Are there any observatories with very popwerful telescopes that one could visit and observe things like:?

Question

pulsars, quasars, black holes, asteroids, moons of Jupiter, etc. ?

Answer 1

consult with your local college or university.it is possible to arrange for

'telescope time',however you may find competition for prime viewing times,and scope time is often sold for $

Answer 2

You need a radio telescope to detect pulsars. It's easy to convert the signals to sound you can hear. May as well download the sounds and listen.

I've seen Ceres, and other minor planets (asteroids) in my telescope, as well as moons of Jupiter, and a quasar.

Black holes have not been observed directly. Xray telescopes can detect the accretion disk, and big scopes can track the movements of nearby stars, showing that a high mass object exists. You need an observing campaign for this.

My scope is a 10 inch, about $800. But my astronomy club can show you any of this, with some preparation. The club is currently building a radio telescope, but it won't pick up pulsars, just the Sun and Jupiter.

Answer 3

Yes, look for your local astronomy club, if you have one. Such clubs usually have public viewing through members' telescopes - star parties, they call 'em. Planets, asteroids, comets, satellites, nebulas, galaxies, star clusters, double, triple, quadruple stars -- all kinds of things are possible to see through amateurs' telescopes. Good luck!

Answer 4

There are now NO professional observatories where it is possible to look through a telescope, as no professional class telescope built since World War 2 was made where it was possible to look through.  It is and long has been exclusively photography (now in electronic media).  A few observatories do have small telescopes that they open up to the public occasionally.  In any case, of the objects you mention, black holes by definition are not visible (black objects in a black sky).  The brightest pulsars are extremely faint, and the same is true of quasars.  A few asteroids can sometimes be seen even with good binoculars (there is one which rarely gets bright enough for the unaided eye).  The four large moons of Jupiter can be seen in good binoculars.

Check with a planetarium in your area for astronomy clubs that hold public observing sessions.  Some planetariums also do this, and Astronomy Day in April a lot of places have telescopes set up for public use--just not the really large ones.

Answer 5

Professional telescopes are designed for research purposes only, using cameras and spectroscopes to study the skies. They usually don't have eyepieces for visual observing. A number of older observatories and amateur club observatories are open to the public and allow you to look through their telescopes at a wide variety of objects.