The SOAR telescope is operated by a consortium including Michigan State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the country of Brazil.
SOAR is located at 9000 feet altitude on Cerro Pachón, 300 miles north of Chile's capital Santiago.
SOAR's location offers exceptionally clear, dark skies and is one of the world's best astronomical sites.
The southern hemisphere's skies have remarkable celestial objects that are unseen or poorly seen in the north.
Astronomers at MSU can operate SOAR from the Remote Observing Room on the MSU campus in East Lansing, MI. Using the Internet, observers can send instructions to the telescope and get images back.