Furman University provided a 14-inch Celestron telescope and CCD camera.  PARI provided a Paramount ME robotic mount and an observatory located on the PARI optical ridge. Utilizing energy from a solar-powered 12v battery, the observatory roof can be rolled back for viewing.  The entire process can be initiated and controlled by students accessing the observatory via the Internet. 

“A remotely-operated roll-off roof utilizing solar power is somewhat unusual,” explained Furman Professor David Moffett, “but for student operation it has significant advantages over a dome.  An observatory dome requires positioning that adds another variable to observations.  A roll-off roof takes the dome rotation totally out of the equation.  When the roof is pulled back the telescope is fully exposed to the night sky and can rapidly slew to any part of the sky without losing time to dome positioning.”

The telescope is currently scheduled for use by students at Furman University, by a student at a community college studying variable stars, by a high school student observing pulsating stars and by a PARI astronomer for gamma ray burst follow-up.

About PARI

The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) is a not-for-profit public foundation established in 1998.  Located in the Pisgah Forest near Brevard, NC, the PARI campus is a dark sky location for astronomy and was selected in 1962 by NASA as the east coast tracking station for manned space flights.  Today, the 200 acre campus houses radio telescopes, optical telescopes, 30 buildings, a fulltime staff and the infrastructure necessary to support astronomy education and research.  PARI offers educational programs at all levels, from K-12 through post-graduate research, and is affiliated with the 16-campus University of North Carolina system through PARSEC, a UNC Center hosted at PARI.  For more information about PARI and its programs, visit www.pari.edu.