Goethe Link Observatory

Goethe Link Observatory
Organization	Indiana University; (Indiana Astronomical Society)
Observatory code	760
Location	Brooklyn, Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates	39°33′00″N 86°23′42″W / 39.55000°N 86.39500°W
Altitude	293 metres (962 ft)
Weather	Clear Sky Clock
Established	1939
Website	iasindy.org/link.html
Telescopes
Nasmyth–Cassegrain
Nasmyth–Cassegrain	0.91 m (36-inch); f/10.0
Astrograph Decommissioned	255 mm (10-inch); f/6.5 Cooke triplet
Schmidt-Cassegrain	355.6 mm (14-inch); f/11.0 Celestron SCT
	Location of Goethe Link Observatory
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Goethe Link Observatory, observatory code 760, is an astronomical observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.^[1] It is owned by Indiana University and operated by the Indiana Astronomical Society https://iasindy.org/about.html, which efforts are dedicated to the pursuit of amateur astronomy.^[2]

It is named in honor of amateur astronomer Dr. Goethe Link, an Indianapolis surgeon, who built it with his private funds. Construction of the observatory started in 1937, and the telescope was first operated in 1939. In 1948, he donated the observatory to Indiana University.^[1]

From 1949 until 1966, the Indiana Asteroid Program was conducted at Goethe Link, using a 10-inch Cooke triplet astrograph (f/6.5).^[3] The program resulted in the discovery of 119 asteroids, which were credited by the Minor Planet Center to "Indiana University".^[4]

When light pollution began to degrade the Goethe Link Observatory's capabilities in the 1960s, Indiana University built a new facility in the Morgan–Monroe State Forest officially designated as the Morgan–Monroe Station (MMS) of the Goethe Link Observatories.^[5]^[6] IU operated that facility through about 2014. Today, Indiana University primarily uses the WIYN 3.5-m and 0.9-m telescopes located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ for ongoing research.^[7]

The naming of the two main-belt asteroids, 1602 Indiana and 1728 Goethe Link – both discovered at Goethe Link Observatory in 1950 and 1964, respectively – is related to the Observatory and its parent institution.^[8]^[9]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "The Goethe Link Observatory". Indiana Astronomical Society. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
^ "Homepage of the Indiana Astronomical Society". Indiana Astronomical Society. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
^ Gehrels, Thomas (February 1958). "The Indiana asteroid program". Astronomical Journal. 63: 50. Bibcode:1958AJ.....63...50G. doi:10.1086/107684.
^ "IU Asteroid Program "records" final chapter". Indiana University – News Room. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
^ "Department of astronomy – Morgan–Monroe Observatory". Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
^ "Department of astronomy – Research Facilities". Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
^ "Indiana Astronomical Society". iasindy.org. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1602) Indiana". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1602) Indiana. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 127. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1603. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1728) Goethe Link". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1728) Goethe Link. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 137. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1729. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.