See the Stars Even Better at the ESC Observatory

By Brendan Murphy 

The Department of Physics and Astronomy installed a new 24-inch PlaneWave CDK24 telescope in the Eyring Science Center (ESC) Observatory. The telescope was purchased in part through a generous grant from the Mount Cuba Astronomical Foundation. It is the fifth telescope to occupy the dome, replacing a 16-inch telescope. Dr. Eric Hintz and Dr. Denise Stephens are currently working on the dome automation for the CDK24. “The new 24 inch telescope will provide a range of undergraduate research projects with a strong emphasis on follow-up observations of transiting planets around other stars,” Hintz said. With the West Mountain Observatory, BYU’s new access to the Apache Point Observatory (through the Astrophysical Research Consortium), and the state-of-the-art CDK24 at the ESC Observatory, the astronomy program at BYU is making access to the night sky a dream come true.

by Brendan Murphy, 20 August 2020 

Photo credit: Alyssa Lyman showing the installation of the telescope

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