Carl Sagan Solar Observatory Opens
I just found out about this from a posting in Solar News. This observatory is operated by the Astronomy Dept. of the Universidad de Sonora at Hermosillo, Mexico. Here’s a description from the Solar News announcement:
The “Carl Sagan” Solar Observatory began regular daily-basis operations this year with two apochromatic 16 cm telescopes with Coronado H-Alpha and Calcium line filters. The observation window of the observatory is from 15 to 00 UTC. Both telescopes are provided with PC164C-EX 508 X 811 pixels video-cameras. Usually the telescopes are observing the region recommended by the Max Millenium Program, although observer criteria is applied.
What’s cool is they appear to be posting live images from the telescopes like the one shown above. Both of the filters can be purchased commercially, I’ve even reviewed one on this blog because I bought the Coronado Personal Solar Telescope and couldn’t be happier with it. It is without a doubt, the coolest telescope you can buy for $500.00.
I’ve noticed a trend in professional circles where more off-the-shelf equipment is being used in a research environment. This is a real testament to how good commercial consumer products are compared to the old days. Now off-the-shelf digital cameras and webcams are being hung off of really expensive filters to provide real time data from a variety of sources.
Below is an image of the telescopes themselves. I think I’d like to get the Coronado CaK filter at some point, they are quite good for looking at the lower chromosphere/upper photosphere. It’s a nice telescope for looking at sunspots in addition to active regions all in one filter.
Image Credit: Universidad de Sonora
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