Observatory

Image:Lithuania Kulionys observatory.jpg An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. Astronomy, astrology, climatology, geology, meteorology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Historically, observatories were as simple as containing a sextant (for measuring the distance between stars) or Stonehenge (which has some alignments on astronomical phenomena).

[edit] The oldest observatories in the world

The oldest five observatories in the world according to NASA are:

Modern astronomical observatories typically contain one or more permanently mounted telescopes contained in buildings with a rotating or removable dome. Beginning in the 1940's, radio telescopes were built and began to detect significant radio sources in the universe. Such an instrument, or a collection of them, with outbuildings for such things as control centres, data reduction centers, and maintenance are called radio observatories. Some of the major radio observatories are at Socorro, in New Mexico, USA, Jodrell Bank in the UK, Arecibo, Puerto Rico and Parkes in New South Wales, Australia. Major optical observatories include Mauna Kea, HI, USA, Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands, Paranal Observatory in Chile and Kitt Peak observatory in the USA. The largest observatory in the equatorial belt is Observatorio Nacional de Llano del Hato in Venezuela. Within the last twenty years, many space-based observatories have been launched, introducing a new use of the term. Mobile observatories exist with the USGS VDAP (Volcano Disaster Assistance Program), to be deployed on demand.