Observatory
An
observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events.
Astronomy,
astrology,
climatology,
geology,
meteorology,
oceanography and
volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Historically, observatories were as simple as containing a
sextant (for measuring the distance between
stars) or
Stonehenge (which has some alignments on astronomical phenomena).
The oldest five observatories in the world according to
NASA are:
#
Abu Simbel,
Egypt#
Stonehenge,
Great Britain#
Angkor Wat,
Cambodia#
Kokino,
Republic of Macedonia#
Goeck,
GermanySouth Africa
The largest single
telescope in the southern hemisphere is located at
Sutherland, South Africa the
Karoo town in the
Northern Cape Province,
South Africa.
Due to its remote and arid location and altitude (1,458 metres above sea level), Sutherland is known for having some of the clearest and darkest night skies in the world. Sutherland hosts the telescopes of the
South African Astronomical Observatory, including the
Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), the largest single telescope .
Elsewhere in the world
Modern astronomical observatories typically contain one or more permanently mounted
telescopes contained in buildings with a rotating or removable
dome. Beginning in the 1940's,
radio telescopes were built and began to detect significant radio sources in the universe. Such an instrument, or a collection of them, with outbuildings for such things as control centres, data reduction centers, and maintenance are called
radio observatories. Some of the major radio observatories are at , in
New Mexico,
USA,
Jodrell Bank in the
UK,
Arecibo,
Puerto Rico and
Parkes in
New South Wales,
Australia. Major optical observatories include
Mauna Kea, HI, USA,
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the
Canary Islands,
Paranal Observatory in
Chile and
Kitt Peak observatory in the USA. The largest observatory in the equatorial belt is
Observatorio Nacional de Llano del Hato in
Venezuela. Within the last twenty years, many
space-based observatories have been launched, introducing a new use of the term.
*
Volcano observatory *
Space observatory*
Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology*
List of observatories*
List of observatory codes*
Ocean Observatory Information,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution*
Climate Change Observing Systems Information from the Ocean & Climate Change Institute,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution*
Milkyweb Astronomical Observatory Guide worlds largest database of astronomical observatories since 2001 - about 2000 entries
*
Coastal Observatory Information from the Coastal Ocean Institute,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution*
Map: Planetaria and Observatories
