The National Observatory—Celebrating 50 Years
Kitt Peak was selected in 1958 as the site for a national observatory from a survey that included more than 150 mountain ranges across the United States. Located on lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation in the Sonoran Desert southwest of Tucson, Arizona, Kitt Peak today is home to the world’s largest collection of optical telescopes under desert skies that continue to be some of the finest in the world for astronomical observations.
We will be hosting a series of events in Tucson and on Kitt Peak throughout the anniversary, including open houses, special speakers and a special pullout section in the Arizona Daily Star. And there is more to come, so please be sure to check back with us often!
Reunion Event coming November 2009
A reunion of retired, former, and current employees of Kitt Peak National Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the National Solar Observatory is being planned as part of our continuing celebrations for the 50th anniversary of our national observatory. Details of the event and registration information can be found here.
Symposiums coming March 2010
Two symposiums will take place in Tucson during the month of March, 2010. From First Light to Newborn Stars happens from March 14-17, followed by An Eventful Universe March 17-20. March 17 will bring together both symposiums with additional speakers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Observatory.
Visions of the Cosmos
Midday on Kitt Peak
by astronomer William K. Hartmann, May 2009
Astronomy Artists Exhibit Artwork in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of our National Astronomy Observatory and the 50th Anniversary of The University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
Members of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA) exihibited their work on Friday, October 23, 2009, in the Kuiper Space Sciences Building Atrium. The “Visions of the Cosmos” exhibit celebrates the 50th anniversaries of both the National Astronomy Observatory (1958-2008) and The University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (1960-2010). Much of the art displayed was very new. IAAA artists spent several days at Kitt Peak National Observatory in October, creating new works to celebrate the national observatory’s anniversary.
For information about the International Association of Astronomical Artists, visit: http://iaaa.org.
For information about Kitt Peak National Observatory, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the National Solar Observatory, visit: http://www.noao.edu and http://www.nso.edu.
For information about the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, visit: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu.
Share Your Memories of the First 50 Years of KPNO
We are celebrating the first 50 years of your national observatory and will continue through March 2010, the anniversary of the dedication of Kitt Peak National Observatory. The landmark concept of a national observatory open to all astronomers based on the merit of their scientific proposals would not have been possible without support from our user community!
We invite you to submit your memories.
How has our national observatory affected you? Are there special people or experiences that you recall and would like to share? Do you have images of the observatory, its telescopes, or its people that you would like to share? As we collect your comments, we’ll post many on the web site, so everyone may enjoy these stories of our historic past and ongoing evolution.
To share your memories simply send an email to kp50@noao.edu with a subject line of “Kitt Peak Memories.” Include your memories in the text of the email, or attach it as a Word file. Give your memory a title and feel free to attach up to two images that you would like to share. Images should be at least 1000 pixels in the longest dimension and in JPG format. Also, please include a caption for each image. If you would like to share more images, you may send an email to the same address and let us know how many images you would like to share so we can help you get them to us.
We also have some links of interest below.
- Kitt Peak Timeline
- Kitt Peak Telescope Posters
