SpaceRef - Astronomy - Telescopes And Observatories

SpaceRef - Astronomy - Telescopes And Observatories - Optical Telescopes

Cagliari Astronomical Observatory - "The Cagliari Astronomical Observatory was established as International Latitude Astronomical Station of Carloforte in 1899, a small town of the sardinian island of S. Pietro. It has been, for about 80 years, one of the five international stations devoted to study the Earth rotation and polar motion."

Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST) - "COAST was planned as a coherent array of four telescopes operating in the red and near infra-red, using Michelson interferometry on baselines of up to 100m to give images with a resolution down to 1 milliarcsecond. It was the first instrument of its kind to exploit the techniques of aperture synthesis and closure phase at optical or infra-red wavelengths."

Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) - CFHT is a joint facility of the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. The CFH observatory hosts a 3.6 meter optical/infrared telescope located atop the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

Carnegie Institution Observatories (OCIW) - The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (OCIW) was founded by George Ellery Hale in 1904. Located in Pasadena, California, telescopes are operated at Cerro Las Campanas, Chile.

European Southern Observatory (ESO) - ESO is an intergovernmental, European organisation for astronomical research. It has eight member countries.. ESO operates astronomical observatories in Chile and has its headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany.

Las Campanas Observatory - The Observatory operates 1.0-meter and 2.5-meter telescopes at Las Campanas, Chile. Carnegie Institution of Washington

Magellan Project - "The Magellan Project is a collaboration between the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (OCIW), University of Arizona, Harvard University, University of Michigan, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to construct two 6.5 Meter optical telescopes in the southern hemisphere. The telescopes will be located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, and operated by OCIW."

Maui Space Surveillance Complex (MSSC) - "MSSC is a multi-faceted observatory owned by U.S. Air Force Space Command. The MSSC is situated in the mid-Pacific at the ten-thousand-foot summit of Haleakala and is unsurpassed as an electro-optical site for tracking man-made objects in space, and for conducting experiments which expand the frontiers of our nation's space surveillance program. Due to this high elevation, dry climate, and freedom from light pollution, the site offers virtually year-round observation of satellites, missiles, man-made orbital debris, and astronomical objects."

Palomar 200" Adaptive Optics System - This website focuses on PALAO, a facility instrument for the 5 meter diameter Hale Telescope. PALAO was built by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and corrects for the atmospheric blur of astronomical targets caused by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

The Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (CMT) - "The Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (formerly the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle) is dedicated to carrying out high-precision optical astrometry. It is operated jointly by the Copenhagen University Observatory (CUO), the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (IoA) and the Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada en San Fernando (ROA)."