SOFIA: a NASA History Office Report
This report by historian Lois R. Rosson is the first retrospective look at SOFIA since the mission’s conclusion in 2022. It is compiled from archival records and oral histories with astronomers, project managers, flight crew, and international partners.
https://www.nasa.gov/history/sofia/
#SOFIA #Astronomy #Astrodon #NASA #history #oralhistory #historyofscience #science #boeing #infrared #telescope #airplane #observatory
Photographs from a visit to the 3.6m optical telescope at Devsthal (~2500m), the largest reflecting telescope in Asia (with hyperbolic primary and secondary mirror): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3.6m_Devasthal_Optical_Telescope
The #Habitable #Worlds #Observatory (HWO) is a future flagship space telescope for NASA Astrophysics that will build on the achievements of the Hubble, Webb, and Roman Space Observatories.
Designed to search for signs of life on nearby Earth-like planets, HWO will combine cutting-edge ultraviolet, optical, and infrared technologies to explore fundamental questions about life in the Universe,
https://knowledgezone.co.in/trends/browser?topic=Habitable-Worlds-Observatory
There was a terrible shortage of #DnD alignment memes for #telescopes .... based on mirror configuration and overall situation, here is the 100% accurate guide.
I am pleased to note @AllanICarswellObservatory is lawful good, tag yourselves 😄💫
#science #memes #Astrodon #astronomy #dungeonsAndDragons #observatory #RASC
A small observatory. I took this photo on August 11, 1999, about an hour before the solar eclipse. People are heading to a clearing to observe. (scanned from negative, without retouching, asis) #35mm #film #filmphotography #photography #astronomy #observatory #sky #nature
In fun #observatory news, I got our @AllanICarswellObservatory telescope allsky camera on our website!
You'll know when we are open
Youll know when we are closed
You'll know if the skies are bad or good
so hope for good for goodness sake... https://www.yorku.ca/science/observatory/observers/
#astronomy #telescopes #Astrodon #science #yorkuniversity #toronto #outreach #education #fediverse
Endgame 🔧✨ | 10 Observatories in 10 Weeks - Week 10
Week 10 — the final push in the 10 Observatories in 10 Weeks challenge.
No big builds, no dramatic chaos… just the long list of jobs that actually bring an observatory field to life.
This week we:
Updated the Starlings that will control all observatory operations
Cladded the server room (with John helping on Tuesday and Wednesday before sneaking off to see AC/DC)
Sealed the observatory floors… and sealed them again
Installed cameras in every observatory
Mounted the battery chargers for the backup power systems
Amid the grind, Brenton arrived just in time for a surprise aurora lighting up the sky. Then on Thursday, Josh came up to finish configuring the Starlings so each observatory can open and close remotely — one of the last major steps before the site goes fully live.
After ten intense weeks, countless late nights, storms, wind disasters, busted tools, and far too many trips to the hardware store… we finally reached the end.
This is Week 10. This is Endgame.
#astronomy #space #astrophotography #universe #science #nasa #cosmos #stars #galaxy #telescope #observatory #astrophysics #nightsky #makerlife #engineering #STEM #spaceexploration #skywatching
The Week That Broke Us 😮💨 | 10 Observatories in 10 Weeks – Week 9
Week 9 was supposed to be the home stretch… but instead it hit like a brick.
This was the week of every tiny, annoying, fiddly job that had been waiting for attention — and the week we dove headfirst into the most soul-destroying task of all: rubbering the observatories.
Hours of cold, sticky, repetitive misery.
Monotonous. Dreary. Painful.
A true test of patience, sanity, and lower-back durability.
Rubbering meant pushing 12 mm round rubber into the small cavity of the 40×40 aluminium — inch by inch, joint by joint, across every single observatory. It was tedious, physically brutal, and somehow both infuriating and necessary.
But we pushed through. Bit by bit, joint by joint, we knocked down the last of the little tasks and inched the entire site toward completion.
It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t fun.
But it was necessary — and it brought us one week closer to the finish line.
#10Observatories10Weeks #TheWeekThatBrokeUs #ObservatoryBuild #DIYObservatory #AstroWorx #RollOffRoof #MakerLife #EngineeringChallenge #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Space #Science #TelescopeLife #StarviewFarm #AstroBuild #Universe #Stargazing #NightSky #astronomy #space #astrophotography #universe #science #nasa #cosmos #nightsky #stars #galaxy #telescope #observatory #DIYObservatory #engineering #STEM #astrophysics #spaceexploration #makerlife
The Subaru Telescope, awaiting the start of observations
Credit: Sebastian Egner /NAOJ
https://subarutelescope.org/en/gallery/facility/2025/11/12/3615.html
#Maunakea #SubaruTelescope #Astronomy #telescope #telescopes #Hawaii #HawaiiBigIsland #Observatory #Astrodon #photography #sunset #NAOJ
First snow
The observatory, with a dusting of snow on its dome, sits with a background of snow-encrusted trees. Lake effect snowfall resumed after this photo was made.The first snow of the season arrived overnight producing, for the observatory, a beautiful daytime scene. Ground heat cleared the pavers around the structure but continued cold weather will change that — we’ll likely have to start shoveling soon. Several days of snow chances lie ahead with clear skies are expected during the day on Thursday, November 13.
