Félix Aguilar Observatory
| Organization | National University of San Juan | ||||||||||
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| Code | 808 | ||||||||||
| Location | San Juan Province, Argentina | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°48′08″S 69°19′35″W / 31.8023°S 69.3265°WCoordinates: 31°48′08″S 69°19′35″W / 31.8023°S 69.3265°W | ||||||||||
| Altitude | 2,420 meters (7,940 ft) | ||||||||||
| Established | 1960 | ||||||||||
| Website | Observatorio Astronómico Félix Aguilar | ||||||||||
| Telescopes | |||||||||||
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| unnamed telescope | 0.8 m reflector |
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| unnamed double astrograph | 0.5 m solar telescope (×2) |
| Mirror Coronagraph for Argentina | solar telescope |
| H-Alpha Solar Telescope of Argentina | solar telescope |
| ROA Automated Meridian Telescope | astrograph |
Félix Aguilar Observatory (Spanish: Observatorio Félix Aguilar, or Observatorio Astronómico Félix Aguilar - OAFA) is an astronomical observatory in the San Juan Province of Argentina. Its primary observing facility is located El Leoncito National Park in the west of San Juan Province. Also located in El Leoncito Park is the Leoncito Astronomical Complex. The remote site was known as "El Leoncito Observatory" until 1990, when it became Carlos Ulrrico Cesco Astronomical Station (Spanish: Estación Astronómica Carlos Ulrrico Cesco - EACUC). The observatory is operated by the School of Physical and Natural Sciences at National University of San Juan in San Juan, Argentina. The original OAFA observatory buildings are located at the west end of the city.
OAFA is named after Félix Aguilar (1884–1943), an Argentine astronomer and engineer who was director of the La Plata Astronomical Observatory from 1919 to 1921, and again from 1934 until his death. EACUC was renamed after Carlos Ulrrico Cesco on the 25th anniversary of the beginning of observations in honour of his contributions to the founding and operation of the observatory.
In 1947, research had been started at the Lick Observatory in California to study the Northern Milky Way's structure by determining the accurate positions and apparent motions of stars. There was a need to extend that investigation to the Southern Hemisphere, and in 1960, Yale University obtained initial funding of 750 k$ for the purpose of building a southern observatory for that purpose from the Ford Foundation. Following a survey of potential sites, the observatory was built at El Leoncito, Argentina, near Barreal in the province of San Juan, in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountains at an elevation of approximately 2400 m (8000 ft). The site was provided under a long-term lease by the University of Cuyo and the observatory was jointly operated by the University of Cuyo's Observatorio Astronómico "Félix Aguilar" (OAFA) in San Juan and the Yale-Columbia Southern Observatory, Inc (YCSO). A residence was constructed adjacent to the grounds of the OAFA in San Juan for the technical support and housing of the YCSO personnel while they were in San Juan.
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