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LATEST NEWS: #ShutdownSTEM About Mission and Oversight Students Hale Fellows Jobs Reports Contact Us Research Science and Technology at NSO Publications Workshops & Seminars Projects DKIST NISP NCSP Legacy Telescopes Data Access NISP Data Historical Archive Virtual Solar Observatory For Public Blog Educators About The Sun Exciting Events NSO in Hawaii FAQs Gallery News Blog Press Releases NSO Hub Image Use Policy ☰ Login Intranet Select Page Home » Telescopes » Legacy Telescopes Dunn Solar Telescope Sacramento Peak, Sunspot, New Mexico NSO operations: 1969 – 2018 For more than half a century this location, high above Alamogordo, NM, has been known for its excellent daytime sky quality, both in terms of transparency and seeing. The Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) was once the finest instrument of its kind in the world. Managed by NSO for almost half a century, its 0.2 arc-seconds resolution unveiled a multitude of secrets surrounding the complex magnetic fields that dominate the solar atmosphere. Equipped with a wide range of excellent instrumentation, such as the Universal Birefringent Filter and Echelle Spectrograph, the DST has also served as the test bed for the ongoing development of the next generation of solar instrumentation. This new instrumentation includes adaptive optics systems that will greatly reduce the effects of seeing on the solar image. The DST specializes in solar high resolution imaging and spectroscopy. These observations allow solar astronomers worldwide to obtain a better understanding of the sun. The Dunn was inaugurated as the world’s premier high spatial resolution optical solar telescope in 1969. While larger telescopes have since been developed, the Dunn continues to be one of the most versatile, user-friendly setups in the world. It has two high-order adaptive optics benches to compensate for blurring by Earth’s atmosphere, and a 40-foot-wide observing platform hosting an array of instruments. Scientists and engineers use the Dunn to investigate a range of solar activities, often in concert with satellites, and to develop new technologies for the 4-meter Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope . DST Today Sunspot Solar Observatory Consortium now runs the Sunspot Visitors Center and Dunn Solar Telescope, in collaboration with NSO. The Dunn Solar Telescope a one-of-a-kind solar telescope that produces some of the sharpest images of the Sun available in the world. The visitors center is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the summer months. For more information about the Dunn Solar Telescope, visit www.sunspot.solar . Chromospheric sunspot image taken with the IBIS instrument on the Dunn Solar Telescope. Photograph of the Dunn Solar Telescope. Chromospheric sunspot image taken with the IBIS instrument on the Dunn Solar Telescope. Photograph of the Dunn Solar Telescope. Important Links DST Service Mode Data DST Data Reduction Software John W. Evans Solar Facility The John W. Evans Solar Facility (ESF) is two telescopes in one, both tracking the solar cycle. A 16″ coronagraphic telescope maps magnetic changes in the Sun’s outer atmosphere. A special set of 12″ coelostat optics squints” so the Sun appears as a pinpoint, allowing an apples and apples” comparison with the cycles of distant stars. Read More... McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope Kitt Peak, Arizona NSO operations: 1963 – 2018 The McMath Pierce facility consists of three telescopes: the Main, the East Auxiliary and the , you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service . Your use of nso.edu in addition to our blog, DKIST and NISP sites are subject to these policies and terms. Got...