ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
ARO 50 Inch (1.3m) Astro-Research Astrograph
Photo: Mike Lockwood
AR-50 Telescope
The 1.3m telescope mirror blank was supplied by Peter Wangsness and the optical work was performed by Lockwood Custom Optics. The mirror was completed in February 2013, but due to damage by the mirror coater, the mirror figure was destroyed and had to be completely re-ground a second time by Mike Lockwood. The mirror was finished and put into operation August 2014 over a year later that expected. In the first 30 days of service, the 50 inch telescope has surpassed our expectations with the detection of NEO 2010 SV3 at unfiltered magnitude 24.0.