Steward Observatory
Encyclopedia
The University of Arizona
's Steward Observatory's main office is located on the University's campus and is closely tied to the Department of Astronomy
. Established in 1916 by its first director, Andrew Ellicott Douglass, and a $60,000 bequest made by Lavinia Steward in memory of her late husband Henry B. Steward, the Steward Observatory now owns and operates the Multiple Mirror Telescope, Mount Graham International Observatory
and a number of other major optical and sub-millimetre telescopes at several sites in the state, such as on Kitt Peak
, Mount Hopkins
and Mount Lemmon
.
Steward Observatory employs over 300 people, including roughly 100 Ph.D. astronomers, 40 graduate students, as well as many additional undergraduate students and support personnel.
Steward Observatory includes several large research groups.
The Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics is at the forefront of developments in adaptive optics. The infrared group built the NICMOS
instrument for the Hubble Space Telescope
and the MIPS instrument for the Spitzer Space Telescope
. In addition, Steward's Mirror Laboratory, located on the east side of Arizona Stadium
, has pioneered new techniques of large mirror production, including spin-casting lightweight, honeycomb mirrors. The Mirror Laboratory completed the second mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope
in September, 2005. The Mirror Lab is currently building the first off-axis 8.4 diameter meter mirror for the proposed Giant Magellan Telescope
; the GMT design calls for 7 mirrors, 6 of them off-axis, creating an effective aperture of 21.4 meter. The Mirror Lab is also currently making the 8.4 meter diameter primary/tertiary mirror for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
.
The 61-inch aperture reflecting Kuiper telescope resolved Pluto and Charon
. It had a first light in 1965, and was used for Lunar studies, producing high resolution maps of the lunar surfrace for NASA.
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
's Steward Observatory's main office is located on the University's campus and is closely tied to the Department of Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. Established in 1916 by its first director, Andrew Ellicott Douglass, and a $60,000 bequest made by Lavinia Steward in memory of her late husband Henry B. Steward, the Steward Observatory now owns and operates the Multiple Mirror Telescope, Mount Graham International Observatory
Mount Graham International Observatory
Mount Graham International Observatory is a division of Steward Observatory the research arm for the Department of Astronomy at The University of Arizona. It is located in southeast Arizona's Pinaleno Mountains near Mount Graham....
and a number of other major optical and sub-millimetre telescopes at several sites in the state, such as on Kitt Peak
Kitt Peak
Kitt Peak is a mountain in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the location of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. The radio telescope at the Observatory is one of ten dishes comprising the Very Long Baseline Array ....
, Mount Hopkins
Mount Hopkins (Arizona)
Mount Hopkins is a mountain in Santa Cruz County, Arizona part of the Santa Rita Mountains range. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is located on it. It is within the Coronado National Forest and was named after Gilbert Hopkins who was killed nearby in 1865 during the Battle of Fort Buchanan....
and Mount Lemmon
Mount Lemmon
Mount Lemmon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually. Mount Lemmon was named in honor of botanist Sarah Lemmon, who trekked to the top of...
.
Steward Observatory employs over 300 people, including roughly 100 Ph.D. astronomers, 40 graduate students, as well as many additional undergraduate students and support personnel.
Steward Observatory includes several large research groups.
The Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics is at the forefront of developments in adaptive optics. The infrared group built the NICMOS
Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer
The Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer is a scientific instrument for infrared astronomy, installed on the Hubble Space Telescope , operating from 1997 to 1999, and from 2002 to 2008...
instrument for the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
and the MIPS instrument for the Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
. In addition, Steward's Mirror Laboratory, located on the east side of Arizona Stadium
Arizona Stadium
Arizona Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is the home field of the Arizona Wildcats of the Pacific-12 Conference, and its current seating capacity is 57,803....
, has pioneered new techniques of large mirror production, including spin-casting lightweight, honeycomb mirrors. The Mirror Laboratory completed the second mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope
Large Binocular Telescope
Large Binocular Telescope is an optical telescope for astronomy located on Mount Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory...
in September, 2005. The Mirror Lab is currently building the first off-axis 8.4 diameter meter mirror for the proposed Giant Magellan Telescope
Giant Magellan Telescope
The Giant Magellan Telescope is a ground-based extremely large telescope planned for completion in 2018. It will consist of seven diameter primary segments, with the resolving power of a primary mirror and collecting area equivalent to one...
; the GMT design calls for 7 mirrors, 6 of them off-axis, creating an effective aperture of 21.4 meter. The Mirror Lab is also currently making the 8.4 meter diameter primary/tertiary mirror for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is a planned wide-field "survey" reflecting telescope that will photograph the available sky every three nights. The LSST is currently in its design and development phase and will achieve engineering first light four years after construction starts...
.
The 61-inch aperture reflecting Kuiper telescope resolved Pluto and Charon
Charon (moon)
Charon is the largest satellite of the dwarf planet Pluto. It was discovered in 1978 at the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station. Following the 2005 discovery of two other natural satellites of Pluto , Charon may also be referred to as Pluto I...
. It had a first light in 1965, and was used for Lunar studies, producing high resolution maps of the lunar surfrace for NASA.