About: University of Toronto Southern Observatory

The University of Toronto Southern Observatory (UTSO) was an astronomical observatory built by the University of Toronto at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. It hosted a single 60 cm Cassegrain telescope and a small cottage for the operators, located amongst the instruments funded by other organizations. The first observational runs started in 1971, and like many smaller instruments, it was later shut down in favor of a partial share in a much larger telescope in 1997. Although small by modern standards, the Southern Observatory nevertheless became famous for its role in the discovery of SN 1987A when UofT astronomer Ian Shelton spotted the supernova while observing with another little-used telescope at the site.