National Solar Observatory facts for kids
| Established | 1952 |
|---|---|
| Research type | basic |
|
Field of research
|
solar physics |
| Director | Valentin M. Pillet |
| Staff | around 150 |
| Address | 3665 Discovery Drive, 3rd Floor, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA |
| Location | Boulder, Colorado, USA 40°00′42″N 105°14′44″W / 40.0117201°N 105.2454644°W |
| Affiliations | University of Colorado Boulder |
|
Operating agency
|
AURA, NSF |
The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a special place in the United States where scientists study the Sun. It's like a big research center that helps us learn all about our closest star.
NSO studies the Sun in two main ways. First, they look at it as an amazing astronomical object in space. Second, they study how the Sun affects Earth. After all, the Sun is the most important thing influencing our planet!
The main office of NSO is in Boulder, Colorado. They used to have big telescopes in New Mexico and Arizona. Now, they have built a huge new telescope called the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. This telescope is on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
NSO shares its discoveries with other scientists around the world. They also build new tools for studying the Sun. Plus, they teach people about the Sun through fun educational programs.
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Visiting the Sun's Observatories
The main office of the National Solar Observatory is on the campus of the University of Colorado, Boulder. You can also visit some of their sites in New Mexico.
One of these sites is on Sacramento Peak. Visitors are welcome there during the day! This observatory is located in the Lincoln National Forest. It's near a small village called Sunspot. You can reach it by car from nearby towns like Cloudcroft or Alamogordo.
Amazing Telescopes
The National Solar Observatory uses some incredible telescopes to study the Sun. Here are some of them:
Haleakala Observatory
- Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope: This is a huge, powerful telescope built to study the Sun in amazing detail. It's located in Hawaii.
Sacramento Peak
- To learn about the telescopes here, you can look up the Sunspot Solar Observatory.
- You can also find information about telescopes at the Apache Point Observatory.
Kitt Peak
- McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope: This telescope was very important for studying the Sun.
- Kitt Peak Solis Telescope: Another telescope used to observe the Sun.
Global Network
- Global Oscillation Network Group: This is a network of telescopes around the world. They work together to watch the Sun all the time!
A Glimpse into History
The telescopes at Sacramento Peak are in Sunspot, New Mexico. The name "Sunspot" was chosen by a smart weatherman named James C. Sadler. He helped set up the observatory a long time ago.
In 2017, there was a big solar eclipse across America. NSO helped with a cool project called Citizen CATE. They set up over 60 identical telescopes along the eclipse path. These telescopes took pictures of the Sun's inner corona (its outer atmosphere). They took pictures every 10 seconds for 90 minutes straight! This helped scientists understand more about solar plumes and other fast-moving events on the Sun.
