North Dakota NASA Space Grant Consortium

The UND Internet Observatory

Located in the middle of a biology preserve in eastern North Dakota, the University of North Dakota Department of Space Studies operates a small Internet-controllable astronomical observatory for research and education.

Built in 1996 and renovated in 2005 – in part from help by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium -- the refurbished observatory includes a Meade classic 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that supports a variety of CCD imaging cameras.

The observatory includes a roll-off roof to protect the telescope from inclement weather, along with a remote weather station and an all-sky camera.

Currently, this observatory is being used for Master’s level thesis and independent study projects at UND and as an educational resource for two courses in observational astronomy.

Recent research projects include broadband photometry of T Tauri stars and of G2V (i.e., Sun-like) stars to constrain their ranges of variability over long time periods.

 

Website: http://observatory.space.edu

 

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