Big Bear Solar Observatory is the premier university-based solar observatory in the United States. It is operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology . BBSO features the most powerful solar telescope in the world - the 1.6 m clear aperture Goode Solar Telescope, which has no obscuration in the optical train. Light corrected by adaptive optics is fed to either the visible or near-infrared spectro-polarimeter. Additionally, uncorrected light can be fed to a cryogenic spectrograph operating out to wavelengths of 5 microns. BBSO also operates full-disk patrol telescopes. The telescopes and instruments at the observatory are designed and employed specifically for studying the activities and phenomena of our solar system's star, the Sun. For details on BBSO instrumentation, including secondary telescopes, and science, see https://www.bbso.njit.edu.General informationBBSO is located on the north side of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains of southwestern San Bernardino County, California (USA), approximately 120km east of downtown Los Angeles. The telescopes and instruments at the observatory are designed and employed specifically for studying the activities and phenomena of our solar system's star, the Sun.The location at Big Bear Lake is optimal due to the clarity of the sky and the presence of a body of water. The lake has more than a mile of water to the west, which is the direction from which the prevailing winds come. The cool lake provides a natural inversion that greatly reduces ground-layer turbulence and stabilizes images taken by the telescope. The lake surface is about 2055m above sea level, putting it above a significant portion of the atmosphere. The main observatory building is in the open waters of the lake with an approximate 200 meter causeway extending south from the north shore. Again, the water provides a cooling effect on the atmosphere surrounding the building and helps eliminate ground heat radiation waves that normally would cause optical aberrations.
