October 16, 2019

New telescope at Academy to be largest available for public viewing in Colorado

(Courtesy photo/Devin Della-Rose) By Janine Dreger, Oct. 16, 2019 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Scientists at the Air Force Academy said a $1.25 million project to install a telescope in the school’s observatory should be complete by springtime. Contractors from the 10th Civil Engineer Squadron, and technicians from the Austrian telescope manufacturer completed the first stage of the project this month when they installed the housing for the 5,000-pound Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. Associate physics professor and Observatory Director Devin Della-Rose said when complete, the telescope system will support cadet and faculty research projects and connect to the Falcon Telescope Network...

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February 15, 2024

Cadets survey stars in nighttime sky

Cadet 2nd Class Brianna McVay, left, and Cadet 3rd Class Bethany Firooz watch as Cadet 3rd Class Ryan Kovacs makes minor modifications to the 0.5-meter Falcon telescope in the U.S. Air Force Academy Observatory Jan. 19, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Randy Roughton U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – In the Department of Physics and Meteorology cadets keep watch over space through the 1-meter telescope in the U.S. Air Force Academy Observatory control room. Through the 1-meter telescope, cadets track hazardous near-Earth asteroids and other space objects, view supernovas, study...

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