Southeastern Associations for Research in Astronomy (SARA)

VSU Astronomy Faculty belong to the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy, which allows us to use the 0.9 m optical telescope (above) located at Kitt Peak, AZ under the auspices of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).

This instrument, although located in Arizona, is accessible via remote observing.  Instead of having to travel to the west coast, we can sit in our SARA office on the 3r floor of Nevins Hall and do our observing via computer.  

We also have a 0.6 m instrument located at NOAO's mirror site in the southern hemisphere, Cerro Tololo International Observatory (CTIO) in La Serena, Chile (below).  

The images, above, of astronomical objects were taken on these telescopes.