Mount Laguna Observatory

Mount Laguna Observatory (MLO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by San Diego State University (SDSU).[1] The telescope was operated in partnership with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) until 2000. MLO is located approximately 75 kilometers (47 mi) east of downtown San Diego, California (USA) on the eastern edge of the Cleveland National Forest in the Laguna Mountains on the SDSU Astronomy Campus near the hamlet of Mount Laguna. MLO was dedicated on June 19, 1968, seven years after SDSU's Department of Astronomy[2] became an independent academic department of SDSU's College of Sciences. The dedication took place during the 1968 summer meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.[3] Currently SDSU is working with University of Kansas (KU), and UNC Chapel Hill on various projects.

Mount Laguna Observatory
Dome of the Smith (24") Telescope at MLO
OrganizationSan Diego State University
LocationMount Laguna, California
Coordinates32.8424°N 116.4280°W / 32.8424; -116.4280
Altitude1,859 meters (6,099 ft)
Established1968 (1968)
WebsiteMLO Facilities
Telescopes
Illinois Telescope1.1 m reflector
Smith Telescope0.6 m reflector
Buller Visitors' Telescope0.5 m reflector
Claud Telescope1.25 m reflector
EvryScopeMultiple Aperture Survey
Mount Laguna Observatory is located in the United States
Mount Laguna Observatory
Location of Mount Laguna Observatory
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Telescopes
  • The 1.06 m (42 in) MLO 40-inch Telescope is a Cassegrain reflector built by Astro Mechanics in 1966. It was originally fitted with a 1.02 m (40 in) primary mirror which has since been replaced. It is known informally as the Illinois telescope because it was located at UIUC's Prairie Observatory until 1981.[4]
  • The 0.6 m (24 in) Clifford Smith 24-inch Telescope is a Cassegrain reflector. It was built by the SDSU Department of Astronomy and used at the main campus from 1961 to 1966. In 1971 it was installed at MLO after modifications.[5][6]
  • The 0.52 m (20 in) Reginald Buller 21-inch Visitors' Telescope was built in 1950 by J.W. Fecker, Inc. It was donated to SDSU by Reginald Buller and dedicated at MLO in 1988. It is used primarily by students for direct viewing, and for outreach.[7]
  • The EvryScope is a Multiple aperture (24x) .062 m (2.4 in) survey telescope taking Appx. 8000 square degree fields every two minutes. It is a collaboration between SDSU and UNC.[8]

Future telescopes
  • The 1.25 m (49 in) 50-inch Phillips Claud Telescope.[9] Originally planned in 2009, installation of the telescope began in late 2013.[10] As of November 2016, the telescope installation had not been completed.[11]

Former telescopes
  • A 0.4 m (16 in) telescope built by Boller and Chivens was the first telescope at the observatory, and was replaced by the Claud telescope.[12]
  • A 0.4 m (16 in) telescope built by Nishimura and used by visitors was moved to the UCSD campus in 1988. It was replaced by the Buller telescope.[13]
  • The 1.0 m (39 in) Ultra-Light Technology for Research in Astronomy (ULTRA) telescope was a test bed for lightweight carbon-fiber mirrors. It was located in the 0.4 m Boller and Chivens building from 2006 until 2008. Before it was installed, the original dome was replaced with a larger one, and the mount upgraded.[12] The project was collaboration of SDSU, KU, Dartmouth College, and Composite Mirror Applications, Inc. (CMA) of Tucson, Arizona.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Home". www.sdsu.edu.
  2. "Department of Astronomy". February 2, 2023.
  3. Smith, C. E.; Nelson, Burt (1969). "The Mount Laguna Observatory of San Diego College". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 81 (478): 74. Bibcode:1969PASP...81...74S. doi:10.1086/128742. JSTOR 40674695.
  4. "MLO 40-inch Telescope". San Diego State University Department of Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  5. "Smith 24-inch Telescope". San Diego State University Department of Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  6. "The Clifford Smith 24-inch Telescope". San Diego State University Department of Astronomy. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  7. "Buller 21-inch Telescope". San Diego State University Department of Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  8. "50 GPix, 20% of the sky every second". 50 GPix, 20% of the sky every second. December 6, 2022.
  9. "New Eye in the Sky". SD Metro. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  10. Quintero, Ashley (23 February 2015). "SDSU telescope to yield new insight". Daily Aztec. San Diego State University. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  11. Yribarren, Carly (22 November 2016). "Shooting for the Stars". Daily Aztec. San Diego State University. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  12. "The 50-inch Phillips Claud Telescope". San Diego State University Department of Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  13. "Annual Reports of Astronomical Observatories and Departments: San Diego State University, Astronomy Department and Mount Laguna Observatory". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 21: 565. 1989. Bibcode:1989BAAS...21..565.
  14. "MLO Telescope Project - Physics and Astronomy". University of Kansas Department of Physics & Astronomy. Archived from the original on 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
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