ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
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Astronomical Research Observatory
24 inch Astrograph on a Paramount ME with Moon and Venus - 2007 05 20
30 Inch (0.76m) Robotic AutoScope
50 Inch (1.3m) Astro-Research Robotic Telescope
16 inch telescope is no longer in service
Photo by John Stone
Photos of the Astronomical Research Observatory
In 2009 ARO moved their instrumentation to a darker site 12 miles west of the former location near Charleston, IL. The new location is a 40 acre farm at Westfield, IL with only 3 pole lights visible from the property. This has enhanced the limiting magnitude of our instrumentation by about 0.9 magnitudes during periods of new moon. A light pollution map shows the former location and the new darker site with dramatic differences in the amount of darkness. Mike Lockwood measured 21.55 magnitudes per square arc/sec with a Sky Quality Meter and 6.3 magnitude stars have been observed during new moon at 45 degrees above the horizon. In the photo above, the observatories are seen to the far right. The building on the far right houses a custom designed 24" carbon fiber Astro-Research Optical Tube Assembly on a fully robotic Software Bisque Paramount ME. The building in the center contains the 32 inch (0.81M) fully robotic Astro-Research telescope. The small building on the left contains a 30 inch (0.76-m) Auto-Scope. All telescopes are operated remotely in a control room on the lower level of the house located on the property. A fourth observatory will be constructed in the fall of 2010 that will contain the 50 inch (1.3m) telescope. That instrument is currently under construction in the workshop in the large building in the center of the photo.
The 32 Inch Telescope Move to Westfield
32 Inch telescope removed from the old observatory
32 Inch telescope at the new location on a trailer
32 Inch telescope being lowered into the new observatory
32 Inch telescope resting on the concrete pier
Three observatories at ARO