University of Virginia Library

New Observatory Installs Dome

Five-ton Dome Lowered For New Fan Mountain Observatory

New 40-inch Telescope Is Expected To Be In Place By Late November

The University's new 40-inch
astrometric telescope at Fan Mountain
Observatory is expected to be in place by
late November.

The telescope, which will accurately
record stellar positions and observe
extremely faint objects in space,
eventually will replace the University's
26-inch refractor telescope installed on
the University Grounds in the 1880's.
Controlled by computer, the new
telescope will make rapid and accurate
observations and implement varied new
developments in telescope technology.

The telescope is expected to be delivered in
mid- or late November, with the optics
scheduled for installation immediately
afterward. It will take some months after that
to have the telescope fully operational, says
Laurence W. Fredrick, chairman of the
department of astronomy and director of the
University"s Leander McCormick Observatory.

A 32-inch reflector telescope and a 10-inch
astrograph (an instrument which classifies stars
by temperature) also are at Fan Mountain, 17
miles south of Charlottesville.

The current project is being completed at a
cost slightly under one-half million dollars.
Funds are from the estate of the late Leander
McCormick who provided money for the
University's first telescope and by grants from
the National Science Foundation and the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.