Tenagra Observatories
Tenagra Observatory and Tenagra Observatory II are astronomical observatories in Cottage Grove, Oregon and Arizona. The observatories house heavily automated robotic telescopes.
| Observatory code | 848[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Lane County, Oregon near Cottage Grove | ||
| Coordinates | 43°42′8.72″N 122°58′41.16″W[2] | ||
| Altitude | 207 m | ||
| Established | 1998 | ||
| Telescopes | |||
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Location of Tenagra Observatory | |||
| Observatory code | 926[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Santa Cruz County, Arizona near Patagonia, Arizona | ||||||
| Coordinates | 31°27′43.36″N 110°52′44.76″W[2] | ||||||
| Altitude | 4,003 ft (1,220 m) | ||||||
| Established | 2000 | ||||||
| Telescopes | |||||||
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Location of Tenagra II Observatory | |||||||
Circa 2016, the observatory was utilized with the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope a member of the Lick Observatory and Tenagra Observatory Supernova Searches (LOTOSS).[3]
Beginning in 2018, after a NASA grant to owner Michael Schwartz expired, control of the Arizona observatory was turned over to Gianluca Masi's Virtual Telescope project.[4]
Instruments
The observatory near Cottage Grove, Oregon was constructed c. 1998, and had a 14-inch (360 mm) Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain with a SBIG CCD imager, probably upgraded to Apogee Instruments later.[5][6]
The Arizona observatory at Patagonia, 20 miles from Nogales, began operations in 2000. Tenagra II is a custom-made 32-inch (810 mm) Ritchey-Chretien telescope manufactured by SciTech Astronomical Research, in operation since 2001.[7][4][6] "Pearl" is a 16-inch (410 mm) f/3.75 corrected Newtonian.[5] There is also a 24-inch (610 mm) SciTech Ritchey-Chretien, and another 14-inch Celestron.[6]
The Oregon site was in use as of 2004 as a backup site, during the Southwest monsoon season.[6]
Observations and public outreach
The robotic telescopes can image 1,000 galaxies in an evening for supernova discovery.[6] Using the Oregon Tenagra I telescope, its maker became "the first amateur to achieve consistent supernova discoveries" by using a robotic telescope "to patrol hundreds of galaxies each night".[8]
The Oregon observatory reported 77 Minor Planet Electronic Circulars between 1999 and 2002.[2]
The Oregon observatory discovered supernova SN 1997cx.[9]
Paulo R. Holvorcem (Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil) and Michael Schwartz (Patagonia, Arizona) discovered comet C/2011 K1 (Schwartz-Holvorcem) in May 2011.[10][11]
Comet 274P/Tombaugh-Tenagra is named for the observatory and Clyde Tombaugh. Tombaugh initially discovered it in January 1931,[12] but was not recovered until 2012. It was provisionally named Comet P/2012 WX_32 (Tenagra) when recovered by Michael Schwartz and Paulo R. Holvorcem using Tenagra II.[13]
The observatory's Tenagra IV instrument, along with Palomar Observatory's Samuel Oschin telescope, was the second to image dwarf planet Sedna, providing confirmation of its discovery and refining its orbital parameters.[14]
In 2018, Pearl imaged the Tesla Roadster in space,[15] when it had a magnitude of 15.5,[16] comparable to Pluto's moon Charon.
In 2018, imagery from the Arizona observatory was livestreamed by Gianluca Masi during the 2018 DV1 close approach to Earth as a Virtual Telescope project outreach event.[17] Images of the Tiangong-1 space station in its decaying orbit were livestreamed in 2018, a few days before reentry.[18]
Awards
See also
References
- Minor Planet Center 2022a.
- Minor Planet Center 2022b.
- "The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope". Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley. November 8, 2016.
- Zionts 2017.
- IAWN 2018.
- Polakis 2004.
- Holvorcem et al. 2003.
- Mobberley 2004.
- IAU 1997.
- Holvorcem et al. 2011.
- Elenin 2011.
- Levy 2003, pp. 77–79 The object recognized as a comet by Tombaugh was incorrectly reported by observatory personnel at the time as an asteroid and designated 1931 AN.
- Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams 2012.
- Minor Planet Electronic Circular 2004-E45 2004.
- Sky & Telescope 2018.
- Masi 2018.
- Mack 2018.
