The photos below are what we saw.
At the junction of the
Kitt Peak road and Ajo Road we spotted this huge custom trailer used
to transporting large telescope equipment up the narrow
road. Note that the rear wheels can be steered
hydraulically allowing the trailer to navigate the tight turns on
the steep
8%
grade.
The original dirt road was
very steep and is visible on the far ridge. This road was used for
construction of the initial site back in the early 1960s.
From a pull-out on the
grade we got a view looking north toward the Tohono O'Odam town of
Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa is
at the end of the straight road. Note the
background haze,
probably from Phoenix or Los Angeles.
The light spot near the top center of the
photo above is another small indian village. The
light spot is the village water tower.
From another turn-out we
could see Sells, AZ in the far distance.
To the southwest rugged
mountains were
visible through the haze. Note the flat-top volcanic plug which is in Mexico.
Our first view view of the
huge Mayall 4 meter telescope. Also visible is the 2.3
meter Bok Reflector.
From left to right: 3.5m WIYN scope, 0.4m visitor scope, 0.9m WIYN, 2.1m scope.
South along the ridge is
Baboquivari Peak, the first sacred mountain of the Tohono O'Odam which is
about 7700 feet in elevation.
This shot shows most of
the instruments on
the mountain.
The 4m Mayall scope is
huge. One thing that most of the instruments on the
mountain have in common is that they use liquid nitrogen to
cool the sensor arrays. KPNO uses it in copious
quantities.
We paid extra for a tour
of the 4m scope. As we walked over to the scope, we could see both the 4m scope (in the tall
structure) and the 2.3m Bok Reflector in the smaller
building.
The external structure of the
Mayall is massive.
The bottom of
the rotating dome is about 80 feet above the foundation
and must be capable of withstanding the powerful winds
present at the top of the 7,000 foot peak.
The view from the access
road to the 4m scope was awesome. There was substantial
ground-level haze in the air.
Looking north toward
Phoenix was just as hazy.
The McMath-Pierce Solar
Telescope structure.
The Tohono O'Odam worship the gods in
mountain. Modern science worships the gods in the white structure.
The inside of the Mayall
scope building was very dimly lit. The photo above is a 1/2
second exposure at ISO 800 and f/4. The image
stabilization in the Oly E-M1 camera did an outstanding job of damping out motion
blur.
Panorama generated with
the Fuji X100S. Click on photo for full size file.
This panorama is centered
to the northwest.
Click "back" when
done.
This panorama is centered
looking east. Click on photo for full size file.
Click "back" when
done.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2013,
all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.