Observatory

View through a 16-inch reflecting telescope

You can take your own tour of the heavens with the Observatory’s 16-inch telescope (no reservations are needed or can be taken), available for free viewing Wednesday through Saturday from 7:00-10:00 p.m., all year long (the only such telescope open on a regular weekly schedule, free to the public, in the state of Arizona). Flandrau’s Cassegrain reflector is the same optical design as professional telescopes on Arizona mountaintops. An expert astronomer or telescope operator is available (weather permitting) to point you toward the sky’s best sky show this month and visitors can request different objects to view. In addition to eyepiece views through its main 16-inch telescope, the observatory uses a real-time Hyperstar imaging system on an auxiliary telescope, which is able to reveal the tails of comets not easily visible from city locations, along with details in bright nebulae and star clusters.

Before you visit, check out our Skywatchers’ Guide and Observatory News for regular updates on what’s new and exciting to see in the night skies over Tucson.

Hours of Operation

Wednesday-Saturday

7:00 p.m.—10:00 p.m., weather permitting, year-round

The Observatory is closed during major holidays, including but not limited to Christmas, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day.

You can also rent the Observatory for your special event Monday and Tuesday nights. For more information, contact our Astronomy Coordinator Mike Terenzoni at miket@ns.arizona.edu.

For the safety of all visitors to the Science Center, backpacks, large satchels, and packages are not permitted inside the Science Center. Lockers are provided for your convenience. All items are subject to search. Thank you for your cooperation.