Michigan State University Observatory

Michigan State University Observatory stands just south of the MSU campus in East Lansing, Michigan, where it has tracked the sky on and off since 1970.

About the observatory

Owned and operated by Michigan State University, the observatory houses a Cassegrain telescope, built by Boller and Chivens, in its single dome. The facility carries Minor Planet Center identification code 766.

History

The telescope was commissioned in 1969 and entered regular operation in 1970. In 1974, a state-of-the-art Raytheon microcomputer was installed for data gathering and control -- at the time a cutting-edge addition, following earlier reliance on single-channel photoelectric photometry and photographic plates. The observatory closed in 1981 amid university financial difficulties and stayed shut until spring 1986, when it reopened in time to observe the return of Halley's Comet. Since the 1980s, a CCD camera has served as the main instrument, and the Raytheon computer has since been retired.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits near the corner of Forest Road and College Road, just south of the MSU campus in East Lansing, Michigan, USA.

See your named star from here

A campus observatory that has been observing continuously since the 1980s is exactly the kind of place that can point a telescope at fixed coordinates -- including those of a star named with Star Register. Explore the star catalogue to see what's already been named.