Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations Â»

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places Â»
Seiryudo Cave – named after Seiryu, the Azure Dragon, this cave features deep vertical columns surrounded by dense vegetation.
Genbudo Park
Hunter House Hamburgers
Jesus Backpacker
One of the chamber’s rooms.
Dr. Wolf’s Wunderkammer
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è Pasta... E Pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Arizona Sells McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

The biggest solar telescope in the world helps reveal the secrets of our sun.

Sells, Arizona

Added By
Trevor David
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.   http://www.noao.edu/outreach/media/photo/n...
View of the top of the tower, showing the heliostat.   http://www.noao.edu/outreach/media/photo/n...
View inside the main diagonal shaft.   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8...
View of the telescope from the road.   http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xQ4m5ryqUlY/RraX5FVp...
Lower concave mirrors   engcon / Atlas Obscura User
Mirrors to the observation room   engcon / Atlas Obscura User
Heliostats   engcon / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, atop Kitt Peak in Arizona, is the world's largest instrument dedicated to studying the Sun. Designed by Bruce Graham of the prolific Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill architectural firm, the telescope commands an awe-inspiring view with its distinctive 110-foot-tall tower and 200-foot-long diagonal shaft.

Completed in 1962, the building's main instrument is a heliostat, which tracks the Sun through the sky and focuses its light down through the diagonal shaft. This shaft continues about 50 vertical meters underground to a 1.6-meter primary mirror, forming the largest unobstructed aperture of any optical telescope system. From here, the light travels back up a portion of the shaft to a flat mirror, which then reflects an 85-centimeter wide image of the Sun downward to a subterranean laboratory.

In addition to being the largest solar telescope in the world, the McMath-Pierce is also unique because it is sensitive enough to observe bright stars at night. The telescope also boasts a low-cost (which translates from astronomical terms to less than $25,000) adaptive optics system. This setup utilizes a rapidly deformable mirror to correct for distortions introduced by the turbulent atmosphere. Using sensors to measure the degree of image distortion, the adaptive optics system adjusts the mirror's shape accordingly and thus turns a blurry image into a clear one.

One major area of study at the observatory is the structure of sunspots, which are relatively cold, dark spots on the Sun's surface created by intense magnetic activity. Some of the more important discoveries made at McMath-Pierce, however, include the detection of water vapor in the Sun, the measurement of kilogauss magnetic fields (thousands of times stronger than the Earth's) outside of sunspots, and the detection of a natural maser (like a laser, but with microwaves instead of visible light) in the Martian atmosphere.

Update as of January 2022: "We are currently not hosting public visitors to the summit or base facilities. With the continuously evolving nature of the pandemic, we currently do not have a reopening date. We will update this page when a reopening date is available. The timeline may be different for each site.".

Related Tags

Instruments Of Science Architectural Oddities Subterranean Sites Telescopes Science Architecture

Know Before You Go

Kitt Peak is 56 miles southwest of Tucson via State Route 86 on the Tohono O'Odham Reservation. Allow 90 minutes of drive time from Tucson. Take I-10 to I-19 South. Less than 1 mile is Ajo Way/Hwy 86 (Exit 99). Take this exit West (right). Proceed past Ryan Airfield and Three Points. Continue until Junction 386 (Kitt Peak turnoff). Turn left onto 386. The Kitt Peak Visitor Center is located at the summit (12 miles).

Community Contributors

Added By

Trevor

Edited By

rnshagam, beaugunderson, engcon

  • rnshagam
  • beaugunderson
  • engcon

Published

January 20, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://nsokp.nso.edu/mp/
  • http://www.noao.edu/outreach/kptour/mcmath.html
  • http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/mcpierce.html
  • http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/M/McMath-Pierce_Solar_Telescope.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMath-Pierce_Solar_Telescope
  • http://www.som.com/content.cfm/mcmath_pierce_solar_telescope
  • http://www.noao.edu/noao/staff/keller/irao/
  • https://www.azpm.org/s/39374-kitt-peak-solar-telescope-being-decommissioned/
McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope
Off 386
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Sells, Arizona, 85634
United States
31.958417, -111.594675
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

ASARCO Mission Mine and Mineral Discovery Center

Sahuarita, Arizona

miles away

Petroglyphs at Signal Hill

Tucson, Arizona

miles away

Tucson Mineral and Gem World

Tucson, Arizona

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Arizona

Arizona

United States

Places 284
Stories 24

Nearby Places

ASARCO Mission Mine and Mineral Discovery Center

Sahuarita, Arizona

miles away

Petroglyphs at Signal Hill

Tucson, Arizona

miles away

Tucson Mineral and Gem World

Tucson, Arizona

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Arizona

Arizona

United States

Places 284
Stories 24

Related Stories and Lists

Initial Lineup Announced for Atlas Obscura's Ecliptic Festival!

astronomy

By Atlas Obscura

11 Telescopes Exploring The Magic of Space

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • IceCube Research Station

    Antarctica

    IceCube Research Station

    The world's largest neutrino telescope searches for secrets of the universe at the South Pole.

  • Ladd Observatory

    Providence, Rhode Island

    Ladd Observatory

    A 132-year-old telescope continues to keep watch over the night skies above Providence.

  • Underground House

    Las Vegas, Nevada

    Underground House

    A luxurious doomsday bunker hidden beneath an unassuming Las Vegas home offers the best of subterranean suburbia.

  • The planetarium’s Saturn-shaped building measures nearly 70 feet in diameter.

    Lucknow, India

    Indira Gandhi Planetarium

    Inside the dome of this gigantic, Saturn-shaped building is one of the largest planetariums in Asia.

  • P-1 Level 1.

    Athens, Greece

    Klafthmonos Square Parking Structure Fortification Walls

    Preserved portions of Athens's ancient defenses are on display in a subterranean parking garage.

  • Tower of Wind.

    Kawasaki, Japan

    Tower of Wind

    Curious onlookers have suspected this strange structure is a secret government base.

  • Garden Santa Fe.

    Mexico City, Mexico

    Garden Santa Fe

    The underground mall's skylights look like they could be part of a spaceship.

  • Canberra, Australia

    The Shine Dome

    This copper-coated, multi-arched dome is surrounded by a moat and lights up at night.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.