I admit it - I'm a telescope junkie. Backyard, mountaintop, optical, infrared, orbiting, any flavor. I do have the good fortune to be in a profession that doesn't consider this too much of an aberration. To show what kinds of projects can be done with various instruments (at least the kinds I've thought of), here's a gallery of observatories and telescopes I've used with some sample data and results. Since astrophysics now has (and needs) access to much of the electromagnetic spectrum, there are optical, infrared, radio, ultraviolet, and X-ray facilities to be found. For each picture, a click will get you the full-sized version. There is a mix of pictures of and data through each telescope. Where one exists, I've included links to the "official" WWW sites for these instruments, and to the TerraServer overhead imagery. Some of the USGS images are included here. Some images are still to be added, and all the listed sites will eventually have their own information and image pages.

About the picture above: this 30-second exposure taken on 20 December 1999 shows a brilliant flare (visual magnitude about -6) from the Iridium 62 satellite seen over Kitt Peak, as viewed from MDM Observatory. Lyra is rising in the background with Vega at left. More information on Iridium flares (and other satellite viewing opportunities) may be found at the Heavens-Above site, especially now that the future of the Iridium communications constellation is in less doubt than before.

Last changes: 5/2007	  © 1999-2007