Fenton Hill Observatory

High in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, about 35 miles west of Los Alamos, Fenton Hill Observatory sits at 8,700 feet - a site with an unusual past.

About Fenton Hill Observatory

Operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory and also known as Technical Area 57 (TA-57), the site spans 30 acres under a use agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, near Fenton Lake State Park. It was originally built for the Hot Dry Rock geothermal energy research project, which ran from 1974 to 1995, before being converted into an astronomical research station in the mid-1990s.

Telescopes & research

Shielded from light pollution at high elevation, Fenton Hill now focuses on gamma-ray bursts and cosmic rays. Its RAPTOR (Rapid Telescopes for Optical Response) robotic telescopes automatically hunt for the optical counterparts of gamma-ray bursts, alongside the REACT system and the now-retired ROTSE telescope. The site is also home to the Milagro gamma-ray observatory, which used a five-million-gallon pond to detect gamma rays and cosmic rays.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits at 8,700 feet (2,700 metres) in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, United States, roughly 35 miles west of Los Alamos, in a region deliberately shielded from light pollution.

Visiting Fenton Hill Observatory

As a Los Alamos National Laboratory research facility, Fenton Hill is not a typical public visitor site. Check with the laboratory for any current access arrangements before planning a trip.

See your named star from here

A facility built to catch fleeting gamma-ray bursts relies on knowing exactly where to point - much like the precise coordinates you'd get for a star named through Star Register. Find yours in the star catalogue.