Welcome!
The Clay Center Observatory is a unique facility dedicated to astronomical research and science education through its programs, instructional activities, and publications. The observatory is equipped with a custom-made, diffraction-limited 0.64-m (25-inch) f/9.6 Ritchey-Chrétien reflecting telescope, similar in optical design to the Hubble Space Telescope. The observatory is fully automated and can be operated remotely from any computer in the world via the Internet, thus serving as a valuable resource for astronomers around the world.
Nonprofit institutions including both public and independent schools and colleges worldwide are invited to use the facility and to collaborate with Dexter and Southfield Schools on educational programs and research projects. U.S. federal agencies and private aerospace companies are also invited to request use of MARS to support their research or operational programs.
On these pages you’ll find descriptions of the observatory’s equipment, programs, and capabilities. Of particular interest is the Mobile Aerospace Reconnaissance System, MARS, which is a transportable ground-based spacecraft-imaging system capable of photographing the windows of the Space Shuttle while it is in orbit. The closed-loop high-resolution imaging system is able to lock automatically onto and track aircraft, suborbital spacecraft, rockets and missiles, Earth-orbiting spacecraft, and objects in heliocentric orbits. Upon request, MARS can be delivered and operated anywhere in the United States or Canada in a matter of hours.