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Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory - Arizona Campus

Year

1968

The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO) is the largest field installation of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) outside Cambridge, MA. The site is on Mt. Hopkins, Arizona. The major instrument at the site is the MMT Observatory's 6.5-m diameter optical telescope. The current suite of FLWO telescopes includes a 1.2-m diameter imaging optical telescope; the 1.5-m Tillinghast optical spectroscopic telescope; the HAT (Hungarian-made Automated Telescope) array of five optical telescopes; the MINERVA array of four 70-cm optical telescopes; the MEarth array of eight 40-cm optical telescopes; the Micro Observatory for public education pursuits; the VERITAS array of four 12-m telescopes for gamma-ray astronomy; and the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder telescope for gamma-ray astronomy.

Measurements

Gross Exterior: approx. 84,000 sq. ft. Gross Interior: approx. 78,000 sq. ft.

Location

Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory 670 Mount Hopkins Rd., Amado, AZ 85645

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