Andrew Yee
September 27th 05, 06:41 PM
NEWS! From the NAVAL OBSERVATORY
Information Contact:
Dr. Alice Monet, USNO Flagstaff Station
(928) 779-5132
For immediate release: September 16, 2005
Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station Celebrates First Half Century
This month, the U.S. Naval Observatory's Flagstaff Station will celebrate
the 50th anniversary of its establishment as the USNO's dark-sky observing
site. This milestone will be marked by a public Open House, followed by an
official ceremony and commemoration on September 21st at the Flagstaff
Station. Representatives of the U.S. Navy, government and community
leaders, and members of astronomical institutions from Arizona and across
the country will gather at the observatory to celebrate 50 years of
achievement and service to the astronomical community and the nation. The
Open House will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 PM as a way of saying "thank
you" and to recognize the support of the City of Flagstaff, Coconino
County and the State of Arizona, which is internationally recognized for
its leadership in astronomical research. It will feature tours of the
Station's main buildings and telescopes and is free to all visitors.
Established in 1830 to support the navigational needs of the fledgling
U.S. Navy, the Naval Observatory was largely dependent on visual observing
while the rest of the astronomical world began embracing the exciting new
technology of photography. In an effort to revitalize its mission, the
Observatory embarked on a modernization campaign in the 1920s. At that
time, a new telescope design, developed by George Willis Ritchey and Henri
Chrétien, was being recognized as a major improvement over traditional
reflecting telescopes, providing a very large field of view largely free
of image distortions that plagued the older designs. Funding was
eventually secured to build a 40-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, the
largest ever built up to that time, and the telescope was fabricated and
installed at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC in 1934. Ritchey
himself supervised the construction.
Unfortunately, local conditions in Washington had deteriorated, hindering
the unique capabilities of this instrument, and for nearly 15 years it
produced little useful data. This state of affairs changed dramatically
with the hiring of John S. Hall, who had until that time been associated
with academic institutions. He was offered a position at the Naval
Observatory as Director of the Equatorial Division, with the promise that
most of his time could be spent in astrophysical research. Upon arriving
at USNO, Hall immediately made use of the 40-inch telescope to make the
important discovery of polarization of starlight by the interstellar
medium. Other groundbreaking research followed, but it was becoming
obvious that the bright night skies in the nation's capital were severely
limiting observations. The telescope would have to be relocated to a more
favorable environment if it was ever to achieve its full potential.
Site testing teams were sent out to promising locations across the West,
including Lick Observatory and Mt. Wilson in California, McDonald
Observatory in Texas, the Tucson area, and Lowell Observatory in
Flagstaff, Arizona. Ultimately, these site tests lead to the selection of
a hilltop five miles west of Flagstaff, both for its excellent observing
conditions and other important factors, such as accessibility and the
support of the staff at nearly Lowell Observatory, a relationship that
continues to this day. The 40-inch telescope was transferred to Flagstaff
in late September, 1955, and was quickly installed and brought into full
operation.
In the years following the establishment of the Flagstaff Station several
new telescopes have been built at the site. These include the 61-inch Kaj
Aa. Strand Astrometric Reflector, the largest of its kind in the world; an
8-inch automated transit telescope; and, most recently, a 1.3-meter
reflector optimized for wide-field astrometry of cool infrared objects.
The venerable 40-inch telescope continues to be used for a number of
research projects.
The Flagstaff Station also supports the Navy Prototype Optical
Interferometer (NPOI) in collaboration with Lowell Observatory and the
Naval Research Laboratory. NPOI combines light from up to 6 smaller
telescopes to produce high resolution "zoom lens" views of star systems
and the apparent discs of stars. It is also used to measure ultra-precise
positions of bright stars for navigational purposes.
Flagstaff Station telescopes have produced the fundamental reference star
catalogs used by many Department of Defense programs. Precise astrometry
supports weapons guidance, targeting, and space surveillance requirements.
These data also provided critical navigation data for NASA missions, such
as the recent and hugely successful Mars Exploration Rovers and the Deep
Impact mission to Comet Tempel-1. Using the 61-inch telescope, Charon, the
only known moon of Pluto, was discovered in 1978. In 2002 the coldest
known brown dwarf star was discovered by a Flagstaff Station astronomer.
From its humble beginnings as a small site for an aging telescope, the
Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station has evolved into the most respected
astrometric observatory in the world.
