Red Barn Observatory

In the small town of Ty Ty, Georgia, the Red Barn Observatory is a dedicated near-Earth object watch station run away from the light pollution of any major city.

About Red Barn Observatory

Red Barn Observatory is a privately run facility focused on follow-up observations and detections of asteroids, comets, and near-Earth objects. Plans for the site began in 2002, construction finished in 2005, and in August 2006 it was assigned Minor Planet Center observatory code H68. It is owned and operated by Steve E. Farmer Jr.

Telescopes & research

The observatory currently uses a roll-off roof design, with plans at the time of its founding to add an 8-foot dome. Its work includes follow-up astrometry on near-Earth and potentially hazardous asteroids, plus an early-evening sky survey aimed at catching comets and other unknown objects low on the horizon that wider surveys can miss. Red Barn Observatory is also a station of the Georgia Fireball Network, established in July 2007 to monitor the skies for bright meteors and fireballs alongside a second station at Deer Run Observatory in Buena Vista.

Location & getting there

Ty Ty sits in rural south Georgia, chosen for the site precisely because it is well away from city light pollution, giving clearer views for asteroid and comet follow-up work.

Visiting Red Barn Observatory

Red Barn Observatory is a working research site rather than a public attraction, so there are no published visiting hours. Check the observatory's website before making any plans to visit.

See your named star from here

A site built to track faint, moving objects in the night sky is a natural place to think about a fixed point of light of your own. Name a star and pinpoint it any clear night using its coordinates from the catalogue.