Much of what makes Tucson’s landscape unique has contributed to making the city internationally renowned for science as well, an advantage that university leaders and public officials have cultivated and preserved over the decades as the city’s reputation has grown.
THE CLEAR, DRY SKIES MAKE SOUTHERN ARIZONA ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST SITES FOR ASTRONOMY, AND HOME TO MORE RESEARCH TELESCOPES THAN ANY OTHER PLACE ON EARTH.
“Researchers led by Gerard Kuiper mapped the moon and did the science for the space race to land on the moon and that’s a great story,” says Shipherd Reed of the University of Arizona. “Kuiper founded the UArizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, which continues to this day and is one of the big reasons that UArizona is a leader in planetary science. There’s no other university that can claim to be the lead on NASA missions, like the Phoenix Mars Lander and OSIRIS-REx asteroid study.” Learn more about space exploration and Tucson’s role in furthering that endeavor with exhibits and planetarium shows for all ages at Flandrau.
The mountains rising from the desert-and-grassland lowlands lead to a striking biodiversity—known as the Sky Islands—and are natural boons for ecological and climate studies. For curious visitors and locals alike, many of the telescopes, labs, and archives are publicly accessible, as are the world-class researchers, making for awe-inspiring demonstrations, educational attractions, and thought-provoking lectures and presentations. The astronomy program began humbly a century ago, when A.E. Douglass (who also founded the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, making him a real Renaissance man) began a world-class observatory on what was then a far-flung corner of campus. Then in the late 1950s, with the founding of NASA and the Kitt Peak National Observatory (rising 6,800 feet about an hour southwest of Tucson), the University rapidly expanded its space science programs. Today, the observatory offers tours of the night sky, including the seasonal Meteor Mania programs.
Photo Courtesy of University of Arizona
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