Andy's Observing Adventures: Part III

A few days ago, my boss Travis took us on a tour of the Mayall 4-meter telescope, the biggest on the mountain. 4 meters (13 feet) is the diameter of the telescope; the bigger the 'scope, the more light it can collect, and the fainter the objects you can see. In that respect, the 4-m is 20 times better than the 0.9-m telescope we're using tonight! I'm jealous. Anyway, here are the pics...


The telescope can work in two ways: You can either put your camera at the "prime focus" (in the black tube at the top), or at the "cassegrain focus" (below the primary mirror). In the old days, astronomers used big glass photographic plates, and had to change them by hand. Can you imagine riding atop the telescope all night in the cold, with no potty break?


This is the "cass-focus," and even though astronomers don't ride down there all night anymore, they still have to go down there to change instruments. There's a circus-net down below, to catch those who fall.


The telescope (white) sits inside a huge horseshoe mount (blue), which rotates from east to west and back. The whole thing is perfectly balanced, so the silver half-horsepower motor (lower right) is all it takes to move it.


My boss Travis, for scale.


View of most of the KPNO campus, from the visitor's observing deck at the 4-m.


The two domes in the foreground (silver and white) belong to the Spacewatch Project, which is busy studying the asteroids and comets in our Solar System, in part so that we'll know in advance if any are on a collision-course with Earth.


The dome of the 0.9-m telescope, with Baboquivari Peak in the background. BP is the most sacred place to the Tohono O’odham people, the very center of their cosmology and the home of their creator, I’itoli.


One of the more "antique" (but still working) parts of the 4-m control room.


The 0.9-m telescope, which I'm now proud to know how to operate. It reminds me a lot of the Yerkes 41-inch telescope, but with a bigger dome (and a bigger budget for upkeep).


Finally, the "0.9-m House," where users of the telescope of the same name sleep. It may not be pretty, but it has one of the best views on the mountain. I'll be heading there shortly.

It's been cloudy all night tonight, so we haven't done a lick of observing. And we get to go to sleep now, according to the "Aperture Plus One" rule: 0.9 + 1 = 2am. It's a good thing, because Travis and I have to be heading down the mountain at 8:30am tomorrow, to catch our 11:20am flight. I'll get a good chunk of sleep before I have to get on the plane, which is a good thing (I find it hard to get good rest on a plane).

I'm very happy to be heading home tomorrow. It's beautiful up here, and it's been a great learning experience, but I need to get home to my ladies. I miss them.