Tenagra Observatories

Tenagra Observatory and Tenagra Observatory II are astronomical observatories in Cottage Grove, Oregon and Arizona. The observatories house heavily automated robotic telescopes.

Tenagra Observatory

Observatory code	848[1]
Location	Lane County, Oregon near Cottage Grove
Coordinates	43°42′8.72″N 122°58′41.16″W[2]
Altitude	207 m
Established	1998 (1998)
Telescopes
Tenagra I 14 in (360 mm) f/11 Schmidt-Cassegrain
Location of Tenagra Observatory

Tenagra II Observatory

Observatory code	926[1]
Location	Santa Cruz County, Arizona near Patagonia, Arizona
Coordinates	31°27′43.36″N 110°52′44.76″W[2]
Altitude	4,003 ft (1,220 m)
Established	2000 (2000)
Telescopes
Tenagra II 32 in (810 mm) Ritchey-Chretien Pearl 16 in (410 mm) f/3.75 Newtonian Tenagra IV 14 in (360 mm) SCT
Location of Tenagra II Observatory

Circa 2016, the observatory was utilized with the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope a member of the Lick Observatory and Tenagra Observatory Supernova Searches (LOTOSS).^[3]

Beginning in 2018, after a NASA grant to owner Michael Schwartz expired, control of the Arizona observatory was turned over to Gianluca Masi's Virtual Telescope project.^[4]

Instruments

The observatory near Cottage Grove, Oregon was constructed c. 1998, and had a 14-inch (360 mm) Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain with a SBIG CCD imager, probably upgraded to Apogee Instruments later.^[5][6]

The Arizona observatory at Patagonia, 20 miles from Nogales, began operations in 2000. Tenagra II is a custom-made 32-inch (810 mm) Ritchey-Chretien telescope manufactured by SciTech Astronomical Research, in operation since 2001.^[7][4][6] "Pearl" is a 16-inch (410 mm) f/3.75 corrected Newtonian.^[5] There is also a 24-inch (610 mm) SciTech Ritchey-Chretien, and another 14-inch Celestron.^[6]

The Oregon site was in use as of 2004 as a backup site, during the Southwest monsoon season.^[6]

Observations and public outreach

The robotic telescopes can image 1,000 galaxies in an evening for supernova discovery.^[6] Using the Oregon Tenagra I telescope, its maker became "the first amateur to achieve consistent supernova discoveries" by using a robotic telescope "to patrol hundreds of galaxies each night".^[8]

The Oregon observatory reported 77 Minor Planet Electronic Circulars between 1999 and 2002.^[2]

The Oregon observatory discovered supernova SN 1997cx [pl].^[9]

Paulo R. Holvorcem (Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil) and Michael Schwartz (Patagonia, Arizona) discovered comet C/2011 K1 (Schwartz-Holvorcem) [uk] in May 2011.^[10][11]

Comet 274P/Tombaugh-Tenagra [fr] is named for the observatory and Clyde Tombaugh. Tombaugh initially discovered it in January 1931,^[12] but was not recovered until 2012. It was provisionally named Comet P/2012 WX_32 (Tenagra) when recovered by Michael Schwartz and Paulo R. Holvorcem using Tenagra II.^[13]

The observatory's Tenagra IV instrument, along with Palomar Observatory's Samuel Oschin telescope, was the second to image dwarf planet Sedna, providing confirmation of its discovery and refining its orbital parameters.^[14]

In 2018, Pearl imaged the Tesla Roadster in space,^[15] when it had a magnitude of 15.5,^[16] comparable to Pluto's moon Charon.

In 2018, imagery from the Arizona observatory was livestreamed by Gianluca Masi during the 2018 DV₁ close approach to Earth as a Virtual Telescope project outreach event.^[17] Images of the Tiangong-1 space station in its decaying orbit were livestreamed in 2018, a few days before reentry.^[18]

Awards

2013 Edgar Wilson Award^[19]

See also

• List of asteroid-discovering observatories#Tenagra II Observatory
• List of minor planet discoverers
• "Darmok"
• Winer Observatory