Mt. Hopkins and the Whipple Observatory

This is Mt. Hopkins, the second highest mountain in the Santa Rita range. It has an elevation of 8585 ft. The speck of white you see at the peak is the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. (You may have to go large - it was a hazy day.)

It is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and is their largest field installation outside of their main site in Cambridge, MA. It is located near Amado, Arizona on the peak and slopes.

Research activities include imaging and spectroscopy of extragalactic, stellar, and planetary bodies, as well as gamma-ray and cosmic-ray astronomy.

I have taken a tour of the mountain and the observatory. The scenes from the summit are spectacular. Thirteen different mountain ranges are within view and Arizona and the Coronado National Forest can be seen in a totally different light.