astronomy

University of Toronto Southern Observatory

University of Toronto Southern Observatory is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand University of Toronto Southern Observatory rather than just read about it. In short: The University of Toronto Southern Observatory (UTSO) was an astronomical observatory built by the University of Toronto at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. It hosted a single 60 cm Cassegrain telescope and a small cottage for the operators, located amongst the instruments funded by other organizations.

Key takeaways

University of Toronto Southern Observatory belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect University of Toronto Southern Observatory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of University of Toronto Southern Observatory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The University of Toronto Southern Observatory (UTSO) was an astronomical observatory built by the University of Toronto at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. It hosted a single 60 cm Cassegrain telescope and a small cottage for the operators, located amongst the instruments funded by other organizations. The first observational runs started in 1971, and like many smaller instruments, it was later shut down in favor of a partial share in a much larger telescope in 1997. Although small by modern standards, the Southern Observatory nevertheless became famous for its role in the discovery of SN 1987A when U of T astronomer Ian Shelton spotted the supernova while observing with another little-used telescope at the site.

History The Southern Observatory came about as a side-effect of problems being caused by the urban sprawl in the Toronto area. Originally located far in the country outside the city, the university's David Dunlap Observatory was being encroached on by new suburbs to its west. There seemed to be no end in sight to the outward growth of the city, and the process would eventually result in the Observatory being completely surrounded by housing, rendering it largely unusable due to street lighting. The director considered looking for a new site further north of the city, but at this time in the late 1960s a number of major observatories were starting to set up stations in Chile. Astronomers at the university, Garrison, Racine and van den Bergh, all had experience with Chile, and strongly urged establishing a site there. The result was a National Research Council of Canada (NRC) grant in 1969 to purchase a 60 cm prototype telescope from Competition Associates in Boston. An agreement was reached with the Carnegie Institution of Washington to locate this telescope at their Las Campanas site in Chile, and further funding for a cottage, Casa Canadiense, was provided by University of Toronto Astronomy endowment funds. Operating costs were originally paid for by a grant from the University of Toronto Associates in New York, and later by grants from the NRC (NSERC after its name changed). The first regular observing run with the telescope started in 1971 under Bill Harris. The telescope was equipped for spectroscopy, photometry, and photography; CCD's were installed later. In 1992 it was named the Helen Sawyer Hogg Telescope (HSHT) in recognition of Hogg's work on measuring the distance to variable stars in globular clusters. Work continued on the telescope until 1997 when funding was directed to buying a share of the Gemini Observatory being built on Cerro Pachón. HSHT was then donated to the CASLEO (Leoncito Astronomical Complex), the National Observatory of Argentina, and moved, along with the entire dome and building, to their observatory in El Leoncito National Park, where it began operations in 2001. U of T retains a 25% share in observational time on the HSHT.

See also Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory David Dunlap Observatory List of astronomical observatories

References

External links Astronomy and Astrophysics, A Short History of the Department and Observatory Helen Sawyer Hogg 60-cm Telescope, University of Toronto Southern Observatory

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with University of Toronto Southern Observatory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what University of Toronto Southern Observatory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to University of Toronto Southern Observatory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about University of Toronto Southern Observatory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of University of Toronto Southern Observatory

In research: University of Toronto Southern Observatory appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses University of Toronto Southern Observatory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: University of Toronto Southern Observatory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical observatories in Chile, Buildings and structures in Coquimbo Region, Defunct astronomical observatories, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for University of Toronto Southern Observatory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study University of Toronto Southern Observatory in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is University of Toronto Southern Observatory in simple terms?

Why does University of Toronto Southern Observatory matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study University of Toronto Southern Observatory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on University of Toronto Southern Observatory.