Dun Echt Observatory

Twelve miles west of Aberdeen, Dun Echt Observatory was, for nearly two decades in the 19th century, one of the most impressively equipped private observatories in Britain.

About Dun Echt Observatory

The observatory was founded in 1871 by the Scottish astronomer James Ludovic Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Its director was David Gill, who later became Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope.

History

By 1884 Dun Echt was described as one of the best-equipped observatories in existence. It closed in 1888, when Lord Lindsay donated its entire contents — instruments and library alike — to help save the threatened Royal Observatory Edinburgh; the instruments were eventually installed in a new Royal Observatory building completed in 1896.

Telescopes & research

During its working years, the observatory's instruments included a 15-inch Grubb refractor, a 12-inch Browning reflector, two 6-inch refractors, a large chronograph, and a Grubb spectroscope.

Location & getting there

Dun Echt Observatory is located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, about 12 miles west of Aberdeen.

Visiting Dun Echt Observatory

The observatory closed in 1888 and its instruments were relocated to Edinburgh, so there is no working facility open to the public today; its historical instruments can instead be traced to the Royal Observatory Edinburgh.

See your named star from here

Though Dun Echt's own telescopes moved on long ago, its story is a reminder that a fixed point in the sky can outlast any single instrument. If you've named a star through star-register, its coordinates remain constant wherever you observe from — get started at /#packages or browse the star catalogue.