View source for Haute-Provence Observatory

{{Infobox observatory | caption= The 1.93 meter aperture telescope, installed in 1958}}
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size: 0.9em; width: 270px;"
|+ [[Minor planet]]s discovered: 6<ref name="MPC-Discoverers" />
|-
| ''see {{section link||List of discovered minor planets}}''
|}

The '''Haute-Provence Observatory''' ('''OHP''', {{langx|fr|'''Observatoire de Haute-Provence'''}}) is an [[astronomical observatory]] in the southeast of France, about 90&nbsp;km east of [[Avignon]] and 100&nbsp;km north of [[Marseille]]. It was established in 1937 as a national facility for [[France|French]] [[astronomer]]s. Astronomical observations began in 1943 using the 1.20 m [[telescope]], and the first research papers based on observations made at the observatory were published in 1944. Foreign observers first used the observatory in 1949, when [[Geoffrey Burbidge|Geoffrey]] and [[Margaret Burbidge]] visited.

The observatory lies at an altitude of about 650 m, on a [[plateau]] near the village of [[Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire]] in the [[Alpes-de-Haute-Provence]] ''[[département in France|département]]''.

The site was chosen for an observatory because of its generally very favourable observing conditions. On average, 60% of nights are suitable for astronomical observations, with the best seasons being summer and autumn. About 170 nights per year on average are completely [[cloud]]less. The [[Astronomical seeing|seeing]] is usually around 2" but can reach 1" or lower on occasion. Seeing degrades severely, sometimes to over 10", when the cold [[Mistral (wind)|Mistral]] wind blows from the northwest. This happens on about 45 days per year on average, mostly during winter. Good weather conditions often follow a [[Mistral (wind)|Mistral]]. On average, atmospheric absorption at OHP is roughly twice that seen at the [[European Southern Observatory]] (ESO) at [[La Silla Observatory|La Silla, Chile]].

The main-belt asteroid [[7755 Haute-Provence]], discovered by Belgian astronomer [[Eric Elst]] in 1989, was named for the region where the discovering observatory is located.<ref name="springer" />

== Telescopes ==

The four main telescopes at OHP are [[reflecting telescope]]s with [[primary mirror]]s of diameters 1.93 m, 1.52 m, 1.20 m and 0.80 m.

The 1.93 m telescope was built by [[Grubb Parsons]] and installed at the site in 1958. One of the instruments available on the 1.93 m telescope was the high resolution [[ELODIE spectrograph]], replaced in 2006 by the [[SOPHIE échelle spectrograph]].  [[Michel Mayor]] and [[Didier Queloz]] discovered the [[51 Pegasi b|planet]] orbiting the star [[51 Pegasi]] from observations made using ELODIE on the 1.93 m telescope. They won half of the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] 2019 for this discovery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2019/summary/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019|publisher= [[Nobel Media AB]]|access-date= 8 October 2019}}</ref>

The 1.52 m is almost identical to the 1.52 m telescope at the [[European Southern Observatory]] in [[Chile]], and has been in use at OHP since 1967. It is predominantly used for [[spectroscopy|spectroscopic]] studies, using the high resolution spectrograph ''Aurélie''.

The 1.20 m telescope was the first to be installed at the site, and has been in use since 1943. It was originally installed at the [[Observatoire de Paris]] in 1872. It is now equipped with a direct [[charge-coupled device]] (CCD) camera at the f/6 Newton focus and is mainly used for studies of variability of X-ray sources, imaging of galaxies and H II regions and astrometry of faint solar system objects.

The 0.80 m telescope was first used during site testing at nearby [[Forcalquier]] in 1932 before the construction of the observatory, where it was later moved in 1945. The telescope is equipped with CCD cameras allowing high quality observations to be made using it, but unlike the other telescopes on site which have computer-controlled pointing systems, the 0.80 m telescope must still be pointed manually, using [[setting circles]]. It is often used by visiting undergraduate astronomy students.

