Kitt Peak National Observatory

Perched atop this peak in the Quinlan Mountains, 56 miles [90 km] southwest of Tucson, Arizona, is the world’s largest concentration of optical telescopes. Astronomers come from all over the world, some 7,000 vying for the privilege of a few nights a year on the various telescopes. All are available to qualified scientists, but time slots are limited. Selections are made on the basis of the scientific merit of the research projects proposed.

There are 22 telescopes on 6,900-foot-high [2,100 m] Kitt Peak​—14 for the national observatory, 8 others operated by universities or other groups. There are four types of telescopes: optical, radio, infrared, and the world’s largest solar telescope.

Sun is king in Arizona for months on end, but on a summer afternoon and evening on Kitt Peak, it can suddenly be dethroned. Dark clouds close over the mountaintop. Swirling, seething thunderheads boil upward for eight miles [13 km] or more. Lightning bolts split the sky, thunder cracks like a giant bullwhip, torrential rain slashes down in sheets. Kitt Peak is in its monsoon season. This dazzling display takes over the sky, and for a time it steals the show from the telescopes.

[Picture Credit Line on page 31]

G. Ladd