Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is an astronomical observatory located on the summit of Mt.Cerro Tololo in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Mt. Cerro Pachón about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the southeast. It is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of La Serena, where support facilities are located. The site was identified by a team of scientists from Chile and the United States in 1959, and it was selected in 1962.[1][2] Construction began in 1963 and regular astronomical observations commenced in 1965.[3] Construction of large buildings on Cerro Tololo ended with the completion of the Víctor Blanco Telescope in 1974, but smaller facilities have been built since then. Cerro Pachón is still under development, with two large telescopes (Gemini South and SOAR) inaugurated since 2000, and one in the final stages of construction as of 2023 (the Vera C. Rubin Observatory)

"CTIO" redirects here. For the corporate title, see chief innovation officer.
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Cerro Tololo and the Blanco Telescope viewed from the summit access road
Alternative namesCTIO Edit this on Wikidata
Organization
Observatory code 807 Edit this on Wikidata
LocationCoquimbo Region, Chile
Coordinates30°10′11″S 70°48′23″W
Altitude2,207 m (7,241 ft)
Established1962 Edit this on Wikidata
Websitenoirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/
Telescopes
SOAR Telescope4.1 m reflector
Blanco Telescope4.0 m reflector
SMARTS 1.5-meter1.5 m reflector
SMARTS 1.3-meter1.3 m reflector
SMARTS "Yale" Telescope1.0 m reflector
LCOGTN (u/c)3× 1.0 m reflectors
SMARTS 0.9-meter0.9 m reflector
PROMPT 7 (u/c)0.8 m reflector
Curtis-Schmidt Telescope0.6 m reflector
Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper0.6 m telescope
SARA South Telescope0.6 m reflector
CHASE telescope0.5 m reflector
PROMPT6× 0.4 m reflectors
GONGsolar telescope
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory is located in Chile
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Location of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
  Related media on Commons

The principal telescopes at CTIO are the 4 m Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, named after Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel Blanco, and the 4.1 m Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope, which is situated on Cerro Pachón.[4] Other telescopes on Cerro Tololo include the 1.5 m, 1.3 m, 1.0 m, and 0.9 m telescopes operated by the SMARTS consortium. CTIO also hosts other research projects, such as PROMPT, WHAM, and LCOGTN, providing a platform for access to the southern hemisphere for U.S. and worldwide scientific research.[5]

Organization

CTIO is one of two observatories managed by NOIRLab, the other being Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) near Tucson, Arizona. NOIRLab is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), which owns the property around the two peaks in Chile and at the headquarters in La Serena, Chile. AURA also operates the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Gemini Observatory. The 8.1 m (320 in) Gemini South Telescope located on Cerro Pachón is managed by AURA separately from CTIO for an international consortium.[6][7] The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the funding agency for NOIRLab.[4]

The Small and Medium Research Telescope System (SMARTS) is a consortium formed in 2001 after NOAO, the predecessor to NOIRLab, announced it would no longer support anything smaller than two meters at CTIO.[8] The member institutions of SMARTS now fund and manage observing time on four telescopes that fit that definition. Access has also been purchased by individual scientists.[9] SMARTS contracts with NOIRLab to maintain the telescopes it controls at CTIO, and NOIRLab retains the right to 25% of the observing time, and Chilean scientists retain 10%. SMARTS began managing telescopes in 2003.[8]

CTIOPI is the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory Parallax Investigation. It began in 1999 and uses two telescopes at Cerro Tololo, the SMARTS 1.5 m reflector and the SMARTS 0.9 m reflector. The purpose of CTIOPI is to discover nearby red, white, and brown dwarfs that lurk unidentified in the solar neighborhood. The goal is to discover 300 new southern star systems within 25 parsecs by determining trigonometric parallaxes accurate to 3 milliarcseconds.

