kea Observatories</span> Astronomical observatories in Hawaii

The Mauna Kea Observatories (MKO) are a group of independent astronomical research facilities and large telescope observatories that are located at the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, United States. The facilities are located in a 525-acre (212 ha) special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct", which is located within the 11,228-acre (4,544 ha) Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The Astronomy Precinct was established in 1967 and is located on land protected by the Historical Preservation Act for its significance to Hawaiian culture. The presence and continued construction of telescopes is highly controversial due to Mauna Kea's centrality in native Hawaiian religion and culture, as well as for a variety of environmental reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Sawyer Hogg</span> American-Canadian astronomer (1905–1993)

Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg was an American-Canadian astronomer who pioneered research into globular clusters and variable stars. She was the first female president of several astronomical organizations and a scientist when many universities would not award scientific degrees to women. Her scientific advocacy and journalism included astronomy columns in the Toronto Star and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. She was considered a "great scientist and a gracious person" over a career of sixty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomical Society of the Pacific</span> American scientific and educational organization

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is an American scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889, immediately following the solar eclipse of January 1, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world. It has the legal status of a nonprofit organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Dunlap Observatory</span> Observatory

The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) is an astronomical observatory site in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1935, it was owned and operated by the University of Toronto until 2008. It was then acquired by the city of Richmond Hill, which provides a combination of heritage preservation, unique recreation opportunities and a celebration of the astronomical history of the site. Its primary instrument is a 74-inch (1.88 m) reflector telescope, at one time the second-largest telescope in the world, and still the largest in Canada. Several other telescopes are also located at the site, which formerly also included a small radio telescope. The scientific legacy of the David Dunlap Observatory continues in the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, a research institute at the University of Toronto established in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vatican Observatory</span> Observatory

The Vatican Observatory is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kopernik Observatory & Science Center</span> Public observatory in Vestal, New York, U.S.

The Kopernik Observatory & Science Center (KOSC), is a public observatory in Vestal, New York opened to the public on 16 June 1974 by the Kopernik Society of Broome County to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in 1973. Its mission is to offer hands-on investigations and outreach programs for educating all ages about astronomy and science using advanced optical telescopes, computers and other tools. It is the first science laboratory facility in New York State designed for K-12 teachers, students and their families, and has been one of the best-sited and best equipped public observatories in the Northeast United States for nearly the last 40 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haleakalā Observatory</span> Astronomical observatory on Maui Island, Hawaii, USA

The Haleakalā Observatory, also known as the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, is Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory. It is located on the island of Maui and is owned by the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaiʻi, which operates some of the facilities on the site and leases portions to other organizations. Tenants include the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGTN). At over 3,050 meters (10,010 ft) in altitude, the summit of Haleakalā is above one third of the Earths's troposphere and has excellent astronomical seeing conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegheny Observatory</span> Research institution in Pennsylvania, US

The Allegheny Observatory is an American astronomical research institution, a part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. The facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a Pennsylvania state and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation historic landmark.

Leuschner Observatory, originally called the Students' Observatory, is an observatory jointly operated by the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University. The observatory was built in 1886 on the Berkeley campus. For many years, it was directed by Armin Otto Leuschner, for whom the observatory was renamed in 1951. In 1965, it was relocated to its present home in Lafayette, California, approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the Berkeley campus. In 2012, the physics and astronomy department of San Francisco State University became a partner.

The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh (AAAP) is an Astronomical Organization founded on June 9, 1929, by Chester B. Roe and Leo J. Scanlon. Since its establishment, it has grown to have over 500 members and operates two observatories in the Pittsburgh region: the Nicholas E. Wagman Observatory and the Mingo Creek Park Observatory. The club also sponsors many star parties that are open to the public throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Observatory, Edinburgh</span> Observatory

The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) is an astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) of STFC, the Institute for Astronomy of the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh, and the ROE Visitor Centre.

Ralph A. Worley Observatory is an astronomical observatory currently under lease to Shreveport-Bossier Astronomical Society. It was built in 1964 by the Shreveport-Bossier Astronomical Society and later donated to the Caddo Parish School System. It is located 8 miles south of Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pithole, Pennsylvania</span> Ghost town in Pennsylvania, United States

Pithole, or Pithole City, is a ghost town in Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States, about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Oil Creek State Park and the Drake Well Museum, the site of the first commercial oil well in the United States. Pithole's sudden growth and equally rapid decline, as well as its status as a "proving ground" of sorts for the burgeoning petroleum industry, made it one of the most famous of oil boomtowns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil Creek State Park</span> Former oilfield in Pennsylvania

Oil Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 6,250 acres (2,529 ha) in Cherrytree, Cornplanter and Oil Creek Townships, Venango County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is adjacent to Drake Well Museum, the site of the first successful commercial oil well in the United States, that was drilled under the direction of Colonel Edwin Drake. Oil Creek State Park follows Oil Creek, between Titusville and Oil City, and is on Pennsylvania Route 8. While the creek is the park's main recreational attraction, it also contains the sites of the first oil boomtown and much of Pennsylvania's original oil industry. The park contains a museum, tableaux, and trails to help visitors understand the history of the oil industry there, and an excursion train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Lockyer Observatory</span> Observatory

The Norman Lockyer Observatory, the Lockyer Technology Centre, and the Planetarium, is a public access optical observatory 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Sidmouth, East Devon in South West England. It houses a number of historical optical telescopes, including the Lockyer Telescope, and is operated by Norman Lockyer Observatory Society (NLOS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Société astronomique de France</span> Astronomical French organization

The Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law. Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its purpose is to promote the development and practice of astronomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astronomical Society of New South Wales</span> Amateur astronomy club in the state of New South Wales, Australia

The Astronomical Society of New South Wales (ASNSW) is an amateur astronomy club in the state of New South Wales, Australia, founded in 1954.

Frank Bradshaw "Brad" Wood FRAS was an astronomer, specializing in photometry.

References

  1. "Oil Region Astronomical Observatory Homepage". ORAS Observatory. Archived from the original on December 6, 2005. Retrieved December 15, 2005.