For further information on the Flagstaff Station, its telescopes, and its
research projects, please visit our website at
http://www.nofs.navy.mil
Information Contact:
Dr. Alice Monet, USNO Flagstaff Station
(928) 779-5132
For immediate release: September 16, 2005
Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station Celebrates First Half Century
This month, the U.S. Naval Observatory's Flagstaff Station will celebrate
the 50th anniversary of its establishment as the USNO's dark-sky observing
site. This milestone will be marked by a public Open House, followed by an
official ceremony and commemoration on September 21st at the Flagstaff
Station. Representatives of the U.S. Navy, government and community
leaders, and members of astronomical institutions from Arizona and across
the country will gather at the observatory to celebrate 50 years of
achievement and service to the astronomical community and the nation. The
Open House will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 PM as a way of saying "thank
you" and to recognize the support of the City of Flagstaff, Coconino
County and the State of Arizona, which is internationally recognized for
its leadership in astronomical research. It will feature tours of the
Station's main buildings and telescopes and is free to all visitors.
Established in 1830 to support the navigational needs of the fledgling
U.S. Navy, the Naval Observatory was largely dependent on visual observing
while the rest of the astronomical world began embracing the exciting new
technology of photography. In an effort to revitalize its mission, the
Observatory embarked on a modernization campaign in the 1920s. At that
time, a new telescope design, developed by George Willis Ritchey and Henri
Chrétien, was being recognized as a major improvement over traditional
reflecting telescopes, providing a very large field of view largely free
of image distortions that plagued the older designs. Funding was
eventually secured to build a 40-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, the
largest ever built up to that time, and the telescope was fabricated and
installed at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC in 1934. Ritchey
himself supervised the construction.
Unfortunately, local conditions in Washington had deteriorated, hindering
the unique capabilities of this instrument, and for nearly 15 years it
produced little useful data. This state of affairs changed dramatically
with the hiring of John S. Hall, who had until that time been associated
with academic institutions. He was offered a position at the Naval
Observatory as Director of the Equatorial Division, with the promise that
most of his time could be spent in astrophysical research. Upon arriving
at USNO, Hall immediately made use of the 40-inch telescope to make the
important discovery of polarization of starlight by the interstellar
medium. Other groundbreaking research followed, but it was becoming
obvious that the bright night skies in the nation's capital were severely
limiting observations. The telescope would have to be relocated to a more
favorable environment if it was ever to achieve its full potential.
Site testing teams were sent out to promising locations across the West,
including Lick Observatory and Mt. Wilson in California, McDonald
Observatory in Texas, the Tucson area, and Lowell Observatory in
Flagstaff, Arizona. Ultimately, these site tests lead to the selection of
a hilltop five miles west of Flagstaff, both for its excellent observing
conditions and other important factors, such as accessibility and the
support of the staff at nearly Lowell Observatory, a relationship that
continues to this day. The 40-inch telescope was transferred to Flagstaff
in late September, 1955, and was quickly installed and brought into full
operation.
In the years following the establishment of the Flagstaff Station several
new telescopes have been built at the site. These include the 61-inch Kaj
Aa. Strand Astrometric Reflector, the largest of its kind in the world; an
8-inch automated transit telescope; and, most recently, a 1.3-meter
reflector optimized for wide-field astrometry of cool infrared objects.
The venerable 40-inch telescope continues to be used for a number of
research projects.
The Flagstaff Station also supports the Navy Prototype Optical
Interferometer (NPOI) in collaboration with Lowell Observatory and the
Naval Research Laboratory. NPOI combines light from up to 6 smaller
telescopes to produce high resolution "zoom lens" views of star systems
and the apparent discs of stars. It is also used to measure ultra-precise
positions of bright stars for navigational purposes.
Flagstaff Station telescopes have produced the fundamental reference star
catalogs used by many Department of Defense programs. Precise astrometry
supports weapons guidance, targeting, and space surveillance requirements.
These data also provided critical navigation data for NASA missions, such
as the recent and hugely successful Mars Exploration Rovers and the Deep
Impact mission to Comet Tempel-1. Using the 61-inch telescope, Charon, the
only known moon of Pluto, was discovered in 1978. In 2002 the coldest
known brown dwarf star was discovered by a Flagstaff Station astronomer.
From its humble beginnings as a small site for an aging telescope, the
Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station has evolved into the most respected
astrometric observatory in the world.
For further information on the Flagstaff Station, its telescopes, and its
research projects, please visit our website at
http://www.nofs.navy.mil