Catalina 40" Telescope

The Catalina 40" Telescope is a research instrument on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona, United States, operated as part of the Catalina Sky Survey.

About the Catalina 40" Telescope

Sitting at an elevation of roughly 2,791 metres, this is a 1.02-metre (40-inch) Pressman-Cameron reflector run by the Catalina Sky Survey, a project dedicated to finding and tracking near-Earth objects. The telescope was originally located at Catalina Station before being relocated to Mount Lemmon Observatory in 1975.

History

After decades of service, the instrument was refurbished in 2008 and placed into a new dome in 2009, extending its working life for continued asteroid-hunting duty.

Telescopes & research

The telescope is used for follow-up observations of near-Earth objects, confirming and refining orbits for asteroids first spotted by wide-field survey instruments. It is operated remotely from the Catalina Sky Survey Operations Center on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, allowing astronomers to run the telescope without being on the mountain.

Location & getting there

Mount Lemmon rises above the desert floor northeast of Tucson, Arizona, its high elevation giving clearer, steadier skies than the city below. Use the map above for exact coordinates and directions.

Visiting the Catalina 40" Telescope

As a working research telescope focused on near-Earth object surveys, it is not generally set up for public tours. Check the Catalina Sky Survey's website for the latest information before planning any visit to the area.

See your named star from here

From the clear, high-altitude skies above Mount Lemmon, astronomers can point a telescope at any set of coordinates, including a named star's. Name a star to get its exact position, then explore the catalogue to see how it fits into the sky above Arizona.