Dan Zowada Memorial Observatory
The Dan Zowada Memorial Observatory consists of a state-of-the-art 20-inch PlaneWave telescope with a PlaneWave L-500 direct-drive mount on Palomar Mountain in southern California at an elevation of 5,000 ft. Relocated from the high desert of Rodeo, NM, the robotically-controlled remote observatory supports key research projects requiring nightly imaging of galaxies.
The telescope boasts a FingerLakes Instruments ProLine 23042 CCD camera equipped with Sloan ugri and PanSTARRS z filters for science and LRGB and H-alpha filters for astrophotography. Sky conditions are monitored by an all-sky camera and a weather station. Named in honor of Michigan amateur astronomer, Dan Zowada, who tragically died of cancer at the age of 54, the observatory was kindly donated to Wayne State University by the 419 Foundation of Russ and Stephanie Carroll. Featured photos courtesy of Sandy Shiloh.
Undergraduate teaching
The observatory will be used in undergraduate astronomy classes, particularly AST 4100/4200: Astronomical Techniques, giving students an observing and data analysis experience not possible from here in Detroit.
Research
A robotic telescope provides flexibility in observing and scheduling that is not possible with standard observatories that require an operator to be present each night. This lends itself to exploring "time-domain astronomy" the variability of astronomical objects over weeks to months. For instance, Professor Ed Cackett is using the observatory to explore the variability of light coming from gas as it falls into supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.
Support
Your contributions further our mission of offering a rigorous education supported by a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. Thank you for your interest in supporting the Dan Zowada Memorial Observatory.
Images captured from the observatory
