Dark Sky Observatory Explained

Dark Sky Observatory
Organization:	Appalachian State University
Location:	Deep Gap, North Carolina
Altitude:	932m (3,058feet)
Telescope1 Name:	32-inch Telescope
Telescope1 Type:	0.82 m reflector
Telescope2 Name:	18-inch Telescope
Telescope2 Type:	0.45 m reflector
Telescope3 Name:	Dean Glace Telescope
Telescope3 Type:	0.43 m reflector
Telescope4 Name:	14-inch Telescope
Telescope4 Type:	0.35 m reflector

The Dark Sky Observatory (DSO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Appalachian State University (ASU). It is located 9km (06miles) east of Deep Gap, North Carolina (USA), off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and 32km (20miles) east of the ASU campus in Boone, North Carolina It was established in 1981, and is used for research, instruction, and public viewing events.^[1] The Cline Visitors' Center was completed in 2011.^[2]

Telescopes

• A 32inches Ritchey–Chrétien telescope was built by DFM Engineering, as was the equatorial fork mount. It is the primary research tool at the observatory.^[3]
• A 18inches Cassegrain telescope on a German equatorial mount was installed in 1981. It is used to monitor eclipsing binary stars and was once used to observe Mira variable stars.^[4]
• The 17inches Dean Glace Telescope is a corrected Dall-Kirkham telescope made by Planewave and set on a Mathis equatorial fork mount. It is shared between ASU and astrophotographer Dean Glace, who donated the telescope.^[5]
• A 14inches C-14 Schmidt-Cassegrain Celestron reflector. The 14-inch remote robotic telescope, DSO-14, was assembled by Adam Smith for his Master's thesis project in 2009. It is automatically controlled by the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network in coordination with UNC-Chapel Hill. As well as offering queue-scheduled observing to both scientists and the general public, it is automatically commanded to observe the optical afterglows of Gamma-ray bursts within seconds of notification from the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission.^[6]

Former telescopes

• A 16inches reflecting telescope built by DFM Engineering was originally located at the Rankin Science Center on the ASU campus in Boone. It was moved to DSO in 2003 while the building was being refurbished.^[7] It was installed in the Rankin Science Observatory (RSO) on the roof of the building in 2005, where it is used for undergraduate instruction.^[8]
• A 16inches Newtonian telescope was donated to ASU in 1982, and was permanently mounted in its own dome in 1985. It was unused for several years before being removed in 2003.^[9]

See also

• Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
• List of astronomical observatories

External links

• Department of Physics and Astronomy at ASU
• ASU Dark Sky Observatory Clear Sky Chart Forecasts of observing conditions.
• Skynet Telescope Operations

Notes and References

1. 1986BAAS...18....3. . Observatory Reports: Appalachian State University . 18 . 1986 . 3 . Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society.
2. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory at Appalachian State University . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2012-01-11.
3. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory 32-inch Telescope . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2013-06-13.
4. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory 18-inch Telescope . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2013-06-13.
5. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory Automatic Telescope . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2013-06-13.
6. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory 14-inch Telescope . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2013-06-13.
7. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory 16-inch telescope . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2012-01-30.
8. Web site: Rankin Science Observatory (RSO) at Appalachian State University. Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy. 2012-01-30.
9. Web site: Dark Sky Observatory 16-inch Newtonian . https://web.archive.org/web/20030314032502/http://www.dancaton.physics.appstate.edu/Observatories/DSO/16-inch/16inch.htm . Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy . 2003-03-14 . 2012-01-30.