Telescopes

SMARTS telescopes

Tenant telescopes

Former telescopes

Future telescopes

Other scientific projects

Discoveries

On the morning of Saturday, December 7, 2013, Luis González, a research assistant at the University of Chile, discovered what would later be confirmed as a supernova by José Maza, an astronomer at University of Chile and a researcher for CATA (Centro de Astrofísica y Tecnologías Afines or “Centre for Astrophysics and Related Technologies”). The supernova is the first discovery to be made by the CATA 500, a robotic telescope designed and operated by a Chilean team located in Santiago, approximately 500 kilometres to the south.[44] It is part of the GLORIA project, which provides open access to astronomers from around the world to a network of remotely operated robotic telescopes.[45] The new supernova lies in the galaxy ESO 365-G16, located 370 million light years from Earth, and has a mass eight times that of the Sun.[46]

Gomez's Hamburger, believed to be a young star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, was discovered in 1985 on sky photographs obtained by Arturo Gomez, support technical staff at the Observatory.[47]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CTIO.
  • General view of CTIO grounds
    General view of CTIO grounds
  • The Colors of the Night Sky
    The Colors of the Night Sky
  • Aerial view looking south
    Aerial view looking south
  • Aerial view looking east
    Aerial view looking east
  • Victor M. Blanco Telescope
    Victor M. Blanco Telescope
  • Swarthmore H-alpha survey telescope
    Swarthmore H-alpha survey telescope
  • Telescopes and other facilities on the summit of Cerro Tololo
    Telescopes and other facilities on the summit of Cerro Tololo
  • Sunset skies at CTIO
    Sunset skies at CTIO
  • The dark cloud-like structures are dusty areas of the Milky Way that absorb visible light
    The dark cloud-like structures are dusty areas of the Milky Way that absorb visible light
  • Morning view of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
    Morning view of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
  • Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope (left)
    Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope (left)
  • The three buildings featured in this image house an important trio of telescopes: the SMARTS 1.0-meter Telescope, the Curtis Schmidt Telescope, and the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope (far right)
    The three buildings featured in this image house an important trio of telescopes: the SMARTS 1.0-meter Telescope, the Curtis Schmidt Telescope, and the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope (far right)
  • The towering Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope and one of the four SMARTS Consortium telescopes, both set against the spectacular backdrop of the early evening sky
    The towering Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope and one of the four SMARTS Consortium telescopes, both set against the spectacular backdrop of the early evening sky
  • The gleaming dome of the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope is flanked by two telescopes of the SMARTS Consortium in this image from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
    The gleaming dome of the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope is flanked by two telescopes of the SMARTS Consortium in this image from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
  • A riot of star trails dominate this striking image from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)
    A riot of star trails dominate this striking image from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)
  • A rare richly colored sunset sky is the backdrop to this image of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)
    A rare richly colored sunset sky is the backdrop to this image of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)
  • A Sky Aglow
    A Sky Aglow
  • A Tendril of Stars
    A Tendril of Stars
  • Wraparound Observatory
    Wraparound Observatory
  • The sky over Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) with the rotation of Earth on its own axis.
    The sky over Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) with the rotation of Earth on its own axis.
  • Cerro Tololo Light Show
    Cerro Tololo Light Show
  • Total Lunar Eclipse over Cerro Tololo
    Total Lunar Eclipse over Cerro Tololo
  • Three telescopes stand sentry under an unusual skyscape in this image from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)
    Three telescopes stand sentry under an unusual skyscape in this image from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)[48]
  • The Circle of Light
    The Circle of Light[49]
  • From the high altitude of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, two astrophotographers captured the elusive sunset phenomenon known as the green flash.
    From the high altitude of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, two astrophotographers captured the elusive sunset phenomenon known as the green flash.
  • NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a program of NOIRLab has published a mammoth survey of the galactic plane of the milky way.
    NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a program of NOIRLab has published a mammoth survey of the galactic plane of the milky way.

