was selected by its first director, Aden B. Meinel, in 1958 as the site for a national observatory under contract with the National Science Foundation and was administered by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. The land was leased from the Tohono O'odham under a perpetual agreement. The second director was Nicholas U. Mayall. In 1982, NOAO was formed to consolidate the management of three optical observatories — Kitt Peak; the National Solar Observatory facilities at Kitt Peak and Sacramento Peak, New Mexico; and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The observatory sites are under lease from the Tohono O'odham Nation at the amount of a quarter dollar per acre yearly, which was overwhelmingly approved by the Council in the 1950s. In 2005, the Tohono O'odham Nation brought suit against the National Science Foundation to stop further construction of gamma ray detectors in the Gardens of the Sacred Tohono O'odham Spirit I'itoi, which are just below the summit. The largest optical instruments at KPNO are the Mayall 4 meter telescope and the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope; there are also several two- and one-meter class telescopes. The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope is currently the largest solar telescope in the world and the largest unobstructed reflector. The ARO 12m Radio Telescope is also at the location. Kitt Peak is famous for hosting the first telescope used to search for near-Earth asteroids, and calculating the probability of an impact with planet Earth. Kitt Peak hosts an array of programs for the public to take part in, including:
Daytime tours, speaking about the history of the observatory as well as touring a major research telescope.
The Nightly Observing Program, which allows visitors to arrive in the late afternoon, watch the sunset, and use binoculars and telescopes to view the cosmos.
Additionally, there is the Overnight Telescope Observing Program. This program allows for a one-on-one, full night of observing using any of the visitor center's telescopes. Guests may choose to do DSLR imaging, CCD imaging, or simply take in the sights with their eye to the telescope.
Kitt Peak's Southeastern Association for Research and Astronomy Telescope was featured in the WIPB-PBS documentary, . The project followed SARA astronomers from Ball State University to the observatory and featured time-lapse images from various points around Kitt Peak. A major project in the 2010s at Kitt Peak is the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument instrument for the Mayall.
History
The Kitt Peak National Observatory of the United States was dedicated on March 16, 1960. At the dedication a 36-inch telescope and various facilities were ready. Construction was underway for the then planned 84 inch telescope. The 84 inch had its first lightin September 1964. Over the decades the mountaintop hosted many telescopes, and achieved a variety of discoveries. Some examples of astronomical research KNPO contributed to include the study of "Dark Matter", Cosmic distances, high-redshift galaxies, and the bootes void. In addition, the observatory has engaged in variety of public outreach and education programs. In 2018, KNPO established plans for its Windows on the universe Center for Astronomy Outreach.
Discoveries
Some examples of the discoveries using KNPO telescopes. This is a very small listing, with many thousands of asteroids discovered by the Spacewatch telescopes. In 1976 the Mayall Telescope was used to discover methane ice on Pluto. The 90 cm Spacewatch telescope was used to discover the Kuiper belt body, 20000 Varuna in the year 2000. This was discovered by an astronomer noticing the slow moving object in a blink comparison.
Photos
Climate
Due to its high elevation, the observatory experiences a much cooler and wetter climate throughout the year than most of the Sonoran desert.
