Junk Bond Observatory

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The Junk Bond Observatory is located in Sierra Vista, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert.

[edit] Coordinates

Longitude: 110 degrees, 12.24 minutes West
Latitude: 31 degrees, 28.51 minutes North
Elevation: 4425 feet (1349 meters)

Established in 1996, observer David Healy began by using a Celestron 14 SCT and a Meade16-inch LX 200 telescopes in a roll-off shelter. In 2000, a 20" Ritchey-Chretien was installed, to be replaced by a 32" Ritchey in 2004.

Asteroid searches began in 1998 using a local computer network and search software. The first asteroid discovery, named (38203) Sanner after Glen Sanner, was made in June 1999 by Jeff Medkeff. Of JBO's 400-plus asteroid discoveries, 68 were made in 1999-2001. Since December 2004, using a 32-inch scope, 86 designations have been made. Twelve of the discoveries have been assigned permanent numbers by the Minor Planet Center and seventeen have been named.

Currently, Healy is a frequent contributor of follow-up observations to objects on the Near Earth Asteroid Confirmation Page, surveys for asteroids netting approximately four new discoveries per month as of January 2007, performs discovery and confirmation photometry of extrasolar planet transits, and performs photometry of cataclysmic variable stars and active galactic nuclei. The telescope operates robotically, unattended for most of the night, controlled by software by Bob Denny and Jeff Medkeff.