Kitt Peak Observatory

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Kitt Peak National Observatory sits on a mountain top 6877 feet above sea level in the Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation 

They offer a night time star gazing program however all of the moonless nights were sold out
so we opted for a daytime tour of the observatory  



There are 24 optical telescopes on this mountain top of varying sizes and two radio telescopes 
Kitt Peak is a very active observatory



The two smaller telescopes pictured above on the left, (white and silver) are tracking and studying
Near Earth Objects helping to identify asteroids and larger objects out there that may impact earth



Still other telescopes are studying our own solar system and the eight planets and sun that comprise it (remember Pluto is no longer considered a planet)



 The monster solar telescope pictured below is used to study the sun and the solar winds and radiation that it emits into space and how it affects earth.



And radio telescopes are scanning the cosmos (ET phoned home)

The Department of Energy is working up here having just taken over this 4 meter telescope installing their Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). .. DESI will chart out the role of dark energy in the expansion history of the universe.


To carry out its mission, DESI will measure more than 30 million galaxies and quasars over the next 5 years and create a three-dimensional map of the universe

We spent an entire day here touring multiple telescopes, our heads may have hurt a little from learning so much but it was a great day

Maybe some day we will be back for the overnight star gazing they offer















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