- Weitering 2018.
- Beatty 2014.
Sources
- "List Of Observatory Codes (formatted, with external links)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- "848 Tenagra Observatory, Cottage Grove". MPEC Observatory Browser. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- "926 Tenagra II Observatory, Nogales". MPEC Observatory Browser. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- Polakis, Tom (May 2004), "Robotic Observing: If Robotic-Controlled Telescopes Are the Future of Astronomical Observing, Then Tenagra Observatories Are Leading This Technological Revolution", Astronomy, 32 (5)
- Schwartz, Michael (1996). "Tenagra Observatory". Small Astronomical Observatories. Practical Astronomy. Springer. pp. 187–197. doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-0999-0_21. ISBN 978-3-540-19913-7.
- "Tenagra Observatories - An IAWN observing station in Arizona". International Asteroid Warning Network. c. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- Elenin, Leonid (June 7, 2011). "PostDateIcon". spaceobs.org.
- Holvorcem, R; Schwartz, M.; Ryan, W. H.; Ryan, E. V.; Buzzi, L.; Holmes, R.; Vorobjov, T.; Foglia, S.; Williams, G. V. (31 May 2011). Green, D. W. E. (ed.). "Comet C/2011 K1 (Schwartz-Holvorcem)". IAU Circular. 9211: 1. Bibcode:2011IAUC.9211....1H.
- Schwartz, M.; Jha, S.; Garnavich, P.; Challis, P.; Kirshner, R.; Berlind, P.; Hergenrother, C. W. (1997), Green, D. W. E. (ed.), "Supernova 1997cx in NGC 3057", IAU Circ., 6700: 1, Bibcode:1997IAUC.6700....1S
- Zionts, Arielle (July 11, 2017). "Local astronomer sets lens on public outreach". Nogales International.
- Holvorcem, P. R.; Schwartz, M.; Juels, C. W.; Breganhola, M.; Camargo, J.; Teixeira, R. (2003). "Astrometry of Near-Earth Asteroids Using Remotely-Operated Robotic Telescopes". Astronomy in Latin America, Second Meeting on Astrometry in Latin America and Third Brazilian Meeting on Fundamental Astronomy, Held 2–5 September 2002. 1 (1). ADeLA Publications: 91–100. Bibcode:2003ala..conf...91H.
- Beatty, J. Kelly (May 15, 2014), "Amateur comet hunters get 2013 award", Sky & Telescope,
Now in its 15th year, the Edgar Wilson Award recognizes comet discoveries made by amateur observers. The 2013 awards honor seven dedicated individuals who scan the skies.
- Levy, David (2003). David Levy's Guide to Observing and Discovering Comets. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521520515.
- Schwartz, M.; Holvorcem, P. R.; Williams, G. V.; Marsden, C. L.; Sato, H.; Kowalski, R. A. (December 2012), Green, D. W. E. (ed.), "Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams, No. 3329, #1 (2012)", Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams, 3329: 1, Bibcode:2012CBET.3329....1S
- Minor Planet Electronic Circular 2004-E45 : 2003 VB12, Minor Planet Center, March 15, 2004
- Weitering, Hanneke (March 28, 2018). "Telescope Spots Doomed Chinese Space Station (Photo)". Space.com.
- Mobberley, Martin (2004). The New Amateur Astronomer. Springer London. ISBN 1852336633.
[S]upernova patroller Michael Schwartz, director of his private "Tenagra" Observatory in Oregon, showed the way by acquiring one of the first Paramount GT1100 [computer controlled telescope mounts] and coupling it to a Celestron 14 Optical Tube Assembly ... Michael was really the first amateur to achieve consistent supernova discoveries by using the Paramount to patrol hundreds of galaxies each night.
- Sky & Telescope magazine [@skyandtelescope] (February 8, 2018). "Spotted: One Tesla Roadster in space" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Masi, Gianluca (February 8, 2018). "Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster imaged and filmed!". virtualtelescope.eu. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- Mack, Eric (March 2, 2018). "See the bus-size asteroid caught buzzing past Earth". CNet.
Further reading
- Mobberley, Martin P. (October 2004), "A trio of supernova hunters", Sky & Telescope, 108 (4): 111, Bibcode:2004S&T...108d.111M
External links
- Tenagra Observatories homepage at the Wayback Machine (archived October 17, 2018)