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Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory
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Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory stands on Mount Hopkins near Amado, Arizona, as the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s largest field installation outside Cambridge, Massachusetts. Developed beginning in 1966 and renamed in late 1981 for Fred Lawrence Whipple, it supports a wide range of optical and high-energy astronomy, including studies of galaxies, stars, solar system objects, gamma rays, and cosmic rays. Its facilities include the jointly operated MMT Observatory and several other telescopes and survey projects. The site became especially important for pioneering ground-based gamma-ray astronomy through work on the Whipple 10-meter Telescope and later through VERITAS, which began full operations in 2007.
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