"

112 The National Solar Observatory

The National Solar Observatory telescope tower, 136 feet high.
The National Solar Observatory Telescope TowerImage courtesy of Mike Reynolds, Ph. D. of Florida State College at Jacksonville.

The main telescope at NSO Sacramento Peak is the Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope. This imposing solar tower, 136 feet high, produces 0.2 arc-second resolution and over many years has produced some of the finest solar images and data. Another 220 feet of the Dunn Solar Telescope lies below ground, making the total length of this imposing instrument 356 feet. The instrument was upgraded to include adaptive optics; another advantage to reduce seeing effects while observing the sun.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Introduction to Astronomy Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book