Moore Observatory

Moore Observatory is a research and teaching facility owned and operated by the University of Louisville, set on the Horner Wildlife Refuge in Oldham County, Kentucky, about 20 kilometres northeast of the city.

About Moore Observatory

The observatory is named for Walter Lee Moore, a professor of mathematics at the University of Louisville from 1929 to 1967. It sits on the 200-acre Horner Wildlife Refuge, part of a larger 1,000-acre former farm donated to the university by the Horner family in the early 1960s.

History

Moore Observatory opened in 1978. Its two current research telescopes date from 2006: a 0.6-metre Ritchey-Chrétien and a matched pair of 0.5-metre modified Dall-Kirkham instruments.

Telescopes & research

Alongside its Kentucky telescopes, the observatory operates a companion instrument at Mount Kent, near Toowoomba in Australia. The site is connected via Internet2, allowing Kentucky schools and university students, as well as students from the University of Southern Queensland, to operate the telescopes remotely for research and teaching.

Location & getting there

Set within the Horner Wildlife Refuge northeast of Louisville, the observatory benefits from darker skies than the city itself while remaining a short drive away.

Visiting Moore Observatory

Moore Observatory is primarily a university research and teaching site rather than a general tourist attraction. Check for current public event schedules and access details before planning a visit.

See your named star from here

With research-grade telescopes and a remote-observing network already in place, a site like Moore Observatory shows how precisely a set of sky coordinates can be aimed at. If you've named a star, look up its coordinates in our catalogue, or start with our packages.