Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory explained

The Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory (Spanish; Castilian: '''OAN de Llano del Hato''', or '''Observatorio Astronómico Nacional de Llano del Hato''', code: 303) is an astronomical observatory in Venezuela. It is 3600 meters above sea level and is the country's main observatory. It is situated above the village of Llano del Hato in the Venezuelan Andes, not far from Apartaderos which lies about 50 kilometers north-east of Mérida, Mérida State.

Description

This facility is the closest major optical observatory to the equator lying at 8 degrees and 47.51 minutes north. It therefore has access to most parts of both the northern and southern skies. It benefits from a very dark site, and its altitude of 3,600 meters (12,000 feet) above sea level means atmospheric turbulence is greatly reduced.

The observatory is under the auspices of the Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia (CIDA), the main astronomical research body in Venezuela. CIDA conducts many projects in collaboration with other research organizations, academic institutions and international bodies. It also conducts valuable research in its own right and has a record that includes several important discoveries.

There are four large optical telescopes, each in its own cupola or dome: a 1-m Askania Schmidt camera (one of the largest telescopes of this type in the world), a 65-cm Zeiss refractor, a 1-m Zeiss reflector and a 50-cm Askania double astrograph. These instruments were acquired by the Venezuelan government 1954 and installed at Llano del Hato in early 1955. The observatory also has a museum and exhibition centre where visitors can learn about the work of the observatory and CIDA as well as astronomy in general.

The Quasar Equatorial Survey Team (QUEST) project is a joint venture between Yale University, Indiana University, and CIDA to photographically survey the sky. It now uses the 48 inch (1.22-m) aperture Samuel Oschin telescope at the Palomar Observatory with a digital camera, an array of 112 charge-coupled devices. Previously, it used the 1.0-metre Schmidt telescope of the Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory.

List of discovered minor planets

At OAN de Llano del Hato, Mérida, a total of 50 minor planets have been discovered and credited to the astronomers Orlando Naranjo, Jürgen Stock, Ignacio Ferrín and Carlos Leal:

	11 January 1992	 
	11 January 1992	 
	12 February 1992	 
	8 February 1994	 
	11 December 1998	 
	22 September 1993	 
	22 September 1993	 
	8 February 1994	 
	8 February 1994	 
	22 September 1993	 
	22 September 1993	 
	21 January 1994	 
	12 December 1998	 
	12 December 1998	 
	12 February 1992	 
	22 September 1993	 
	11 January 1992	 
	11 December 1998	 
	12 February 1992	 
	11 December 1998	 
	11 December 1998	 
	11 December 1998	 
	11 December 1998	 
	11 December 1998	 
	10 March 2000	 
	8 February 1994	 
	11 December 1998	 
	12 December 1998	 

	12 December 1998	 
	12 December 1998	 
	11 December 1998	 
	11 December 1998	 
	8 January 1999	 
	11 December 1998	 
	9 January 1999	 
	11 December 1998	 
	24 March 2003	 
	27 August 2003	 
	11 December 1998	 
	24 March 2003	 
	2 May 2003	 
	24 March 2003	 
	3 January 2006	 
	2 May 2003	 
	2 May 2003	 
	9 January 1999	 
	30 March 2003	 
	30 March 2003	 
	20 October 2004	 
	27 November 2005	 
Co-discovery made with: O. A. Naranjo J. Stock I. R. Ferrín C. Leal   anomaly in MPC's data base as discovery observation was made by A84 in Turkey

External links

• Information about the observatory from CIDA
• Llano del Hato Automatic Weather Station