Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

Cerro Tololo Inter–American Observatory

(se -roh toh-loh -loh) (CTIO) A US observatory near La Serena, Chile, at an altitude of 2200 meters. It is run by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), which operates through the National Optical Astronomical Observatory. Its principal instruments are a 4-meter reflecting telescope, the Victor Blanco Telescope, which began operating in 1976, and two smaller reflectors, one 1.5 meters in aperture and the other 0.9 meter. The 4-meter telescope has a Cer-Vit primary mirror, with Cassegrain (f/8), infrared (f/30), and prime (f/2.7) foci, on an equatorial mounting. The observatory also operates a Schmidt telescope at this site. Nearby Cerro Pachón is the location of the Gemini South telescope (see Gemini telescopes) and the SOAR Telescope.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006