Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Asteroids discovered: 5
(87269) 2000 OO67 July 29, 2000
(87555) 2000 QB243 August 25, 2000
88611 Teharonhiawako August 20, 2001
(134210) 2005 PQ21 August 9, 2005
(139775) 2001 QG298 August 19, 2001

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO, IAU code 807) is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located at 30.169 S, 70.804 W, approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile at an altitude of 2200 metres. The complex is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) along with Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Tucson, Arizona. The principal instruments are the 4-m Victor M. Blanco Telescope and the 4.1-m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, dedicated in April of 2004.

The NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), which also operates the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Gemini Observatory. One of the two 8-m telescopes comprising the Gemini Observatory is co-located with CTIO on AURA property in Chile.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the funding agency for NOAO.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 30°10′9″S, 70°48′21″W