Mount Lemmon Observatory

View of the telescopes on the Mount Lemmon summit.

Mount Lemmon Infrared Observatory is an astronomical observatory located approximately 45 miles (73 kilometers) north of the University of Arizona in the Coronado National Forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

Originally the site of the observatory was the command and control center for the Titan II missile silos that were once situated around Tucson, Arizona. It was later used by as a radar base of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. On transfer of the site to the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory the site was converted to an infrared observatory which supported the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. The few remnants of its past military history can be seen in the photo. There is a radar tower near the left center of the photo which was used to track launches from the White Sands, New Mexico and Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. It now stands empty.

The observatory is usually the location of Astronomy Camp.

Telescopes

There are seven telescopes in the Mount Lemmon Observatory. One is a 1.5 meter (60 inch) telescope used by the Catalina Sky Survey on almost every clear night. A second telescope, a 0.6 meter (24 inch) telescope operated by the Mt. Lemmon Sky Center.

Additional telescopes include the Minnesota 1.5 meter, the Jamieson telescope and a robotic telescope operated from South Korea. A new 1 meter robotic telescope is being installed by the Catalina Sky Survey to provide automated follow up observations of newly discovered Near-Earth Objects.

See also

• Mount Lemmon
• Mount Lemmon Survey

External links

• Mount Lemmon SkyCenter - official site
• Mt. Lemmon Observatory Clear Sky Clock

Coordinates: 32°26′31″N 110°47′21″W / 32.4420°N 110.7893°W / 32.4420; -110.7893