Highland Road Park Observatory or Baton Rouge Observatory is an

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...

observatory jointly operated by

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

's astronomy department, Baton Rouge Astronomical Society, and The Recreation & Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge. It is in Baton Rouge, in the U.S. state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, in Highland Road Park. The observatory uses a Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (f/8.1) with a hyperbolic figured 20-inch primary mirror and a 7.25-inch secondary mirror – both conical shaped, made of lightweight, low-expansion ceramic – an OGS140 equatorial fork mount, and a computer control system. The Baton Rouge Astronomical Society, also known as B.R.A.S., was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization. Volunteer members of this organization meet monthly at the Highland Road Park Observatory. The society is a member organization of the

Astronomical League The Astronomical League is an umbrella organization of amateur astronomy societies. Currently their membership consists of over 280 organizations across the United States, along with a number of Members-at-Large, Patrons, and Supporting members. ...

, members volunteer in support of operation of the Highland Road Park Observatory and conduct many outreach activities including sidewalk astronomy and dark sky advocacy.

Discoveries

More than 40 numbered minor planets have been discovered at the Highland Road Park Observatory since 1998. The Minor Planet Center credits these discoveries to the astronomers Walter R. Cooney Jr., Matthew Collier, Patrick M. Motl, Susannah Lazar, Katrina Wefel, Terry Martin, Merrill Hess, Geoffrey Burks, Ethan Kandler and

Meredith Howard This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 nu ...

. One minor planet is directly credited to the observatory ''(see table)''. The outer

main-belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...

asteroid 11739 Baton Rouge, discovered by Walter R. Cooney Jr. in 1998, is named for the Louisiana state capital, where the discovering observatory is located.

References

External links

"Dark Sky Advocacy Site - Baton Rouge Astronomical Society"
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in Louisiana Education in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Minor-planet discovering observatories Tourist attractions in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Discoveries

See also

References

External links