USRA's Remote Observation Center Now Open!

The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) recently opened the USRA Keck Remote Observation Site as part of its Remote Observation Center at its headquarters location in Columbia, Maryland. Astronomers in the Baltimore-Washington area can now study the distant galaxies through a facility located close to their homes. To probe the distant universe, they no longer have to travel to Hawaii to use the powerful telescopes there.

This facility at USRA in Columbia links to the W. M. Keck Observatory on the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii.

USRA offers remote access to the Keck Observatory and its telescopes that host a suite of eight state-of-the-art observing instruments to collect and analyze astronomical data. A ninth instrument will be available within a few months.

The first observation was conducted on 2 February 2017 in support of NASA’s Juno Mission and collected data to construct broader maps of Jupiter’s aurora.

Information on the Remote Observation Center at USRA Headquarters is available on the USRA Keck website. Astronomers seeking to get observation time at the USRA Keck Remote Observation Site should contact the Keck Observatory.