The University of Maryland is a full partner in the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT), which is operated by Lowell Observatory. The other research partners in LDT are Boston University, the University of Toledo, Northern Arizona University, and Yale University. With a 4.3-meter mirror, LDT is the fifth largest telescope in the continental US and one of the most technologically advanced. It is located 40 miles south-east of Flagstaff at a site called Happy Jack, which routinely delivers sub-arcsecond images. First light took place in July 2012 and science operation began in 2013.

Maryland is committed to provide financial, hardware, and software support to Lowell in exchange for guaranteed access to LDT for faculty and student research. One of the workhorse facility instruments on LDT, RIMAS, the Rapid infrared Imager Spectrometer, was built at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as part of a research initiative involving GSFC and the Department of Astronomy at Maryland and falling under the auspices of the Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI). First light for this instrument took place in June 2025.

For more information on the telescope and its instruments, see the official LDT website or contact Optical Director Sylvain Veilleux.

The Lowell Discovery Telescope site at night with the Pleiades. (Len Bright)