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Fenton Hill Observatory is an astronomical research facility operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, about west of Los Alamos. The site is home to several astronomical experiments and observatories spanning .〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://laastro.lanl.gov/fho/Fenton_Hill_Blurb.html )〕 It is also known as Technical Area 57 (TA-57) and is located at an elevation of in a region shielded from light pollution. Los Alamos National Laboratory has a use agreement with the Forest Service for the , which is located near Fenton Lake State Park.〔 ==History== The site was originally developed for a project in geothermal energy known as Hot Dry Rock, which was one of the first attempts at geothermal power. The project began in 1974 and was run intermittently until finally being terminated in 1995.〔 At that time the site was set to be turned back to the Forest service. A number of potential users of the site at Los Alamos met in late 1995 to propose making Fenton Hill into a research station for astronomy, geosciences, and educational outreach programs. A Fenton Hill Observatory steering committee was formed from Los Alamos staff and potential outside users. The Los Alamos branch of the University of California Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (INPAC) supported construction. Los Alamos has a history of pioneering research in gamma ray bursts. In 1973 the Vela satellite, which was built by Los Alamos to monitor atmospheric nuclear tests, recorded brief bursts of gamma-rays of cosmic origin coming from random directions on the sky. Today, theories abound on what causes the bursts and where they come from, but they remain a mysterious astronomical phenomena which is the subject of much research. The REACT telescope was the first gamma-ray telescope built at Fenton Hill. It received funding in July 1996 and was completed in 1998.〔 Fenton Hill Observatory ran the Earthwatch Student Challenge Awards Program, funded by the Durfee Foundation, during which eight highly talented high school students came and used portable telescopes, CCD cameras and computers to determine some of the astronomical characteristics of the Fenton Hill site and other potential sites in the Jemez Mountains, such as Pajarito Peak. The program ran for five summers between 1997 and 2001.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fenton Hill Observatory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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