Pomona Observatory

Brackett Observatory

Home of Astronomy

Built in 1908, Brackett Observatory at Pomona College in Claremont, CA is pictured here against an uncommonly cloudy sky. The closer dome above the "rock house" is called Whitney while the farther dome is know as Brackett.
	On top of Brackett is a third and much smaller dome that houses a 10" Meade LX200. This is Robodome and is being used for completely automated robotic observing.
Between the two domes are the stairs leading up to the telescopes. Pictured here is the entrance into Brackett and the stairs leading up to the Brackett Dome and Robodome. To the right of the picture is the door leading into the rock house and directly across from the Brackett entrance is a bathroom.
	The observatory underwent major renovation in 2001 which included new floors, new paint and new telescopes. Here is the astronomy classroom under the Brackett Dome. To the right are offices and storage space. The the left is the entrance into the darkroom.
The Pomona College Solar telescope images the solar disk into the "rock house". The solar image is formed more than 30 feet from the heliostat optics and the solar telescope may be controlled by remote control from inside the rock house. By sending the solar image into the rock house, spectroscopic experiments may be performed on the light. The light enters the rock house through a small entrance window, and students can do experiments on solar spectroscopy in a darkened room with the spectrograph	Solar Telescope (above) and Solar Spectrograph (below)
	The 2001 renovation of Brackett included replacing the very old 12" and 22" telescopes with brand new 14" Celestron reflectors.

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Website created by Julie Rivera
Last Updated: September 6, 2002