astronomy

Wise Observatory

Wise 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 Wise Observatory rather than just read about it. In short: The Florence and George Wise Observatory (IAU code 097) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Tel Aviv University. It is located 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of the town of Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev desert near the edge of the Ramon Crater, and it is the only professional astronomical observatory in Israel.

Key takeaways

Wise 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 Wise Observatory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wise Observatory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Florence and George Wise Observatory (IAU code 097) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Tel Aviv University. It is located 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of the town of Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev desert near the edge of the Ramon Crater, and it is the only professional astronomical observatory in Israel.

History The observatory was founded in October 1971 as a collaboration between Tel Aviv University and the Smithsonian Institution, and named after the late Dr. George S. Wise, the first President of the Tel Aviv University. The observatory is a research laboratory of Tel Aviv University. It belongs to the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences and it serves mainly staff and graduate students from the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the School of Physics and Astronomy, and from the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences. Traditionally, the Wise Observatory Director is appointed by Tel Aviv University's Dean of Exact Sciences from the senior academic staff of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The directors of the Wise Observatory since its foundation were:

Uri Feldman (1971–1973) Asher Gottesman (1973–1975) Dror Sadeh (1975–1977) Elia Leibowitz (1977–1980) Hagai Netzer (1980–1983) Elia Leibowitz (1983–1988) Tsevi Mazeh (1988–1990) Hagai Netzer (1990–1991) Elia Leibowitz (1991–1998) Dan Maoz (1998–2000) Noah Brosch (2000–2006) Tsevi Mazeh (2006 – February 2007) Noah Brosch (February 2007 – 2010) Tsevi Mazeh (2011–2012) Dan Maoz (since 2012)

Site The number of clear nights (zero cloudiness) at the Wise Observatory site is about 170 a year. The number of useful nights, with part of the night cloud-free, is about 240. The best season, when practically no clouds are observed, is June to August, while the highest chance for clouds are in the period January to April. Winds are usually moderate, mainly from North-East and North. Storm wind velocities (greater than 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour)) occur, but rarely. The wind speed tends to decrease during the night. Temperature gradients are small and fairly moderate. The average relative humidity is quite high, with a tendency to decline during the night from April to August. The average seeing is about 2-3 seconds of arc. A few good nights have seeing of 1" or less, while few show seeing larger than 5". An important advantage of the Wise Observatory at its location of ~35°E in the Northern Hemisphere is the possibility of cooperating with observatories at other longitudes for time-series studies. Such projects involve searches for stellar oscillations within the Whole Earth Telescope project, monitoring gravitational microlensing events, combined ground and space observing campaigns, etc.

Research highlights and discoveries

A project to monitor photometrically and spectroscopically Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is still running, following about 30 years of data collection. Other major projects include searches for supernovae and extrasolar planets (transiting or lensing), and investigations of star formation processes in galaxies through wide and narrow-band filter imaging. Lately, some emphasis is put on studies of Near Earth Objects (NEOs), with the research focus being the rotational properties of NEOs and of other asteroids through the investigation of their light curves. As of 2016, the Wise Observatory is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 17 numbered minor planets during 1999–2007. Moreover, another 8 minor planets were discovered at the Wise Observatory, but are now credited to the individual astronomers such as David Polishook (see adjunct table and footnotes).

Equipment

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wise Observatory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wise 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 Wise 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 Wise 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 Wise Observatory

In research: Wise 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 Wise 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: Wise Observatory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 establishments in Israel, Astronomical observatories in Israel, Buildings and structures in Southern District (Israel), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wise 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 Wise Observatory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wise Observatory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wise Observatory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wise Observatory in simple terms?

Why does Wise 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 Wise 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 Wise Observatory.