Lowell Observatory

Programs: Lowell observatory astronomers conduct forefront research in all areas of astronomy, including studies of the sun, solar system, stars, galaxies and cosmology. In 2017, our astronomers averaged one pubished paper per week in leading scientific journals, and they regularly participate in major astronomical missions, using major telescopes around the world and in space, and are invited to participate in facilities and science reviews. Lowell astronomers are also very successful at obtaining grants in support of their research from external sources such as nasa and the national science foundation. Lowell's 4. 3-meter discovery channel telescope (dct) was brought into full operations in 2015, and in 2017 we delivered 300 science nights to astronomers from our own staff and from our partners (current partners are boston university, korea astronomy and space science institute, northern arizona university, university of maryland, university of texas, university of toledo and yale university). We brought a world-leading infrared instrument to dct (expres) which will hunt for earth-sized planets around other stars, we comissioned a new infrared spectrograph nihts that was built in-house, and solidified plans to bring additional world-class instruments from our partners, thereby expanding dct's capabilities for many years to come. Lowell aluminized the dct's 1-m secondary mirror in 2017 and improved the safety and efficiency of its instrument cube.

our educational programs teach visitors about general concepts in physics and astronomy and about past and present research projects at lowell. More than 98,000 visitors of all ages and backgrounds participated in these programs in 2017. Lowell observatory camps for kids (locks) programs were offered onsite for children ages 3-15. Students enrolled in the locks programs learned about topics in astronomy and physics through hands-on exercises and explorations. These onsite programs served more than 200 children and a number of local teachers over the course of the year. Lowell astronomers and educators involved in the observatory's navajo-hopi program made numerous visits to schools on navajo and hopi lands to teach lessons and host star parties.