Brief History and Future
There has been an observatory of some type for over 50 years at the University of Utah. Older visitors in the ages of 60's and 70's visiting the observatory tell
of when they were just 10 years in age, going to the U's observatory with their family to see Jupiter and Saturn. The observatory was built on
the roof of the South Phyics building an unknown (to me) number of years ago. After the university was required to install an elevator,
the observatory went through another change and was relocated to a different location on the roof. In 2001, The Eccles Foundation
donated funds to purchase new telescopes, cameras, a spectrograph, and other items for the observatory which is now on the roof of the South
Physics building. New mounts and housings were installed for the telescopes and we have the observatory as we see it today.
The observatory is currently used to host our star parties, scout tours, and a classroom for the U's Observational Astronomy course (phys 2060/4060, astr 2060/4060). The observational
Astronomy course provides instruction on telescope use, astrophotography, basic and advanced astronomy research techniques. Class size ranges from 10 to
30 students per semester and is growing in popularity each year. Currently, the U offers a minor in astronomy and within the next few years
(projected 2009), the U hopes to have a undergraduate major and graduate program in astronomy and astrophysics. For more information on the current
minor offered by the U physics department, click here.
Once again, the Eccles Foundation donated funds for a new observatory for the University of Utah to be installed somewhere in southern Utah.
It will be a robotic telescope remotely operated from the University for use by students and researchers at the U. At this time (Aug. 2007),
attempts to find a location for the telescope are under way including finding suitible sites with stable atmospheres preferrably above 9300 ft.
The type of research will include infared observations (if above 9300 ft. or 3000 meters), extra terrestrial planet searching, gamma ray bursts, and other research.
Location
Physical Location: 125 S. 1400 E. Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Latitude: 40° 45' 59.09" Longitude: 111° 51' 0.67"
Location provided by Google Earth®
Dome
Located on the roof of the South Physics building, we have a 14 foot diameter 360 degree, electrically rotated sky dome housing our 14" Meade LX200GPS telescope.
Telescopes
Four Meade 10" LX200 Classic telescopes
Specs:
Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain Aperture: 254 mm (10") Focal Length: 2500 mm (98.42 in) Focal Ratio: f/10 Resolving Power: 0.45 arc secOne Celestron 11" mounted on Losmandy G-11
Specs:
Mount: Losmandy G-11 German Equatorial Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain Aperture: 280 mm (11.02 in) Focal Length: 2800 mm (110.24 in) Focal Ratio: f/10 Resolving Power: 0.42 arc secOne Meade 12" LX200 Classic + Tracking Scope
Tracking/Wide Angle Scope Manufacturer: Orion Design: Achromatic Refractor Aperture: 120 mm (4.72 in) Focal Length: 600 mm (23.62 in) Focal Ratio: f/5.0
Specs:
Main Scope Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain Aperture: 305 mm (12 in) Focal Length: 3045 mm (119.88 in) Focal Ratio: f/10 Resolving Power: 0.375 arc sec
One Meade 14" LX200 GPS + Tracking Scope
Specs:
Main Scope Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain Aperture: 356 mm (14") Focal Length: 3556 mm (140 in) Focal Ratio: f/10 Resolving Power: 0.321 arc sec Tracking Scope Manufacturer: Celestron Design: Achromatic Refractor Aperture: 80 mm (3.14 in) Focal Length: 910 mm (35.83 in) Focal Ratio: f/11.7
Two Coronodo PST Solar Telescopes
Specs:
Design: Achromatic Refractor Aperture: 40 mm (1.57 in) Focal Length: 400 mm (15.7 in) Focal Ratio: f/10 Wavelenths: Hα @ 656.2 nm Bandwidth: <1.0 Å at the Hα wavelength
One Orion XT 12 Dobsonian Intelliscope
Specs:
Design: Dobsonian Reflector Aperture: 305 mm (12 in) Focal Length: 1500 mm (59.06 in) Focal Ratio: f/4.9 Resolving Power: 0.38 arc sec
All Scopes (except the PST and Dobsonian) are permanently mounted on equatorial piers and kept safe from the elements by custom-made housings.