We have great relationships with local and national organizations. Below are listed some or our partners and associates.
Welcome to the LIGO HANFORD OBSERVATORY home page. The LIGO acronym stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, whose mission is to observe gravitational waves of cosmic origin. LIGO will search for gravitational waves created in the supernova collapse of stellar cores to form neutron stars or black holes, the collisions and coalescences of neutron stars or black holes, the wobbly rotation of neutron stars with deformed crusts and the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the universe. LIGO is a joint project of scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Map available here.
Robert & Elizabeth Moore Observatory
The Moore Observatory is located on the campus of
the Columbia Basin College (CBC) in Pasco, Washington. Our main telescope is a
16-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube assembly on a Paramount ME German
equatorial mount. The telescope is housed in a six-meter Ash Dome on top of a
25-foot by 40-foot observatory building.
The observatory was developed through the generous donation of Robert (Bob)
Moore (who passed away in early 2006) and his late wife, Elisabeth.
Our main focus is the use of the observatory as a teaching aid for our astronomy
curriculum. We allow use of the observatory for public elementary, middle
school, and high school programs, as well as for student and public clubs
interested in astronomy. Map
available here.
Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory
Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory (RMO) is a small, but professional, astronomical research facility located in southeastern Washington State.
The observatory is managed and operated by the Alliance for the Advancement of Science Through Astronomy (AASTA), a non-profit volunteer charitable organization working to promote scientific awareness in our educational system and among the population as a whole.
Currently, RMO is undergoing a major upgrade for the purposes of automating its various systems so that it can be used remotely, via the Internet, in science classrooms in Washington State, throughout the Pacific Northwest, and beyond.
We are a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology and inspiration of NASA's missions to the general public. We share our time and telescopes to provide you with unique astronomy experiences at science museums, observatories, classrooms, and under the real night sky.
Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science & Technology
The Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science, and Technology (CREHST) is a museum and science center created to tell the dynamic story of the Columbia Basin and surrounding region.
