Beijing Astronomical Observatory

Alternative names	BAO
Location	China
Coordinates	40°23′44″N 117°34′33″E / 40.39561°N 117.57578°E / 40.39561; 117.57578
Altitude	960 m (3,150 ft)
Established	1958
Website	www.bao.ac.cn
Telescopes	0.85m Beijing astronomical observatory telescope Shahe Station (Beijing Observatory) Xinglong Station
Location of Beijing Astronomical Observatory
[edit on Wikidata]

Beijing Astronomical Observatory (BAO) is an observatory in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It was founded in 1958 and is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The observatory comprises 5 observing stations. The principal observing site for optical and infrared is Xinglong Station in Xinglong County, Chengde, Hebei Province, which is around 150 kilometres northeast of Beijing.^[1]

The Xinglong Observatory, situated at 960 metres above sea level, contains a 2.16-metre reflector telescope (China's largest), and a 1.26-m infrared telescope.^[1]

The planned "LAMOST", or Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope will be located there.^[1]

There is also a radio astronomy site in Miyun District, Beijing. It comprises 28 dishes, each 9 metres in diameter. It is used for survey astronomy and is called the Metre-Wave Aperture Synthesis Radio Telescope or "MSRT".^[1]