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In 1958, Kitt Peak was selected as the site for a national observatory. Its remoteness from bright lights, a high frequeny of clear weather, minimum air turbulence, and moderate elevation (2,092 meters) make the mountain top ideal for astronomy. Located in Arizona's Quinlan Mountains on the Papago Indian Reservation, Kitt Peak is leased to the Observatory in perpetuity as long as it is used to conduct scientific research.
As a national center for ground-based astronomy, Kitt Peak is home to twenty-five optical and two radio telescopes. Scientists from around the globe use these facilities for research programs in stellar, solar, and planetary studies. Selection of users is based entirely upon the merit of the individual research programs. The Observatory operates the Mayall 4-meter, the WIYN 3.5-meter, the 2.1-meter, and Coude Feed, and the 0.9-meter telescopes. The National Solar Observatory operates the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, the world's largest solar telescope, as well as the Vacuum Solar Telescope.
The following photo gallery presents images of Kitt Peak National Observatory taken over several decades. For more information, see Kitt Peak's official web site.
Click on each image to see a larger photo.
All photographs, text and web pages are © Copyright 2007 by Fred Espenak, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. They may not be reproduced, published, copied or transmitted in any form, including electronically on the Internet or WWW, without written permission of the author. The photos have been digitally watermarked.
The photographs may be licensed for commercial, editorial, and educational use. Contact Espenak (at MrEclipse) for photo use in print, web, video, CD and all other media.
WebMaster: MrEclipse
Last revised: 2008 Feb 10
