Braeside Observatory

Organization	Arizona State University Arizona State University Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
Location	Flagstaff Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County... , Arizona Arizona Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...  (USA), near U.S. Naval Observatory
Coordinates	35°11′30"N 111°44′54"W
Altitude	2274 meters (7461 feet)
Webpage	http://braeside.la.asu.edu/
Telescopes
The Braeside Cassegrain Cassegrain reflector The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas....  Telescope	16" reflector, computer controlled

Braeside Observatory is a privately owned astronomical

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 observatory

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 previously owned and operated by Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

. It is located five miles west of Flagstaff

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 (USA), near the U.S. Naval observatory. The observatory is made up of two buildings, the telescope building and the control building. The telescope building is where the observatory's 16" Cassegrain Reflector telescope is housed. The telescope is controlled from either the control building or from the university through computer controls.

History

The observatory was founded in 1976 by Robert Fried, a retired Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...

 captain, after a chance meeting with Sir Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore

Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...

inspired him to turn his astronomical hobby into something more concrete. The observatory was set up as a private operating foundation. After Mr. Fried's death in 2003, the university committed itself to keeping the observatory open as an educational and research facility.

Recently (Spring 2010), the Braeside Observatory dome and telescope were sold to an out-of-state buyer, who has removed the observatory from its Flagstaff home. Braeside Observatory thus no longer exists.

External links

• Flagstaff Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions covering Braeside Observatory.