Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) (pronounced Perry) is an astronomical observatory located in the United States in Balsam Grove, North Carolina. It is operated as a not-for-profit foundation. PARI is in the Pisgah National Forest of Western North Carolina at an elevation of 914 m (3,000 ft). The observatory is affiliated with the University of North Carolina system through the Pisgah Astronomical Research and Science Educational Center (PARSEC) and also hosts research and study programs with Furman University, Clemson University, Virginia Tech, South Carolina State University and Duke University. PARI operates multiple radio telescopes and optical telescopes for research and teaching purposes. The foundation also sponsors astronomy educational programs using the portable StarLab planetarium. This program has been presented to over 40,000 people of all ages in Western North Carolina.
PARI is home to the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive(APDA) a site to help preserve astronomical photographic plates. These plates were the primary recording medium for astronomy data from the late 19th century until the 1980s. It is estimated that over two million of these invaluable plates exist in astronomy facilities around the world and are in jeopardy of being destroyed because of a lack of storage facilities.
Read more about Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute: General Information
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