[Previous] | [Session 87] | [Next]
D.M. Drost (Univ. Virgin Islands), J.E. Neff (College of Charleston)
At 18 degrees north and 65 degrees west, the Etelman Observatory of the University of the Virgin Islands is the southernmost and easternmost observatory in the United States. The observatory and house are located on a 2-acre site on a ridge at an elevation approximately 1200 feet near the crest of Crown Mountain on the island of St. Thomas. Because of its location and elevation, the site has exceptionally good seeing, dark skies, and the ability to reach deep into the southern hemisphere and to plug the northern-hemisphere longitude gap between the US and Europe. Using the existing 15-inch telescope and an ST-6 CCD, we have been evaluating the site characteristics and conducting several preliminary research programs. With support from the National Science Foundation and local matching funds, the site is being refurbished, and a new telescope will be purchased. We will present preliminary site-survey results and invite suggestions and ideas for future collaborative projects.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.cofc.edu/~neffj/etelman/. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: ddrost@uvi.edu