MDM Observatory

A Tour of MDM Observatory

Jules Halpern - December 14, 2015




Portage Lake Observatory
Stinchfield Woods, Michigan - 1969
Portage Lake






Kitt Peak, AZ - McGraw-Hill Observatory - Est. 1974
MDM Observatory






1.3m McGraw-Hill Telescope
MDM Observatory






2.4m Hiltner Telescope - Est. 1984
MDM Observatory






2.4m Hiltner Telescope
MDM Observatory






Current Membership

MDM Observatory




Turn Left After the 10 Mile Marker
MDM Observatory
"When you Come to a Fork in the Road, Take it."






View of MDM Observatory Looking Southwest
MDM Observatory






Looking Northeast with KPNO in Background
MDM Observatory






On-Site Technical Staff - But Only During the Day
MDM Observatory MDM Observatory MDM Observatory
Eric Galayda (Site Manager) ------- Paul Hartmann (Tech)
Tony Negrete (Tech)






2.4m Telescope Control Room
MDM Observatory
Undergraduate Observing Class






One Observer with Large Coffee
MDM Observatory






Instrumentation

Modspec on the 2.4m
Modspec
All Settings are Manual
Modspec






2.4m OSMOS (Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph)
OSMOS
All Settings are Computer Controlled
MDM Observatory

OSMOS Image of Something Big
MDM Observatory


OSMOS Spectrum of Something Far
MDM Observatory






Is MDM Time Oversubscribed?

2.4m 1.3m
Dark Time Yes No
Bright Time No No





My Research - Transient and Variable

Gamma-ray Burst Afterglows
Identification of X-ray/Gamma-ray Sources
Transitional Millisecond Pulsars






MDM Observatory

Last Modified: December 14, 2015 jules@astro.columbia.edu