Table Mountain Observatory

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For other uses of TMO, see TMO (disambiguation). For other uses of Table Mountain, see Table Mountain (disambiguation).
Table Mountain Observatory
Table Mountain Observatory 2.jpg
Aerial view of Table Mountain Observatory
Organization NASA / JPL
Code 673  
Location Wrightwood, California, U.S.
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Altitude 2,286 meters (7,500 ft)
Established 1924 (1924)
Website Table Mountain Observatory
Telescopes
Pomona Collge Telescope 1.0 m reflector
unnamed telescope 0.6 m reflector
Table Mountain Observatory is located in California
Table Mountain Observatory

Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) is an astronomical observation facility operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology). It is located in Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood, California.[1] Located 63 kilometers (39 mi) north-northeast of Los Angeles, TMO is part of JPL's Table Mountain Facility (TMF). The larger site hosts a number of non-astronomical projects. The site was first used by the Smithsonian Institution in 1924, which conducted atmospheric, solar, and astronomical observations for many years. JPL took over the lease in 1962.[2]

TMO conducts high-precision astrometric observations to support NASA and international spacecraft mission navigation, confirmation and recovery of Near-Earth objects such as comets and asteroids that may potentially impact the Earth, and technology development.[3]

Instruments

File:Table Mountain Observatory control room1.jpg
Observing with the 0.6m telescope

Former instruments

  • A 1.25 m (49 in) reflector previously located at Cloudcroft Observatory was acquired in the late 1980s and became operation in the early 1990s.[7][8] It was removed from the TMO web site before June 2003.[9]
  • A 0.4 m (16 in) Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by RC Optical Systems was attached to an equatorial mount. It was installed in 2003 and removed from the TMO web site before July 2011.[10] It was housed in the dome where the Schmidt camera was previously located.
  • A 0.4 m (16 in) Cassegrain reflector was installed at TMO in 1962.[2] Harvey Mudd College was the main user of this telescope from the 1970s through at least 1991.[8]
  • A 0.27 m (11 in) Schmidt camera owned by JPL operated at TMO from 1985 until at least 1991.[8][11]
  • A 5.5 m (18 ft) millimeter wavelength radio antenna was located at TMO from 1970 until at least 1985.[11]
  • A radio interferometer with dishes of 4.4 m (14 ft) and 3.0 m (9.8 ft) became operational at TMO in 1974.[12]

Objects discovered or confirmed

See also

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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