Wise Observatory
Encyclopedia
The Florence and George Wise Observatory (IAU code 097) is an astronomical
observatory
owned and operated by Tel-Aviv University. It is located 5 km west of the city of Mitzpe Ramon
in the Negev
desert near the edge of the Ramon Crater, and it is the only professional astronomical observatory in Israel.
, and named after the late Dr. George S. Wise, the first President of the Tel-Aviv University. The observatory is a research laboratory of Tel-Aviv University. It belongs to the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences and it serves mainly staff and graduate students from the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the School of Physics and Astronomy, and from the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences. Traditionally, the Wise Observatory Director is appointed by Tel-Aviv University's Dean of Exact Sciences from the senior academic staff of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The directors of the Wise Observatory since its foundation were:
The average seeing
is about 2-3 seconds of arc. A few good nights have seeing of 1" or less while few show seeing larger than 5".
An important advantage of the Wise Observatory at its location of ~35°E in the Northern Hemisphere is the possibility of cooperating with observatories at other longitudes for time-series studies. Such projects involve searches for stellar oscillations within the Whole Earth Telescope project, monitoring gravitational microlensing
events, combined ground and space observing campaigns, etc.
telescope
, which is a wide field Ritchey-Chrétien reflector mounted on a rigid, off-axis equatorial mount
. This telescope was originally a twin of the Las Campanas 1 m Swope telescope http://www.ociw.edu/lco/swope/swope.html, which was described by Bowen and Vaughan (1973), though the two instruments diverged somewhat during the years. It also has two CCD
cameras, a two-star "Nather-type" photometer
, a "Faint-object spectrograph-camera" (FOSC), and an older Boller and Chivens spectrograph
. The photoelectric photometer and the Boller and Chivens spectrograph have not been in use for more than a decade.
A dioptric focal reducer (Maala) was used at f/7 to project a field of view almost one-degree wide on one of the CCDs (a SITe 2048x4096 pixel array) at the cost of slightly larger than optimal PSF
sampling and some edge-of-field distortions. However, this instrument never produced satisfactory images and its use was discontinued.
One new CCD camera entered regular use in 2006: it is a Princeton Instruments Versarray with 1340×1300 pixels each 20 µm wide, with a peak quantum efficiency of 95% and good response in the blue part of the spectrum. Another camera was operated from the end of 2007; this is a CCD mosaic covering a one-degree non-contiguous field of view at f/7 in a single exposure (the LAIWO=Large Array Imager of the Wise Observatory camera). This camera is composed of four 4096x4096 pixel non-butted Fairchild CCDs that are thick and front-illuminated, thus have a response peaking in the red with approximately 42% quantum efficiency. A smaller CCD with very high quantum efficiency and fast readout, centered between the four large CCDs, is used for guiding and fast photometry of selected objects. LAIWO is a cooperative endeavour of the Wise Observatory (PI: T. Mazeh) with the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Heidelberg
(PI: T. Henning).
A 46-cm prime-focus computer-controlled telescope was added to the Wise Observatory in 2004 mainly for minor planet
CCD photometry purposes. This is a Centurion-18http://www.astroworks.com/specifications.html that has been extensively modified by the observatory staff in a continuous effort to transform it into a robotic telescope. The telescope was originally equipped with a thermoelectrically-cooled SBIG ST-10XME CCD camera with 2184x1472 pixels each 6.8 micrometres wide, each subtending slightly more than one arcsec at the telescope prime focus. Since early-2009 this CCD was replaced by an SBIG STL-6303 CCD with 2048x3072 pixels each 9 micrometers wide. The telescope and its camera, including the telescope dome, can be remotely-operated.
The observatory also operates a CONCAMhttp://nightskylive.net all-sky CCD camera to monitor bright transient sources, and a Hungarian Automatic Telescope (HAT)http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~gbakos/HAT/intro.htm.
