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Setting Sun Backlights Kitt Peak
The setting sun backlights the telescope domes at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). At left is the distinct, triangular shadow of the National Solar Observatory's McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope. At far right is the 4-meter Mayall Telescope dome, an 18-story building.
More about this Image
KPNO is located on Kitt Peak, a 2,089-meter mountain, 90 kilometers southwest of Tucson, Ariz. KPNO includes the 3.5-meter WIYN Telescope, the 4-meter Mayall Telescope and a 2.1-meter general-purpose reflector. Numerous other telescopes operated by universities or private consortia are also tenants on Kitt Peak. A full complement of state-of-the-art spectroscopic and imaging instrumentation is available for use on these telescopes. Kitt Peak is one of several observatories that make up the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO), a national center for research in ground-based optical and infrared astronomy, supported by the National Science Foundation.
Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF
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