Kirkwood Observatory | |
Organization: | Indiana University |
Location: | Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A. |
Coords: | 39.1658°N -86.5261°W |
Altitude: | 235 meters (770 ft) |
Weather: | See the Clear Sky Clock |
Established: | 1901 |
Telescope1 Type: | 0.3-meter (12-inch) refractor |
Telescope2 Name: | Solar telescope |
Telescope2 Type: | heliostat, spectrograph, digital hydrogen-alpha imaging |
Kirkwood Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Indiana University. It is located in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is named for Daniel Kirkwood (1814–1895) an astronomer and professor of mathematics at Indiana University who discovered the divisions of the asteroid belt known as the Kirkwood Gaps.
Built in 1900 and dedicated on May 15, 1901, the observatory was thoroughly renovated during the 2001–02 academic year. Although the facility is no longer used for research, its original refracting telescope, built by Warner & Swasey Company with a 12-inch (0.3-meter) Brashear objective lens, also received a complete restoration. The telescope is now used regularly for outreach events and undergraduate-level classes. Kirkwood Observatory also has an instructional solar telescope.