The Laboratory for Infrared Astronomy at the University of
Massachusetts maintains a 16" Boller and Chivens cassegrain reflector
for student research and instrument testing. The observatory is
located in the hills above Whately, Massachusetts and is about a 20
minute drive from the UMass campus. The telescope is equipped with a
chopping secondary mirror
to enable infrared observations. The
laboratory maintains a number of
instruments for use at the telescope
including:
Undergraduates at
the UMass and other campuses of the Five Colleges have
participated in, and in many cases taken the lead role in,
the development and testing of these instruments.
The telescope is under computer control and operated from a remote warm
room. In virtually every respect this instrument is a small scale
equivalent of a major astronomical observatory. The telescope provides
a focus for our courses on instrumentation and observational
techniques. Students are encouraged to devise their own research
projects and to hone their observational skills in a demanding, but
forgiving, environment.
Ongoing research at Whately Observatory includes:
- Near-infrared monitoring of T-Tauri star variability.
- Investigation of the infrared amplitude of variation of short
period Mira variables.
- JHK photometry of carbon stars.
- Narrowband infrared imaging of shocked molecular hydrogen from
stellar jets.
- observations of the impact
of comet SL-9 on
Jupiter.
For further information here is a PDF file of a paper
describing the Whately Observatory (2.2Mb).
Last Update: 7/30/1996
Whately Observatory