The organization operates cutting edge observational facilities. It continues to develop advanced instrumentation in studying the Sun both in-house and through outside partnerships, conducts solar research, as well as expands public and educational outreach regarding their studies and researches.

The National Solar Observatory currently runs two facilities. They are located in two different locations. One is located at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico while the other one is at Kitt Peak in Arizona. The facility in Sacramento Peak boasts of a telescope called the Dunn Solar Telescope that has a de-rotated 100 meter vacuum column.

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy operates the National Solar Observatory under an agreement which was entered into with the National Science Foundation. The Observatory is being operated for the benefit of the astronomical research community.

Researchers who wish to make use of the facilities of the NSO will have to apply first before they can conduct any kind of research there. Uses of the telescopes on the sites are also often fully booked. It is therefore best that researchers request telescope time in advance to make sure they get the access time they need.

The National Solar Observatory facilities are open for visitors during the day. Guided tours as well as private tours can be arranged depending on the current schedules on the facilities. Night time stargazing programs are also being offered at the Kitt Peak facility. Kitt Peak is located 56 miles southwest of Tucson, Arizona.

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JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

JPL began its work in 1936 when the first batch of rocket experiments was carried out in the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, part of the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT). Since then, JPL has run projects which include the Galileo mission to the largest planet in our solar system Jupiter and its moons and the Mars rovers in 1997 and 2003. Unmanned missions to all planets in our solar system have also been undertaken by JPL along with extensive mapping missions of the earth and management of the worldwide Deep Space Network. Current projects include the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Cassini-Huygens mission to the planet Saturn, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Dawn mission to the stars Ceres and Vesta.

JPL has approximately 5,000 Caltech employees and a few thousand additional contractors. Its Twenty-Five-Foot Space Simulator and Space Flight Operations Facility are recognized National Historic Landmarks.

A Visit at JPL

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