Pacific Northwest Regional Observatory Explained

Pacific Northwest Regional Observatory
Organization:Alliance for the Advancement of Science Through Astronomy
Location:Horse Heaven Hills, Eastern Washington
Altitude:1600feet
Telescope1 Name:Richmond J. Hoch telescope[1]
Telescope1 Type:Cassegrain optical

The Pacific Northwest Regional Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the Wallula Gap in the Horse Heaven Hills, near the Columbia River in Southeast Washington. It is owned by . The main instrument, an 0.8 meter Cassegrain reflecting optical telescope, was formerly located at Rattlesnake Mountain above Richland, Washington, where it was installed in 1971 by Battelle, dismantled in 2009,[2] and restored at Columbia Basin College in Richland 2010–2011. Construction of the observatory at Braden Research Farm, owned by Whitman College, broke ground in 2011, and the telescope mirror was placed there in November 2012.[3] [4]

, the main instrument, then at Rattlesnake Mountain, was "the largest, most powerful, optical research-grade telescope in Washington State".[5]

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Notes and References

  1. News: Whitman Magazine. Whitman College. Observatory opens the universe to students. March 2014.
  2. News: Associated Press. News From Indian Country (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Reservation). Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory dismantled. 14 July 2009.
  3. News: Ground broken for Tri-Cities observatory: Darker skies at Horse Heaven Hills make up for lack of elevation at new observatory. Annette. Cary. Tri-City Herald . Lewiston Tribune . Lewiston, Idaho . August 5, 2011.
  4. News: Tri-City Herald. Rattlesnake Mountain telescope gets new home . 2013-01-06.
  5. Web site: The observatory. Official website. Alliance for the Advancement of Science Through Astronomy. https://web.archive.org/web/20080519112429/http://www.aastaonline.org/observatory.html. May 19, 2008. 31 January 2007.