Shane Telescope

For many years, the Shane 3-meter telescope was the second-largest reflector in the world. Today, it’s used for ground-breaking technology in adaptive optics.

Commissioned in 1959, this telescope was named in honor of C. Donald Shane, Lick Observatory Director during its design and construction.The Shane’s adaptable 3-foci design (detailed below) allows many kinds of instruments to be used, enabling a large variety of observations and research. Instrumentation has been kept current throughout the years, largely designed and built by UCO’s technical facilities. The Shane telescope is used for research almost every night of the year.