A project to monitor photometrically and spectroscopically Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is still running, following about 30 years of data collection. Other major projects include searches for supernova
e and extrasolar planet
s (transiting or lensing), and investigations of star formation processes in galaxies through wide and narrow-band filter imaging. Lately, some emphasis is put on studies of Near Earth Objects (NEOs), with the research focus being the rotational properties of NEOs and of other asteroids through the investigation of their light curves.
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...
owned and operated by Tel-Aviv University. It is located 5 km west of the city of Mitzpe Ramon
Mitzpe Ramon
Mitzpe Ramon is a town in the Negev desert of southern Israel. It is situated on the northern ridge at an elevation of 860 meters overlooking a sizable erosion cirque known as the Ramon Crater.-History:...
in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert near the edge of the Ramon Crater, and it is the only professional astronomical observatory in Israel.
History
Founded in October 1971 as a collaboration between Tel-Aviv University and the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, and named after the late Dr. George S. Wise, the first President of the Tel-Aviv University. The observatory is a research laboratory of Tel-Aviv University. It belongs to the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences and it serves mainly staff and graduate students from the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the School of Physics and Astronomy, and from the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences. Traditionally, the Wise Observatory Director is appointed by Tel-Aviv University's Dean of Exact Sciences from the senior academic staff of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The directors of the Wise Observatory since its foundation were:
- Uri Feldman (1971-1973)
- Asher Gottesman (1973-1975)
- Dror Sadeh (1975-1977)
- Elia Leibowitz (1977-1980)
- Hagai Netzer (1980-1983)
- Elia Leibowitz (1983-1988)
- Tsevi Mazeh (1988-1990)
- Hagai Netzer (1990-1991)
- Elia Leibowitz (1991-1998)
- Dan Maoz (1998-2000)
- Noah Brosch (2000-2006)
- Tsevi Mazeh (2006-Feb. 2007)
- Noah Brosch (Feb. 2007-2010)
- Tsevi Mazeh (2011- )
Site
The number of clear nights (zero cloudiness) at the Wise Observatory site is about 170 a year. The number of useful nights, with part of the night cloud-free, is about 240. The best season, when practically no clouds are observed, is June to August, while the highest chance for clouds are in the period January to April. Winds are usually moderate mainly from North-East and North. Storm wind velocities (greater than 40 km/h) occur, but rarely. The wind speed tends to decrease during the night. Temperature gradients are small and fairly moderate. The average relative humidity is quite high with a tendency to decline during the night from April to August.The average seeing
Seeing
The word seeing can mean more than one thing:* In common usage, the word means visual perception* Astronomical seeing, the blurring effects of air turbulence in the atmosphere...
is about 2-3 seconds of arc. A few good nights have seeing of 1" or less while few show seeing larger than 5".
An important advantage of the Wise Observatory at its location of ~35°E in the Northern Hemisphere is the possibility of cooperating with observatories at other longitudes for time-series studies. Such projects involve searches for stellar oscillations within the Whole Earth Telescope project, monitoring gravitational microlensing
Gravitational microlensing
Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects ranging from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers can only detect bright objects that emit lots of light ...
events, combined ground and space observing campaigns, etc.
Equipment
The observatory operates a one-metre diameter Boller and ChivensBoller and Chivens
Boller and Chivens was an American manufacturer of high-quality telescopes and spectrographs founded about 1946 by Harry B. Boller and Clyde C. Chivens . Headquartered in South Pasadena, California, the company was acquired in 1965 by Perkin-Elmer...
telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
, which is a wide field Ritchey-Chrétien reflector mounted on a rigid, off-axis equatorial mount
Equatorial mount
An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that follows the rotation of the sky by having one rotational axis parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras...
. This telescope was originally a twin of the Las Campanas 1 m Swope telescope http://www.ociw.edu/lco/swope/swope.html, which was described by Bowen and Vaughan (1973), though the two instruments diverged somewhat during the years. It also has two CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
cameras, a two-star "Nather-type" photometer
Photometer
In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...
