07/02/06

MISSION 

The Mission of the Francisquito Observatory is twofold:

1) To obtain measurements of the positions of Near Earth Asteroids, at a standard of precision that meets the needs of scientific research in this field.

2)    To disseminate information on Near Earth Asteroid research and general astronomy to the public, and share the resources of the Observatory for the education of young people.

The interested visitor can read through the “Why Observe NEAs?” section of this web site to gain an understanding of why 1) is part of our mission.

 Part 2) of our mission is significant because of our belief in the importance of all people having a sense of their own “location” in the cosmos.  It is our hope that with a better understanding of where we live, humankind will be more willing to value, respect, and protect all inhabitants and all life-essential systems on our rare and special home in Space.

The Francisquito Observatory will proactively seek opportunities to get students from primary education institutions involved in science and astronomy.  This will be accomplished by enabling remote use of the Observatory’s instrumentation via the Internet.  Implementation of this initiative is currently in the planning and development stage.  Please monitor the “News and Views” section of the web site to keep up-to-date on this aspect of the Observatory’s mission.

HISTORY

Design of the Francisquito Observatory as a dedicated NEA observation site began in early 2003.  The observatory’s telescopes were procured by Spring 2003 and their optical performance was visually tested in a variety of settings, for a range of astronomical targets.  Instrumentation specifications were finalized by mid-2003 and the first CCD imager was delivered in August 2003.  An order was placed for the computer-controlled telescope drive mechanism in September 2003.  Delivery of the drive system was taken in December 2003, when it was picked up at the machine shop where it was fabricated (located in the Sierra foothills near Sacramento, California).  Because the main telescope (30cm reflector), CCD imagers, and drive system are all manufactured in California, the Observatory’s instrumentation could well be named the “Golden State Telescope”.

Concrete footings for the telescope support pier and drive mechanism were poured in January 2004.  Preliminary testing of the mechanical, optical, and electronic systems continued through January and February 2004.  In March 2004, a major commitment was made to future operation of the observatory when a 7.5cm-diameter hole was punched through the wall of the adjacent home in order to run the five control and data cables which connect the outdoor instrumentation to the indoor control console.

Final commissioning of the control software, and the optical, mechanical, electronic systems continued through mid-March 2004.  Francisquito’s first precision NEA measurements were made in early March 2004, and the Observatory entered an accreditation process with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/Minor Planet Center which lasted through the March-April lunar cycle.  This was a period of much hair-pulling and little sleep.  The observatory’s official identification code (G70) from the International Astronomical Union was issued in April 2004.

With the accreditation process completed, the Observatory was able to “hit the ground running”.  In the short period from late April to early June 2004, Francisquito Observatory was a direct participant in the discovery of four Near Earth Asteroids (2004HH33, 2004JP1, 2004KH17, 2004KK17) and one comet (C/2004K3 LINEAR).