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Lowell Observatory, Anderson Mesa Station (IAU
International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy....
 code 688) was established in 1959 as a dark-sky observing site for Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory is an astronomy observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory is among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965....
. Anderson Mesa is now home to several large reflecting telescopes that are used for observing programs such as LONEOS. The site is located about 12 miles southeast of Lowell's main campus on Mars Hill in Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In July 2006, the city's estimated population was 58,213. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was estimated at 127,450 in 2007....
.


NPOI is an optical astronomical interferometer
Astronomical interferometer

An astronomical interferometer is an array of telescopes or mirror segments acting together to probe structures with higher resolution. Astronomical interferometers are widely used for optical astronomy, infrared astronomy, submillimetre astronomy and radio astronomy....
 with a notably large maximum baseline.






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Lowell Observatory, Anderson Mesa Station (IAU
International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy....
 code 688) was established in 1959 as a dark-sky observing site for Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory

Lowell Observatory is an astronomy observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory is among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965....
. Anderson Mesa is now home to several large reflecting telescopes that are used for observing programs such as LONEOS. The site is located about 12 miles southeast of Lowell's main campus on Mars Hill in Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In July 2006, the city's estimated population was 58,213. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was estimated at 127,450 in 2007....
.

Telescopes

  • The 72-inch (1.8 m) Perkins Telescope, shared with Boston University
    Boston University

    Boston University is a private nonsectarian university located in Boston, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. Although chartered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1869, Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of the Newbury Biblical Institute in Newbury, Vermont in 1839....
     and moved to Anderson Mesa in 1961 from Perkins Observatory
    Perkins Observatory

    Perkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University....
     in Delaware, Ohio
    Delaware, Ohio

    The City of Delaware is in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio. The municipality is located near the center of the state of Ohio, about 20 miles north of Columbus, Ohio....
     (originally a 69-inch mirror, then the largest single piece of glass ever cast, a distinction that may still hold to this day)
  • The 42-inch (1.1 m) John Hall Telescope
  • A 31-inch (79 cm) telescope, originally used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in a Moon-mapping project, later refurbished for use by undergraduates and the public
  • The 24-inch (60 cm) Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search
    Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search

    'Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search' was a project designed to discover asteroids and comets that orbit near the Earth. The project, funded by NASA, was directed by Dr....
     (LONEOS) Schmidt telescope, used in the search for asteroid
    Asteroid

    Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
    s and other near-earth object
    Near-Earth object

    A Near-Earth object is a Solar System object whose orbit brings it into close proximity with the Earth.All NEOs have a perihelion < 1.3 Astronomical unit) ....
    s
  • The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer
    Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer

    The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer is an interferometer operated by the US Naval Observatory, the Naval Research Laboratory and The Lowell Observatory....
     (NPOI), a joint venture of the Lowell Observatory
    Lowell Observatory

    Lowell Observatory is an astronomy observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory is among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965....
    , the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO), and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)


NPOI

The NPOI is an optical astronomical interferometer
Astronomical interferometer

An astronomical interferometer is an array of telescopes or mirror segments acting together to probe structures with higher resolution. Astronomical interferometers are widely used for optical astronomy, infrared astronomy, submillimetre astronomy and radio astronomy....
 with a notably large maximum baseline. It is a Y configuration of three 50 cm optical siderostats. The inner fixed stations are used for astrometry
Astrometry

Astrometry is the branch of astronomy that relates to precise measurements and explanations of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies....
 while stations on the outer arms, out to an eventual separation of more than 300 m, are used for imaging star
Star

A star is a massive, luminous ball of Plasma that is held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth....
s. The stations are connected by vacuum
Vacuum

A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty....
 beam lines. Fast delay lines in the main control building and long delay lines outside are used to adjust the optical phases to allow coherent combinations of up to six siderostats. Used for astrometry and astronomical imaging, the NPOI is a distributed aperture optical telescope. It is operated for astrometry by the USNO. Research into optical imaging and astronomical research is conducted by the NRL.

Funding for the NPOI was initiated by the Oceanographer of the Navy and the Office of Naval Research
Office of Naval Research

The Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S....
 (ONR) in 1989. Design work began on all phases of the project. After approximately a year and a half, the initial phase of construction was completed in early 1994. This included the concrete piers to hold the siderostats, beam compressors, elevator cans and center feed cans for the imaging and astrometric arrays, the control and lab buildings and the astrometric huts. The East arm feed pipe installation was completed by December 1998.

Sources



External links

Weather forecasts for observing conditions.