, a "Faint-object spectrograph-camera" (FOSC), and an older Boller and Chivens spectrograph
Spectrograph
A spectrograph is an instrument that separates an incoming wave into a frequency spectrum. There are several kinds of machines referred to as spectrographs, depending on the precise nature of the waves...
. The photoelectric photometer and the Boller and Chivens spectrograph have not been in use for more than a decade.
A dioptric focal reducer (Maala) was used at f/7 to project a field of view almost one-degree wide on one of the CCDs (a SITe 2048x4096 pixel array) at the cost of slightly larger than optimal PSF
Point spread function
The point spread function describes the response of an imaging system to a point source or point object. A more general term for the PSF is a system's impulse response, the PSF being the impulse response of a focused optical system. The PSF in many contexts can be thought of as the extended blob...
sampling and some edge-of-field distortions. However, this instrument never produced satisfactory images and its use was discontinued.
One new CCD camera entered regular use in 2006: it is a Princeton Instruments Versarray with 1340×1300 pixels each 20 µm wide, with a peak quantum efficiency of 95% and good response in the blue part of the spectrum. Another camera was operated from the end of 2007; this is a CCD mosaic covering a one-degree non-contiguous field of view at f/7 in a single exposure (the LAIWO=Large Array Imager of the Wise Observatory camera). This camera is composed of four 4096x4096 pixel non-butted Fairchild CCDs that are thick and front-illuminated, thus have a response peaking in the red with approximately 42% quantum efficiency. A smaller CCD with very high quantum efficiency and fast readout, centered between the four large CCDs, is used for guiding and fast photometry of selected objects. LAIWO is a cooperative endeavour of the Wise Observatory (PI: T. Mazeh) with the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Koenigstuhl, adjacent to the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory.The institute was founded in...
Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
(PI: T. Henning).
A 46-cm prime-focus computer-controlled telescope was added to the Wise Observatory in 2004 mainly for minor planet
Minor planet
An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...
CCD photometry purposes. This is a Centurion-18http://www.astroworks.com/specifications.html that has been extensively modified by the observatory staff in a continuous effort to transform it into a robotic telescope. The telescope was originally equipped with a thermoelectrically-cooled SBIG ST-10XME CCD camera with 2184x1472 pixels each 6.8 micrometres wide, each subtending slightly more than one arcsec at the telescope prime focus. Since early-2009 this CCD was replaced by an SBIG STL-6303 CCD with 2048x3072 pixels each 9 micrometers wide. The telescope and its camera, including the telescope dome, can be remotely-operated.
The observatory also operates a CONCAMhttp://nightskylive.net all-sky CCD camera to monitor bright transient sources, and a Hungarian Automatic Telescope (HAT)http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~gbakos/HAT/intro.htm.
Observing time
Observations at the Wise Observatory are allocated on a semestrial basis for the periods from the beginning of April to the end of September (first semester) and from the beginning of October to the end of March the following year (second semester). The allocation is competitive and is based on the scientific merit of each proposal. The observing time is, in principle, open to qualified observers from all over the world. Over the years, most of the observing time during a given period has been allocated to one or two large, long-term, projects carried out by Tel-Aviv faculty and graduate students.Research Highlights
| Numbered Asteroid Asteroid Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones... s discovered : 22 |
||
|---|---|---|
| (9804) 1997 NU | July 1, 1997 | |
| April 15, 1999 | ||
| July 10, 1999 | ||
| July 8, 1999 | Named | |
| May 22, 2001 | ||
| June 28, 2003 | Named Eranyavneh | |
| July 23, 2003 | ||
| Named Taliajacobi | ||
| Named | ||
A project to monitor photometrically and spectroscopically Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is still running, following about 30 years of data collection. Other major projects include searches for supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
e and extrasolar planet
Extrasolar planet
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
s (transiting or lensing), and investigations of star formation processes in galaxies through wide and narrow-band filter imaging. Lately, some emphasis is put on studies of Near Earth Objects (NEOs), with the research focus being the rotational properties of NEOs and of other asteroids through the investigation of their light curves.