Hartung–Boothroyd Observatory

Hartung–Boothroyd Observatory

Organization	Cornell University
Code	H81
Location	Ithaca, New York (USA)
Coordinates	42°27′29.61″N 76°23′4.59″W / 42.4582250°N 76.3846083°WCoordinates: 42°27′29.61″N 76°23′4.59″W / 42.4582250°N 76.3846083°W
Altitude	530 m
Established	1974
Website	hbo.astro.cornell.edu
Telescopes
James R. Houck Telescope 60 cm (25") Fork-mounted Cassegrain reflector

The Hartung–Boothroyd Observatory (HBO) is located atop Mount Pleasant near the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (USA). It is used mainly as a teaching facility for upper-level undergraduate astronomy classes. The observatory is named to recognize funding from M. John Hartung, a 1908 Cornell graduate and later chemical industrialist, and to honor Samuel L. Boothroyd, the founder of Cornell's Department of Astronomy. The facility was designed and directed from 1974-2012 by James R. Houck.

The primary 0.6m mirror was constructed from a Pyrex 1/8-scale test pouring as part of technology development for the Palomar Observatory 200-inch telescope. The mirror was polished and mounted in a lightweight tube in the late 1930s under Boothroyd's direction, but World War II deferred its planned use in a high-altitude observatory. This facility, together with an equatorial fork mount to hold the previously completed telescope, was completed in 1974.

Nearby observatories

• Clinton B. Ford Observatory, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York
• Fuertes Observatory, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
• Kopernik Space Education Center, Vestal, New York

See also

• List of observatories

External links

• - official site