Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. Among the subjects studied are the Sun, other stars, galaxies, extrasolar planets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background. Emissions from these objects are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists apply concepts and methods from many disciplines of physics, including classical mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics.
The Five College Radio Astronomical Observatory (FCRAO) was a radio astronomy observatory located on a peninsula in the Quabbin Reservoir. It was sited in the town of New Salem, Massachusetts on land that was originally part of Prescott, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1969 by the Five College Astronomy Department. From its inception, the observatory has emphasized research, the development of technology and the training of students—both graduate and undergraduate.
The McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near the unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facilities on Mount Fowlkes, approximately 1.3 kilometers (0.81 mi) to the northeast. The observatory is part of the University of Texas at Austin. It is an organized research unit of the College of Natural Sciences.
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) is an astrophysics research institute jointly operated by the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the CfA leads a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, Earth and space sciences, as well as science education. The CfA either leads or participates in the development and operations of more than fifteen ground- and space-based astronomical research observatories across the electromagnetic spectrum, including the forthcoming Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA's Great Observatories.
Meyer–Womble Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Denver. It is located near the summit of Mount Evans in the Arapaho National Forest approximately 60 kilometers (37 mi) west of Denver, Colorado (USA). At an elevation of 4,326 meters (14,193 ft), it is the third-highest optical/infrared observatory in the world, and was the highest until the Indian Astronomical Observatory opened in 2001.
Mount Laguna Observatory (MLO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by San Diego State University (SDSU). The telescope was operated in partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) until 2000. MLO is located approximately 75 kilometers (47 mi) east of downtown San Diego, California (USA) on the eastern edge of the Cleveland National Forest in the Laguna Mountains on the SDSU Astronomy Campus near the hamlet of Mount Laguna. MLO was dedicated on June 19, 1968, seven years after SDSU's Department of Astronomy became an independent academic department of SDSU's College of Sciences. The dedication took place during the 1968 summer meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Currently SDSU is working with University of Kansas (KU), and UNC Chapel Hill on various projects.
University of New Hampshire Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of New Hampshire. It is located in Durham, New Hampshire (USA) near the old Durham Reservoir. The main telescope is a 0.35 m (14 in) Schmidt–Cassegrain reflecting telescope donated to the observatory in 1984. It is used only for educational purposes.
Stull Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Alfred University. Named after Dr. John Stull, who helped establish the observatory in 1966, it is located in Alfred, New York (USA). It is notable for housing seven independently housed telescopes ranging in size from 8 to 32 inches. The largest, the Austin-Fellows 32 inch Newtonian Reflector is tied with the Vassar College Class of 1951 Observatory for the rank of second largest optical telescope in New York state after the 40 inch telescope at SUNY Oneonta College Observatory. Telescopes at the observatory are regularly opened to the public. The observatory is also used for those pursuing a minor in astronomy or a concentration in astrophysics.
Moore Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by University of Louisville. It is located on the Horner Wildlife Refuge in Oldham County, Kentucky (USA) approximately 20 kilometers (12 mi) northeast of Louisville. It opened in 1978, and was dedicated to Walter Lee Moore, a Professor of Mathematics at U of L from 1929 to 1967.
Shattuck Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States.
Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu was an Indian astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union. Bappu helped to establish several astronomical institutions in India, including the Vainu Bappu Observatory which is named after him, and he also contributed to the establishment of the modern Indian Institute of Astrophysics. In 1957, he discovered the Wilson-Bappu effect jointly with American astronomer Olin Chaddock Wilson.
Chile can be considered astronomy's world capital. In 2011, Chile was home to 42% of the world's astronomical infrastructure consisting mostly of telescopes. In 2015 it expected to contain more than 50% of the global infrastructure by 2030. In the Atacama desert region of northern Chile, the skies are exceptionally clear and dry for more than 300 days a year. These conditions have attracted the world's scientific community to develop in the Atacama desert the most ambitious astronomical projects in the history of mankind.
The University of Alabama Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The new domed observatory was built atop Gallalee Hall, completed in 1949. It replaced the Old Observatory, which had been in use from 1849 until the 1890s. Initially equipped with a 10-inch (0.25 m) refracting telescope, this was the university's primary telescope from 1950 until 2004. The old telescope was removed and then sold to an antique telescope collector to make way for the new instrument. A new 16-inch (0.41 m) Ritchey-Chrétien reflector, manufactured by DFM Engineering, was installed in 2005.
