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European Southern Observatory

(Encyclopedia)European Southern Observatory (ESO), an intergovernmental organization for astronomical research with headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. The ESO began in 1962 as a consortium among Belgiu...

observatory

(Encyclopedia)observatory, scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally ap...

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

(Encyclopedia)National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), federal observatory for radio astronomy, founded in 1956 and operated under contract with the National Science Foundation by Associated Universities, Inc.,...

observatory, orbiting

(Encyclopedia)observatory, orbiting, research satellite designed to study solar radiation, electromagnetic radiation from distant stars, the earth's atmosphere, or the like. Because the atmosphere and other aspects...

Lick Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Lick Observatory, astronomical observatory located on Mt. Hamilton, Calif., near San Jose; the first mountaintop observatory in the world, it was founded through gifts made by James Lick in 1874–75 ...

Lowell Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Lowell Observatory, astronomical observatory located in Flagstaff, Ariz.; it was founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell, the American astronomer who popularized the idea that Mars might support intelligen...

McDonald Observatory

(Encyclopedia)McDonald Observatory, astronomical observatory located on Mt. Locke, near Fort Davis, Tex.; founded in 1932, sponsored by the Univ. of Texas in cooperation with the Univ. of Chicago. Its equipment inc...

virtual observatory

(Encyclopedia)virtual observatory, a collection of integrated astronomical data archives and software tools that utilize computer networks to create an environment in which research can be conducted. Several countr...

Yerkes Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Yerkes Observatory, astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wis., on the shore of Lake Geneva. It was founded in 1892 with funds provided by Charles T. Yerkes and its first director was Geor...

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory sāˈrō tōlōˈlō [key], astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo peak, Chile, with offices in La Serena, about 40 mi (64 km) to the west. Funded by ...