Telescopes & Observatories

This page contains links to websites about telescopes and telescope making, including amateur observatories, professional observatories, public observatories, robotic telescopes, and information about telescope making. These links are provided by Sea and Sky as a courtesy to our visitors in an attempt to make these resources easy to find and use. By clicking on the links below, you will leave the Sea and Sky site. Sea and Sky is not responsible for the content of these external sites. Problems with these external links should be reported to the Sea and Sky administrator.

• Bear Creek Observatory
  Bear Creek Observatory is a privately owned amateur observatory specializing in imaging software for astronomy and open for non-profit educational outreach programs on a pre-arranged basis.

• Bucksnort Observatory
  BuckSnort Observatory is located near Adamsville, Texas at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. The main goal for the observatory is remote imaging, that is, doing astrophotography from a remote location.

• Warren Rupp Observatory
  Warren Rupp Observatory is one of the world's largest amateur operated telescopes. Nestled in the pastoral setting of Hidden Hollow, near Mansfield, Ohio we boast of some of the darkest skies in the state.

• Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO)
  The Australian Astronomical Observatory is a division of the Department of Industry and Science, operating the Anglo-Australian and UK Schmidt telescopes on behalf of the astronomical community of Australia.

• European Southern Observatory (ESO)
  The ESO is a 16-nation intergovernmental research organization for astronomy. The organization operates several telescope facilities located in northern Chile.

• Griffith Observatory
  Griffith Observatory is a facility in Los Angeles, California sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. The observatory is a popular tourist attraction with an extensive array of space and science-related displays.

• Kitt Peak National Observatory
  Kitt Peak National Observatory is located on Kitt Peak in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With 24 optical and two radio telescopes, it is the largest, most diverse gathering of astronomical instruments in the world.

• Lick Observatory
  Lick Observatory is owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California.

• Lowell Observatory
  Lowell Observatory is an independent, non-profit research institution located in Flagstaff, Arizona. It is among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

• Mauna Kea Observatories
  The 4,200 meter high summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii houses the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared, and submillimeter astronomy.

• McDonald Observatory
  McDonald Observatory is located in the Davis Mountains, 450 miles west of Austin, Texas. The Observatory is equipped with a wide range of state-of-the-art state-of-the-art instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy in the optical and infrared, and operates one of the first and most productive lunar ranging stations.

• Mount Wilson Observatory
  Mount Wilson Observatory is located on Mount Wilson peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. It contains two historically important telescopes: the 60-inch Hale telescope built in 1908 and the 100-inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world when it was completed in 1917.

• Palomar Observatory
  Palomar Observatory is located atop Palomar Mountain in north San Diego County, California. The Observatory is home to three active research telescopes: the 200-inch Hale Telescope, the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope, and the 60-inch telescope.

• Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)
  Near the center of Pasadena, California, and at various locations around the world, a team of scientists, engineers, and project specialists is busily planning and designing what eventually will become the most advanced and powerful optical telescope on Earth.

• W.M. Keck Observatory
  The W.M. Keck Observatory is a two-telescope astronomical observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Both telescopes feature 10 m (33 ft) primary mirrors, currently among the largest astronomical telescopes in use.

• Custer Institute and Observatory
  Established in 1927, the Custer Institute and Observatory is Long Island's oldest public observatory. It is open to the public every Saturday evening from dark until midnight.

• Martz Observatory
  The Marshal Martz Memorial Astronomical Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization devoted to the amateur astronomer. The emphasis of our association is observational astronomy, well-rooted in public education and enjoyment of the starry skies.

• Perkins Observatory
  Perkins Observatory was founded in 1923 by Hiram Perkins of Ohio Wesleyan University. It is primarily an active research and educational facility used by the faculty and students of the OWU Physics and Astronomy Department.

• Pine Mountain Observatory
  The Pine Mountain Observatory is located in Central Oregon at an elevation of 6500 feet. Telescopes of aperture 15, 24 and 32-inches are there. The facility is operated by the University of Oregon Physics Department.

• Arecibo Observatory
  The Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope in the municipality of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The Observatory's 1,000 ft (305 m) radio telescope is the world's largest single-aperture telescope.

• Large Millimeter Telescope
  The Large Millimeter Telescope is the world´s largest single-dish steerable millimeter-wavelength telescope designed specifically for astronomical observations in the wavelength range of 0.85 – 4mm.

• National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
  The NRAO is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc for the purpose of radio astronomy. NRAO designs, builds, and operates its own high sensitivity radio telescopes for use by scientists around the world.

• NRO Very Large Array (VLA)
  The Very Large Array, one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico.

• Bradford Robotic Telescope
  The Bradford Robotic Telescope is a collection of telescopes and other instruments on Mount Teide, Tenerife. It is available to use for all, using this web site.

• Iowa Robotic Observatory
  The Iowa Robotic Observatory is used by students and faculty at the University of Iowa for astronomical laboratories and research.

• MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network
  NASA's space science researchers control some of the world's most sophisticated space probes and orbiting telescopes to get amazing images of objects in space. Now you can join them by operating your own ground-based "MicroObservatories" - real robotic telescopes that you command through this website!

• Skynet
  Skynet connects you to one of the world's largest network of telescopes. Whether you're a first-time astronomer or a professional, our easy-to-use yet powerful interface allows you to get the images you need.

• The ATM's Workshop
  Amateur telescope making website featuring detailed information, projects, tips, techniques, and reviews.

• Ross Sackett's Telescope Making
  Information about building Newtonian reflector telescopes, mostly portable “grab-and-go” travelscopes and big Dobsonian ultralights.

• Stellafane Amateur Telescope Making Page
  Detailed information and tips about amateur telescope making from Stellafane, Home of the Springfield Telescope Makers Inc.