Did you know that BYU has its own astronomical observatory in West Payson? The West Mountain Observatory sits 2,100 feet higher than the BYU campus and has access to beautifully clear skies for much of the year. The 44-year-old facility has been a contributor to the astronomy group but might soon close its doors. This coincides with the retirement of Dr. Mike Joner, a professor of astronomy and one of the observatory's primary caretakers and users.
The connection between Dr. Joner and the observatory goes back to 1981, when he and his young family moved into the brand-new observatory. During the seven years Dr. Joner and his family lived at the observatory, they battled treacherous roads and massive snow dumps. During the first year of their stay, it took a team three days to deliver a snowmobile to Dr. Joner and his family so that they had transport into town for supplies. Despite the harsh conditions, they embraced the adventure, enabling year-round observations of distant stars and galaxies.
Dr. Joner’s research has used the observatory to measure the masses of supermassive black holes and to discover new exoplanets outside our solar system. Dr. Joner, along with other faculty members, have been awarded several prestigious grants to expand the capabilities of the observatory. The facility currently boasts an advanced 0.9-meter telescope on a fully robotic base that produces beautiful and consistent images of faraway galaxies and stars.
The observatory has been a valuable contributor to the astronomy group, so why might it be closed? The answer comes down to resources and outside collaborations. BYU recently joined the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) which operates the Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico. This observatory has darker skies, a much larger 3.5-meter telescope with advanced instrumentation, and access to more southern targets. Given BYU’s access to the Apache Point Observatory and limited resources, the department made the difficult decision to explore retiring the West Mountain Observatory.
It’s going to be tough to say farewell to the West Mountain Observatory and its caretaker, Dr. Joner. The four decades of data and discovery enabled by the observatory have helped establish BYU’s astronomy group as a serious research hub. So, no matter what telescopes the professors and students use going forward, we can expect them to keep their eyes on the stars and to keep pushing the field of astronomy.
Student authors: David Hayes, Jeremy Cook, Bridget Kemper, and Lauren Whitesides
Edited by Eric Hintz
