Moore Observatory facts for kids

The Moore Observatory is a special place where scientists and students study space. It's an observatory, which is like a big building with powerful telescopes. The University of Louisville (U of L) owns and runs it.

You can find the observatory in Oldham County, Kentucky, USA. It's about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Louisville. The observatory first opened in 1978. It was named after Walter Lee Moore, who was a math professor at the University of Louisville for many years.

Moore Observatory is used for important astronomical research and for teaching students. It has two main research telescopes right there. It also works with another telescope located far away in Australia. The observatory is built on a large piece of land called the Horner Wildlife Refuge, which is about 200 acres big. The Horner family gave this land to the University of Louisville in the early 1960s.

Exploring Space with Telescopes

Moore Observatory uses several powerful telescopes to look at the sky. These telescopes help scientists and students learn more about planets, stars, and other objects in space.

Main Telescopes at Moore Observatory

• 0.6-meter Telescope: This telescope was set up in 2006. It's a special type called a Ritchey–Chrétien telescope, which is great for clear, sharp images. Scientists use it to find and study exoplanets. These are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. They watch for when these planets pass in front of their stars, which is called a "transit." This telescope also helps them study nebula, which are huge clouds of gas and dust in space where stars are born.
• 0.5-meter Telescope: This telescope was added in 2019. It's also a Ritchey–Chrétien telescope. Its main job is to watch satellites that orbit close to Earth, known as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It also helps study near Earth objects (NEOs), like asteroids or comets that come close to our planet.

Telescopes in Australia and Collaboration

• 0.7-meter Telescope in Australia: There's another telescope, a modified Dall–Kirkham telescope, at the Mount Kent Observatory in Queensland, Australia. This telescope helps expand the research possibilities.
• Collaborative 0.5-meter Telescopes: Moore Observatory has two identical 0.5-meter telescopes. One is at Moore Observatory, and the other is at Mount Kent in Australia. The University of Louisville works with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to use these telescopes. They are used for teaching, for public events where people can learn about astronomy, and for quick research projects.
• Remote Control for Students: These telescopes are connected to Internet2, which is a very fast internet network. This means students from Kentucky schools, and college students from both the University of Louisville and USQ, can control the telescopes from far away. This is super cool because students in Kentucky can study the southern night sky during their daytime, and Australian students can study the northern night sky during their daytime!

See also

• Morgan–Monroe Observatory
• List of astronomical observatories