See also

References
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  2. "CTIO History | CTIO". Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  3. "OBSERVATORY REPORT: Kitt Peak-Cerro Tololo Inter-American". Astronomical Journal. 71: 229. 1966. Bibcode:1966AJ.....71..229.. doi:10.1086/109912.
  4. "About CTIO | CTIO". Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Archived from the original on 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  5. "Programs & Related Items | CTIO". Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  6. "Media Invited to Gemini South Dedication January 18, 2002, La Serena and Cerro Pachón, Chile". Gemini Observatory. 3 December 2001. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  7. "About The Gemini Observatory". Gemini Observatory. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  8. "SMARTS History | CTIO". Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  9. "Joining SMARTS | CTIO". Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Archived from the original on 2012-04-29. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  10. Goldberg, L. (1976). "Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena, Chile. Observatory reports". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society. 8: 129. Bibcode:1976BAAS....8..129G.
  11. Goldberg, L.; Blanco, V. (1978). "Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena, Chile. Reports". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society. 10: 152. Bibcode:1978BAAS...10..152G.
  12. "SOAR Status — Southern Astrophysics Research Telescope". SOAR. Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  13. Mayall, N. U. (1969). "Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena, Chile. Report 1968-1969". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society. 1: 298. Bibcode:1969BAAS....1..298M.
  14. "2MASS - Telescopes". The University of Massachusetts Amherst Astronomy Department. Archived from the original on 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  15. "The Yale-CTIO Collaboration: Past and Future". National Optical Astronomy Observatory. 1 December 1997. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  16. Lippincott, S. L.; Heintz, W. D. (1975). "Sproul Observatory, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Observatory report". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society. 7: 106. Bibcode:1975BAAS....7..106L.
  17. Mayall, N. U. (1968). "Facilities for Visitors at Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory". Zeitschrift für Astrophysik. 68: 222. Bibcode:1968ZA.....68..222M.
  18. "Lowell 0.6-m Telescope to be Mothballed". National Optical Astronomy Observatory. 1 March 1996. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  19. "A Brief History of SARA". Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  20. "Michigan Astronomy | Observatories: Curtis-Schmidt Telescope". University of Michigan Department of Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  21. "WHAM Description". University of Wisconsin Department of Astronomy. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  22. Hamuy, Mario (2011-05-27). "CHASE: Chilean Automatic Supernova Search" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  23. "Chile forma parte del recién creado "facebook" astronómico mundial su nombre es GLORIA". 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  24. "PROMPT Announcement". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Physics and Astronomy. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  25. "SKYNET News Archives". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Physics and Astronomy. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  26. "NSO/GONG: Site - Cerro Tololo". National Solar Observatory. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  27. "The MEarth Project: Telescopes".
  28. "Cerro Tololo". Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  29. "Update at Chile Site". Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. Archived from the original on 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  30. "Our telescope network expands at Cerro Tololo". Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  31. Kim, Seung-Lee; et al. (15 September 2011), Shaklan, Stuart (ed.), "Wide-field telescope design for the KMTNet project", Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets V. SPIE Conference Proceedings, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets V, 8151: 81511B, Bibcode:2011SPIE.8151E..1BK, doi:10.1117/12.894212, S2CID 121856137
  32. "Installation of Three Mosaic CCD Cameras". KMTNet (Korea Microlensing Telescope Network). 2 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  33. "Evryscope-South Telescope". NOIRLab. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  34. "Instrumentation". SPLUS. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  35. "The 1.2 m Telescopes". Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophyics Millimeter-wave Group. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
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  38. Gaustad, John E.; McCullough, Peter R.; Rosing, Wayne; Van Buren, Dave (2001). "A Robotic Wide‐Angle Hα Survey of the Southern Sky". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 113 (789): 1326–1348. arXiv:astro-ph/0108518. Bibcode:2001PASP..113.1326G. doi:10.1086/323969. S2CID 17231573.
  39. "New White Dwarf Appears on Cerro Tololo". National Optical Astronomy Observatory. 1 March 1997. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  40. Ochoa, Hugo; Norman, Dara (1 September 2006). "The Dwarf Moves to a New Home" (PDF). National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
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  42. "Andes Lidar Observatory". Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  43. "MPEC 2022-B21 : 2022 AP7". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2022-11-01. (K22A07P)
  44. Dramatic supernova find by Chilean team Archived 2014-03-12 at the Wayback Machine thisischile.cl, January 07, 2014, retrieved January 10, 2014
  45. GLORIA project - about gloria-project-eu, retrieved January 12, 2014.
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  47. "Gomez's Hamburger".
  48. "Telescopes Standing Sentry". NOIRLab. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  49. "The Circle of Light". NOIRLab. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
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