Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center

The Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center once stood on the Evanston, Illinois campus of Northwestern University, serving as the university's teaching and research observatory for nearly three decades before it was taken down in 1995.

About Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center

Built in 1966 and operated by Northwestern University, the center stood on the campus Lakefill, in the northeast corner of the university grounds. It was recognisable for its twin domes, connected by distinctive crisscrossed supporting braces.

History

By the 1990s, growing light pollution and atmospheric turbulence from the surrounding city had degraded observing conditions at the site, and the building itself had developed problems including asbestos insulation and lead-based paint. Before it was demolished in September 1995, its telescopes were donated to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where they continue to be used. Northwestern kept the observatory's legacy alive in 1979 by establishing the Lindheimer Postdoctoral Fellowship, which still supports astronomy research at the university today.

Location & getting there

The center once stood in Evanston, Illinois, on Northwestern University's lakefront campus just north of Chicago. The site itself is no longer a working observatory.

Visiting Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center

Because the building was demolished in 1995, there is no physical observatory left to visit. Its scientific legacy lives on through Northwestern's astronomy research and the Lindheimer Postdoctoral Fellowship.

See your named star from here

Even though the Lindheimer domes are gone, the tradition of pointing a telescope at precise coordinates continues at observatories everywhere. If you'd like to name a star with its own right ascension and declination, take a look at our naming packages or search the star catalogue.