Other telescopes at OHP are operated by other organizations, including a 1 m telescope belonging to [[Geneva Observatory]], a 0.5 m telescope operated by the [[French Space Agency]] for satellite tracking, and the Berlin Exoplanet Search Telescope, a 0.2 m telescope used to search for [[exoplanet]]s by observing [[Astronomical transit|transits]] across solar-type stars.

== Geophysics ==

While primarily an astronomical research facility, the observatory also hosts two [[geophysics]] research stations, one studying the [[mesosphere]] and [[thermosphere]], and one using [[laser]]s to probe the [[troposphere]] and [[stratosphere]], studying aerosol and [[ozone]] content, using [[lidar]] techniques.

== List of discovered minor planets ==
{{See also|Category:Discoveries by the Haute-Provence Observatory}}

The [[Minor Planet Center]] credits the discovery of following minor planets directly to the observatory:<ref name="MPC-Discoverers" />

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 89%; float: left; width: 25em; margin-right: 1em; line-height: 1.65em !important; height: 225px;
|-
| [[2630 Hermod]] || 14 October 1980|| {{small|{{LoMP|2630|list}}}}{{ref label|codisc|A|}}
|-
| {{mpl|(5499) 1981 SU|2}} || 29 September 1981|| {{small|{{LoMP|5499|list}}}}{{ref label|codisc|B|}}
|-
| {{mp|(88286) 2001 MM|24}} || 30 June 2001|| {{small|{{LoMP|88286|list}}}}{{ref label|codisc|B|}}
|-
| {{mp|(118977) 2000 WQ|183}} || 21 November 2000|| {{small|{{LoMP|118977|list}}}}{{ref label|codisc|B|}}
|-
| {{mp|(322655) 1999 LC|30}} || 7 June 1999|| {{small|{{LoMP|322655|list}}}}{{ref label|codisc|B|}}
|-
| {{mp|(471926) 2013 KN|6}} || 28 May 2013|| {{small|{{LoMP|471926|list}}}}{{ref label|codisc|B|}}
|-
! colspan=3 style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left; padding: 4px 12px;" |Discovery credited by the [[Minor Planet Center|MPC]] to:<br />{{note label|codisc|A|}} "Institute d'Astrophysics"<br />{{note label|codisc|B|}} "Haute Provence"
|}
{{clear}}

== See also ==
* [[List of asteroid-discovering observatories]]
* [[List of astronomical observatories]]
* {{Section link|List of minor planet discoverers|Discovering dedicated institutions}}
* [[List of observatory codes]]
* [[Lists of telescopes]]

== References ==
{{Reflist
|refs=

<ref name="MPC-Discoverers">{{cite web
  |title      = Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url        = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html
  |date       = 14 November 2016
  |access-date = 29 November 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="springer">{{cite book
  |title      = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (7755) Haute-Provence
  |last       = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.
  |publisher  = [[Springer Berlin Heidelberg]]
  |page       = 614
  |date       = 2007
  |isbn       = 978-3-540-00238-3
  |doi       = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_6658 |chapter       = (7755) Haute-Provence }}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=https://www.obs-hp.fr/ | title= OHP web site (bilingual) | work=Observatoire de Haute-Provence | access-date=2008-10-17}}
* {{cite web | url=https://obswww.unige.ch/~udry/planet/elodie.html | title=Extrasolar Planet Search Programme at Haute-Provence Observatory | work=Extrasolar Planet Search Programme | access-date=2008-10-17}}
* [https://bibnum.obspm.fr/ark:/11287/20Lq2 Video about Saint-Michel Observatory], available on [[Paris Observatory]] digital library
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[[Category:Astronomical observatories in France]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence]]
[[Category:Discoveries by the Haute-Provence Observatory|*]]
[[Category:Minor-planet discovering observatories]]
[[Category:1937 establishments in France]]