Kirkwood Observatory

Kirkwood Observatory

Kirkwood Observatory Kirkwood Observatory, 2006.
Organization	Indiana University
Location	Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.
Coordinates
Altitude	235 meters (770 ft)
Weather	See the Clear Sky Clock
Established	1901
Website	www.astro.indiana.edu
Telescopes
Warner & Swasey 0.3-meter (12-inch) refractor Solar telescope heliostat, spectrograph, digital hydrogen-alpha imaging

Kirkwood Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Indiana University. It is located in Bloomington, Indiana (USA). It is named for Daniel Kirkwood (1814–1895) an astronomer and professor of mathematics at Indiana University who discovered the divisions of the asteroid belt known as the Kirkwood Gaps.

Built in 1900 and dedicated on May 15, 1901, the observatory was thoroughly renovated during the 2001–2002 academic year. Although the facility is no longer used for research, its original refracting telescope, built by Warner & Swasey Company with a 12-inch (0.3m) Brashear objective lens, also received a complete restoration. The telescope is now used regularly for outreach events and occasionally for undergraduate-level classes.

Directors

• John A. Miller (1901–1906)
• Wilbur A. Cogshall (1907–1944)
• Frank K. Edmondson (1944–1978)

Kirkwood Observatory also has an instructional solar telescope.

See also

• List of observatories

External links

• Topographical map from TopoQuest
• Bloomington Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions covering Kirkwood Observatory.