National Astronomical Observatory (Chile)

c. 1850 The National Astronomical Observatory of Chile (OAN) can be traced back to the Gillis Expedition, a project of the United States Naval Observatory, led by James Melville Gilliss, who arrived in Chile in 1849 to observe Mars and Venus from the southern hemisphere so as to improve solar parallax. Beginning in 1962, the Soviet Union also sent astronomers and provided several telescopes to OAN , but it withdrew after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. Cerro El Roble Station Cerro El Roble Station (, also known as Cerro El Roble Observatory; observatory code: 805), is a site of Chile's National Astronomical Observatory located on Cerro El Roble, a mountain on the border between Santiago Metropolitan Region and Valparaíso Region. The observatory building sits at an elevation of and is approximately northwest of Santiago. It was built by the University of Chile in 1967 to house a Maksutov telescope provided by the Soviet Union, which began operating in 1968. Maipú Radio Observatory Maipú Radio Observatory (Spanish: Radio Observatorio de Maipú - ROM, or Observatorio Radioastronomico de Maipú) was a remote site of OAN located in the commune of Maipú southwest of Santiago. One long-wavelength telescope was built by OAN and the University of Florida, and another by OAN and the Carnegie Institution. Observing began at the site in 1959, and it was closed in 2000. 21st century ==Telescopes==

Active telescopes • The Millimeter-wave Telescope (MINI) is a Cassegrain reflector with a primary mirror made of machined aluminum. • Heyde Telescope: A refractor built by Gustav Heyde (Dresden, Germany), originally installed at Lo Espejo in 1913. It was moved to Cerro Calán, where it is now used for outreach. • Gautier Telescope: A refractor built by Gautier was installed in 1894 at Quinta Normal. It is a Carte du Ciel-type astrograph and created over 1,000 astronomical glass plates. It was moved to Lo Espejo and then Cerro Calán, where it is now used for outreach. • A Danjon astrolabe with a aperture was installed on Cerro Calán in 1965 for a joint project of UCh and the European Southern Observatory. It was modified to allow solar observations in 1989. Former telescopes • A transit telescope built at Pulkovo Observatory was installed in 1963. It was housed in a metal building which was also made at Pulkovo and shipped to Chile in parts. • A refractor built by Grubb was ordered in 1909. The dome was in place by 1913, but the final parts for the telescope did not arrive until 1933. It was finally finished, but did not work satisfactorily so was seldom used. The dome was moved to Cerro Calán but the telescope was never installed at the new facility. • A Bamberg transit telescope was purchased in 1910. • A meridian circle built by Repsold was first installed at Lo Espejo in 1912. It was moved to Cerro Calán and was used as recently as the 1990s. • A meridian circle built by Eichens was acquired between 1865 and 1889. • A meridian circle built by Repsold was acquired around 1873 but not put into use until 1883. • A refractor built by Henry Fitz was sold by Gillis to OAN in 1852. • An meridian circle by built Pistor and Martins was sold by Gillis to OAN in 1852. ==See also==