Chamberlin Observatory

Chamberlin Observatory rises from a hilltop in Observatory Park, a residential pocket of Denver, Colorado, where the University of Denver has kept a 19th-century refracting telescope pointed at the sky since 1894.

About Chamberlin Observatory

Owned and operated by the University of Denver, Chamberlin Observatory sits inside Observatory Park in south Denver. It was named for Humphrey B. Chamberlin, a Denver real-estate developer who pledged $50,000 in 1888 to fund its construction and equipment.

History

Construction began in 1890 to a design by architect Robert S. Roeschlaub, with the astronomical layout planned by Professor Herbert Alonzo Howe, who had toured observatories across the eastern United States before drawing up the plans. The finished building is a Romanesque structure of rusticated red sandstone, built around a central rotunda under a domed roof. The telescope saw first light in 1894, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Telescopes & research

Chamberlin's main instrument is a 20-inch refracting telescope, its objective lens ground by the renowned firm Alvan Clark & Sons and its mount built by George Nicholas Saegmuller. At the time it was assembled, under Howe's supervision, it ranked among the largest refractors in the world, reportedly the fifth-largest, during the closing years of the "great refractor" era before large reflecting telescopes took over astronomical research. Denver's growth since then has brought heavy light pollution to the site, which now limits its use for serious research but does nothing to dim its value as a public teaching instrument.

Location & getting there

The observatory stands in Observatory Park in the University of Denver's home city, easily reached within the city's street grid. (Use the map and directions above to plan your route.)

Visiting Chamberlin Observatory

The Denver Astronomical Society hosts public outreach nights at the observatory on a regular monthly schedule, opening the historic dome and its refractor to visitors. Because sessions depend on weather and the Society's calendar, check its website before you travel.

See your named star from here

If you've named a star through Star Register, Chamberlin Observatory's century-old refractor is exactly the kind of instrument that can be aimed at its coordinates. Bring your certificate's right ascension and declination to a public night and ask the Denver Astronomical Society volunteers to help you find it, or look up your star in our catalogue beforehand. Haven't named one yet? Browse our star-naming packages.