Pico dos Dias Observatory
Encyclopedia
| Organization | LNA (Brazilian) |
|---|---|
| Location | Minas Gerais Minas Gerais Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the... , Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
| Coordinates | 22°32′4"S 45°34′57"W |
| Altitude | 1,864 meters (6,115 feet) |
| Webpage | http://www.lna.br/opd/opd_e.html |
| Telescopes | |
| Perkin-Elmer | 1.6 meter Cassegrain reflector |
| Boller and Chivens Boller and Chivens Boller and Chivens was an American manufacturer of high-quality telescopes and spectrographs founded about 1946 by Harry B. Boller and Clyde C. Chivens . Headquartered in South Pasadena, California, the company was acquired in 1965 by Perkin-Elmer... | 0.6 meter Ritchey-Chrétien reflector |
| Zeiss Jena | 0.6 meter Cassegrain reflector |
The Pico dos Dias Observatory or OPD is an astronomical
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
owned and operated by LNA or the National Astrophysical Laboratory of Brazil. It is located in southern Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, 37km from Itajubá
Itajubá
Itajubá is a city and municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil.It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 , with a population of approximately 86,000 people...
.
Equipment
The observatory has three telescopes. The largest is a 1.6 meter cassegrain reflector which first became operational in 1981. Then there is 60 centimeter Ritchey-Chrétien telescope which is jointly used by LNA and the University of São PauloUniversity of São Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...
. The third telescope was purchased through coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
trade with East Germany, and is another 0.6 meter cassegrain type telescope.