Large Binocular Telescope Observatory
Research ServicesArizona, United States11-50 Employees
The Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO) is a research services organization headquartered on the University of Arizona’s Tucson campus, with operations based in southeastern Arizona near Safford on Emerald Peak in the Coronado National Forest. It operates the Large Binocular Telescope, which combines two identical 8.4-meter mirrors on a shared mount to achieve a larger effective aperture and high angular resolution, aided by adaptive optics to correct atmospheric distortions. This setup enables sensitive observations of faint celestial objects, leveraging an interferometric baseline and compact telescope design to maximize light gathering and image quality. LBTO represents an international collaboration among the University of Arizona, Italian partners, German partners, and Ohio State University, collectively involving several affiliated universities, and it serves the astronomical research community as its primary customer base. The organization sits within the broader research services industry, contributing specialized observational capabilities to its partners and visitors within the field of astronomy and astrophysics.