Baker Observatory

The William G. and Retha Stone Baker Observatory was established in 1977. The observatory is used for basic astronomy and astronomical techniques laboratories, and by faculty and students engaged in astronomical research.

Future plans

Our department is currently fundraising to build a new education building on the site of the Baker Observatory. If you are interested in helping us reach this goal, please contact Dr. Robert Mayanovic at 417-836-5606.

Public Observing Night at Baker Observatory

Join us at our newly updated facility, and take this opportunity to use our new telescopes.

Equipment

Telescopes

There are three permanently mounted telescopes:

0.4-meter (16") diameter Cassegrain reflector
0.36-meter (14") diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain hybrid
0.28-meter (11") diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain hybrid

The 0.4-meter reflector was one of the first telescopes used at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, and later at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. It was obtained by Missouri State University from AURA in 1983.

CCD detectors

There are a number of CCD detectors used on telescopes:

A Princeton Instruments 1340x1300 pixel nitrogen-cooled camera on the 0.4-m reflector
An Apogee Instruments, Inc. 512x512 pixel thermoelectrically-cooled camera on the 0.36-m Schmidt-Cassegrain hybrid
SBIG ST-6, 7, and 9 CCD detectors are used on student telescopes

Astronomy Image Analysis Laboratory

Astronomy faculty and students use the astronomical image analysis laboratory to work on images obtained at Baker Observatory and other national and international observatories. By examining these images of the universe more closely, students and faculty are able to make exciting new observations and discoveries.

CCD images

Charged-Coupled Device detectors (CCDs) are used by most observatories to record images of astronomical objects and spectra of these objects. These detectors are similar to the ones found in modern digital cameras and video cameras, except that astronomical CCDs are manufactured under stringent procedures to produce scientific-grade detectors.

Image Reduction (Calibration)