Catalina Station facts for kids

Catalina Station (CS) is a special place where people study space. It is also called Steward Observatory Catalina Station. This observatory is located on Mount Bigelow. This mountain is in the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona. It is about 29 kilometers (18 mi) northeast of Tucson.

The Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona uses this site. They have special permission from the United States Forest Service. The station is inside the Coronado National Forest.

History of Catalina Station

The site for Catalina Station was chosen in 1960. Gerard Kuiper from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) picked it. He thought this spot would be better than Kitt Peak National Observatory. Mount Bigelow was higher and easy to reach from the University of Arizona. You could get there using the Catalina Highway.

Building the station began in late 1962. The first telescope started working in early 1963. It was a 21-inch reflector telescope. At that time, the place was called Catalina Observatory. This first telescope was at CS Site I.

Later in 1963, a 28-inch telescope opened at CS Site II. This was about 0.5 km (0.31 mi) away. In 1965, a 61-inch telescope opened at Site I. Soon after, two 60-inch telescopes opened at Site II.

In 1969, a 40-inch reflector telescope was set up near Site II. The US Forest Service asked LPL to leave Site II. This happened in 1972. The 40-inch telescope moved to the Mount Lemmon Observatory in 1975.

In 1972, a 28-inch Schmidt camera replaced the first 21-inch telescope. The 61-inch Kuiper Telescope and the Schmidt camera are still used today. They have been updated many times. In 1978, the site was given to the Steward Observatory. In 1989, it was first called the Catalina Site. Now it is known as the Catalina Station.

Telescopes at Catalina Station

Here are the main telescopes used at Catalina Station today:

Kuiper Telescope

The 1.54 m (61 in) Kuiper Telescope was built in 1965. It used to be called the NASA Telescope. It is a Cassegrain design. This means it uses mirrors in a special way to collect light. It has two different secondary mirrors that can be used. Students who attend Astronomy Camp often use this telescope.

Schmidt Camera

The 0.68 m (27 in)/0.76 m (30 in) Schmidt camera was put in place in 1972. The Catalina Sky Survey first used it in 1998. This survey looks for objects in space, like asteroids. The camera was fully updated in 2003. This changed how it works significantly.

Former Telescopes

Many telescopes have been used at Catalina Station over the years. Some of them were moved to other observatories.

• A 0.54 m (21 in) reflecting telescope was installed in 1963. It was replaced by the Schmidt camera in 1972.
• A 0.7 m (28 in) reflecting telescope was installed in 1963. It moved to the Mount Lemmon Observatory in 1972.
• A 1.52 m (60 in) reflecting telescope was built in the late 1960s. It also moved to the Mount Lemmon Observatory in 1972. Now it is called the Steward Observatory Telescope.
• Another 1.52 m (60 in) reflecting telescope was built in the late 1960s. It had an aluminum mirror. This one moved to Mexico in 1970. It went to the National Astronomical Observatory of Mexico.
• A 1.02 meters (40 in) reflecting telescope was built in 1969. It moved to the Mount Lemmon Observatory in 1975.

See also

In Spanish: Estación Astronómica Catalina para niños