Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak, a 6,882 foot mountain is home to the largest collection of ground-based optical telescopes in the world. Twenty-two universities are involved in research efforts at Kitt Peak. The Mayall Observatory, largest of the observatories at Kitt Peak, is an 18 story structure housing a 4-meter instrument primarily directed at distant galaxies and quasars. Several of the observatories are open to the public with both guided and self-guided tours. The peak is about an hour drive from our home in Tucson.
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Candy and I visited Kitt Peak on July 7th,
2003. It was a great break from unpacking from the move and from the Aspen
Fire that we'd been watching on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson for a couple of weeks.
The fire started on June 17th, 2003 and was visible from our living room.
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The Mayall Observatory is a lot bigger than
it looks from a distance and it's only one of many observatories on
the mountain. Somewhat closer in this picture is the 2.3 meter (90") Bok
Telescope. Visitors are admonished to be quiet. Astronomers in residence are housed in dormitories on the "campus" and work mostly at night; sleeping during the day. That makes sense, of course, but it doesn't occur to everyone. |
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Looking back down the roadway from beneath the
Mayall and toward the Visitor's Center we had a view of only a few of the
other observatories on the mountain. The following lists the observatories at Kitt Peak. Each is linked to a page giving a full description of the facility and background information:
(Not included on this list seem to the the solar telescope shown below and the radio telescope we saw down the road a piece.) |
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The solar telescope at Kitt Peak - dedicated to the study of the sun and solar based events - as seen from the Visitor's Center.. |
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This reproduction of Maya stonework hangs on the exterior wall of the Visitor's Center and is part of a mural outlining the history of astronomy. It is homage to the Maya's understanding of mathematics, astronomy and the calendar. |
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Near the Visitor's Center and Gift Shop we
spotted what we thought was a wonderful model of an observatory. We thought
it would be a wonderful gift for one of the young 'uns who kinda fancies
astronomy. However, we were told this one was for display only. Imagine our
disappointment! We stopped at about the half way mark on the way back to Tucson to take a picture of the Aspen Fire.
Ultimately, the fire raged on for several more weeks. It consumed 84,750 acres or about 132 square miles, destroyed 335 homes and cost over $17,000,000 to contain (not including property damage and loss). About 1,200 firefighters were involved at the peak of the efforts to suppress the fire, dropping 3.5 million gallons of water (in a dry, desert environment where water is always a concern) as well as 400,000 gallons of fire retardant.* Earlier, Congress had been requested to allocate about $2,000,000 to cover the implementation of preventative measures. However, in the implementation of someone's infinite ecological wisdom, that allocation was cut back to about $150,000. I'm glad someone has their priorities straight. Now, if they only held office!
We now have a better handle on the relative scale of an ounce of prevention
versus a pound of cure. * Statistics: Arizona Daily Star, Sunday, August 17, 2003; Special Section "Smoke, Flames and Ash". |
All text and photographs are copyrighted material.
(c) J. Kozlowski 2003
Any use or reproduction is without prior written permission is prohibited by
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