The Orchard Hill Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at the highest point on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. Constructed in 1965, the observatory is a red brick building with a 16-inch Cassegrain reflector optical telescope. It is used for several community events and is regularly open for public viewing on Thursday nights. Originally the observatory was home to a 20” telescope, given to the department by an avid amateur who lived in central Massachusetts. It was a 1/10 scale model (loosely) of a larger 200” scope. Eventually, a crack was spotted during one of the re-aluminizings of the 20” mirror and the scope was no more. In the meantime, the department had been granted money associated with its move from Hasbrouck to the Grad Research Tower to buy a small telescope and put in on top of the GRC. The GRC had a small "isolation" pad built on its roof, which was supposed to be a mount for the scope, which could be accessed via a small open elevator. However, the GRC had terrible noise and gross vibration problems. The isolation pad never worked and there were too many safety concerns about using the roof of the building for observing. A 16" telescope was later bought from Competition Associates. That scope arrived in 1976 but because of the problems with using the top of the GRC, the scope was never mounted there. In fact, it sat in the basement of Hasbrouck for perhaps 10 years, becoming known as the "Subterranean Telescope.” This situation finally led to the 20" being disassembled and the 16" scope being moved to Orchard Hill and installed in the dome there. The 16" was a major improvement in usability. As to what happened to the 20", the mirror may have been stored in the Astronomy Research Facility but the drive was most likely not kept.
Three College Observatory (TCO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Guilford College (GC). Built in 1979, it is located 10 kilometers (6 mi) south of Graham, North Carolina (USA), in the Cane Creek Mountains. The observatory, designed by W. Edward Jenkins, was funded with a $250,000 grant, however, it would cost $1.5 million to replace it today. The observatory's primary instrument is a 32 in (81 cm) Ritchey-Chrétien reflecting telescope attached to an equatorial mount. It was built by Sigma Research and installed at TCO in 1981. TCO is used by UNCG for instruction and outreach. It continues to be the largest telescope in North Carolina and ones of the largest telescopes in the southeast.
The SFA Observatory (SFA) is an astronomical observatory located 17 km (11 mi) north of Nacogdoches, Texas (USA). The observatory is owned and operated by Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), and opened in 1976. It is used for undergraduate instruction and for graduate-level research.
The Dark Sky Observatory (DSO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Appalachian State University (ASU). It is located 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) east of Deep Gap, North Carolina (USA), off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and 32 kilometers (20 mi) east of the ASU campus in Boone, North Carolina It was established in 1981, and is used for research, instruction, and public viewing events. The Cline Visitors' Center was completed in 2011.
The Willard L. Eccles Observatory (WEO) is an astronomical observatory located on Frisco Peak in the San Francisco Mountains of Utah (USA), about 27 km (17 mi) northwest of Milford, Utah. The observatory is owned and operated by the University of Utah, and opened in 2010. The observatory features a 0.8 m (31 in) Ritchey-Chretien telescope built by DFM Engineering on an equatorial mount. The construction of the observatory was funded by donations from the Willard L. Eccles Foundation and the E.R. & E.W. Dumke Foundation.
West Mountain Observatory (WMO) is an astronomical observatory located on West Mountain near the community of West Mountain, Utah United States, about 22 km (14 mi) southwest of Provo. The observatory is owned and operated by Brigham Young University (BYU), and opened in 1981 after increasing light pollution reduced the utility of the Orson Pratt Observatory on the BYU campus. The first year of observing with the new 0.9 m telescope included imaging of intrinsic variable stars and high-mass X-ray binaries. Past research topics include light curve analysis of Delta Scuti variable stars and identifying pre-main-sequence stars by searching for H-alpha emitting objects.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a large telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes. The EHT project combines data from several very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) stations around Earth, which form a combined array with an angular resolution sufficient to observe objects the size of a supermassive black hole's event horizon. The project's observational targets include the two black holes with the largest angular diameter as observed from Earth: the black hole at the center of the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87), and Sagittarius A* at the center of the Milky Way.
