West Mountain Observatory

West Mountain Observatory

Organization	Brigham Young University
Location	West Mountain
Coordinates	40°05′15″N 111°49′34″W / 40.08741°N 111.82604°W / 40.08741; -111.82604Coordinates: 40°05′15″N 111°49′34″W / 40.08741°N 111.82604°W / 40.08741; -111.82604
Altitude	2,120 meters (6,960 ft)
Established	1981 (1981)
Website	West Mountain Observatory
Telescopes
unnamed telescope 0.9 m reflector unnamed telescope 0.5 m reflector unnamed telescope 0.3 m reflector
Location of West Mountain Observatory
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West Mountain Observatory (WMO) is an astronomical observatory located on West Mountain near the community of West Mountain, Utah United States, about 22 km (14 mi) southwest of Provo. The observatory is owned and operated by Brigham Young University (BYU), and opened in 1981 after increasing light pollution reduced the utility of the Orson Pratt Observatory on the BYU campus. The first year of observing with the new 0.9 m telescope included imaging of intrinsic variable stars and high-mass X-ray binaries. Past research topics include light curve analysis of Delta Scuti variable stars and identifying pre-main-sequence stars by searching for H-alpha emitting objects.