North Scituate observatory

The North Scituate observatory, widely known to visitors as the Seagrave Memorial Observatory, stands in North Scituate, Rhode Island, in the northeastern United States. It is one of the longest-running amateur astronomical sites in North America, open to the public on clear nights.

About North Scituate observatory

The observatory has been run since 1936 by Skyscrapers, Inc., a volunteer amateur astronomical society, which maintains the site and welcomes visitors free of charge.

History

Its centerpiece telescope, an 8.25-inch Alvan Clark refractor, was built between 1876 and 1878 and later moved to the current North Scituate site in 1914, decades before Skyscrapers took over its care.

Telescopes & research

Alongside the historic Clark refractor, the observatory houses a 12-inch Patton reflector and 16-inch and 12-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, giving visitors a range of views from wide starfields to close-up planetary detail.

Location & getting there

North Scituate sits in a quiet, semi-rural part of Rhode Island, which gives the observatory reasonably dark skies for a site in the densely populated northeastern US.

Visiting North Scituate observatory

Skyscrapers, Inc. hosts free public observing nights every Saturday, weather permitting, with members on hand to guide visitors through the telescopes.

See your named star from here

Because the volunteers at North Scituate can point their telescopes at any set of coordinates, a star you have named through Star Register can be located and viewed from this very site. Browse the star catalogue to find a name and its exact position first.