Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy

The Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA) is an independent, non-profit, professional astronomical observatory dedicated to astronomical education and research, near Monterey, California.

Facilities

MIRA's facilities are divided between its in-town offices and shops, located near the southern border of the city of Marina, and the northern edge of CSU Monterey Bay, and its research observatory in the remote Los Padres National Forest, roughly half-way between the unincorporated settlement of Jamesburg and the Tassajara Zen monastery.

Offices and shops

Weaver Student Observatory: 36°39′39″N 121°48′31″W / 36.6609°N 121.8087°W / 36.6609; -121.8087Coordinates: 36°39′39″N 121°48′31″W / 36.6609°N 121.8087°W / 36.6609; -121.8087

MIRA's campus is contiguous with the campus of the California State University, Monterey Bay but MIRA is independent from any parent institution, and not affiliated with the university. The Marina campus consists of the following:

  • The Richard Hamming Astronomy Center, which contains the offices and the Priscilla Bok library
  • The Ralph Knox Shops, which contains the mechanical, electrical, and optical shops
  • The Elma Ross Library
  • The Bette M. and William R. Weaver Student Observatory (WSO), which houses a computer-controlled 14 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for public and student use.

Observatory

The MIRA Bernard M. Oliver Observing Station in winter/
Oliver Observing Station: 36°18′20″N 121°34′00″W / 36.30556°N 121.56667°W / 36.30556; -121.56667

The MIRA research observatory is the Bernard M. Oliver Observing Station. The MIRA founders chose a world-class astronomical site identified by Merle Walker[1], located atop 5,000 ft. Chews Ridge in the Los Padres National Forest.

The observatory houses a computer-controlled 36 inch Cassegrain telescope equipped with spectrographs and direct cameras.

History

MIRA was founded in 1972.[2] The acronym "MIRA" was chosen because of the unusual star of that name and the reference to the astronomical-relevant Spanish word for ‘look’.

The idea for an independent observatory came from Bruce Weaver, then an astronomy graduate student at Warner and Swasey Observatory, Case Western Reserve University; the other founders were Donna Burych, Craig Chester, Cynthia Irvine, Nelson Irvine, Albert Merville, Anne Merville, Hazel Ross, and Sandra Weaver.

  • "official MIRA web site". Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy.

Reference

  1. ↑ Walker, Merle (1970). "The California Site Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 82: 672.
  2. ↑ "About the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy". mira.org. Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
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