Observational Facilities
Caltech Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy develops and operates world-leading observatories that explore the universe across the electromagnetic spectrum and through gravitational waves, revealing phenomena from our cosmic neighborhood to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. This unparalleled suite of observational facilities located around the globe includes the following:
Located in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington State, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Hanford is one of two 4-km laser interferometers designed to detect gravitational waves.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Livingston is located in Louisiana, in a vast, humid, loblolly pine forest. This facility operates in tandem with LIGO Hanford.
Known by locals as the “Big Ears,” the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) is one of the largest university-operated radio observatories in the world.
Palomar Observatory is home to the venerable Hale 200-inch Telescope, as well as the 60-inch instrument, the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope, and an 18-inch Schmidt camera.
From Hawaii’s Maunakea, astronomers around the world use Keck Observatory's twin 10-meter telescopes to observe the universe with unprecedented power and precision.
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission is a high energy X-ray orbital mission whose science operations center is located at Caltech.
SPHEREx is a NASA Medium Explorer mission, managed by Caltech/JPL and targeted for launch in 2023, which will map the large-scale structure of the Universe via infrared spectroscopy.
SRL is involved a significant number of solar system missions, from the iconic Voyager spacecraft to the contemporary sun-observing Parker Solar Probe.
The Chajnantor Observatory is located at 5080 meters (16700 feet) in the Andes mountains in northern Chile. The high, dry plateau is one of the best sites in the world for millimeter and submillimeter astronomy.
Observatories in Development
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) - India is a planned advanced gravitational-wave observatory to be located in India as part of the worldwide network.
The Deep Synoptic Array will be a world-leading radio survey telescope and multi-messenger discovery engine. As a radio survey instrument it will be unprecedented relative to any instrument existing or planned.