Sun Beams Over Kitt Peak

In this striking image light from the Sun breaks over the craggy ridge at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, silhouetting the 4-meter Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope and the tops of other telescope domes. Located at an altitude of 2096 meters (6877 feet) in southern Arizona, Kitt Peak hosts more than 20 telescopes for nighttime astronomy and daytime solar studies — making it one of the largest collections of astronomical instruments in the northern hemisphere.

The eighteen-story Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope jutting above the ridge is a distinctive feature of the Kitt Peak skyline. It is the largest telescope at the observatory, and its tower and dome can be seen from over 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.