Claude Plymate

Engineering Physicist

I work for the National Solar Observatory in Tucson, Arizona as Engineering Physicist for the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope located on Kitt Peak. My primary responsibilities are the day-to-day operations on the McMath Solar Telescope and the the Kitt Peak SOLIS Tower Telescope. Another of my responsibilities is to produce the Telescope Schedules. Current activities include development of a very low-cost Adaptive Optics system for the McMath-Pierce.

I am married to Teresa Bippert-Plymate .
Teresa currently works for the Steward Observatory Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics (CAAO) as an Interferometry Technical Specialist.
You can read about my trip to Chile to attend the 2001 Observatory Site Managers Meeting.
You can also read my paper on the History of the McMath-Pierce solar Telescope.
Here is a list of the organizations to which I belong.
My personal schedule.

In 2002, I received my Masters degree in Astronomy from the University of Western Sydney. My Masters project was titled "Two-Dimensional Imaging of the Fundamental Rotation-Vibration Carbon Monoxide Lines at 4.67 Microns". The research project was based on data collected at the McMath-Pierce Imaging IR Spectrometer (IRIS).

Web cameras are now available showing near real-time images of:

Here are the latest images from the Kitt Peak SOLIS Tower Telescope (click on images for full resolution):

Cloud & transparency predictions for Kitt Peak:

(Click on the image for more information.)

Address:: Claude Plymate; National Solar Observatory; 950 N. Cherry Ave.; Tucson, AZ 85746-9531
Phone:: 520-318-8168