Sunspot Solar Observatory

FOT484655

RM Rights Managed

Peter Bassett Hill Top Dome At Sacramento Peak Observatory New Mexico; Solar Observatory Physics Sun Sunspot Sunspots; Astrophysics

This picture shows the Hilltop Dome, which sits near the top of the hill. As with the Evans Solar Facility, the roof of the building (with the doors in it) can rotate around to allow the telescope to see the Sun anywhere in the sky. This telescope is used for taking patrol images of the whole Sun. Such images are taken for discovering when something interesting is happening on the Sun, such as a solar flare, and to have a record of what the Sun looks like every day. One of the patrol tasks of the Hilltop Dome is to film the Sun all the time. This image is stored regularly for later study, and is also fed into the local TV system, so everybody who lives in Sunspot (the village that is Sacramento Peak Observatory) can see what the Sun looks like on his or her own TV set. This image is also on display on one of the monitors just inside the entrance to the Vacuum Tower. The Hilltop Dome was completed in 1963. It is not open to the public.

Peter Bassett

Peter Bassett

2005-08-15

2008-10-31

USA, New Mexico

Science

Astronomy

Outdoor

Eye level

Without people

#203010