Stansbury Park Observatory Complex

In Tooele County, Utah, the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex gives visitors and amateur astronomers a rare public window onto one of the state's darker skies. Run by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, the complex has grown into a small campus of buildings built by volunteers who wanted a serious research-grade site the public could actually use.

About Stansbury Park Observatory Complex

The complex sits within Sagers Memorial Park and is operated entirely by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society (SLAS), a volunteer amateur astronomy club. Rather than a single dome, the site is made up of several purpose-built structures, including Harmons Observatory, the Donna Pease Wiggins Refractor House, and the Kolob Building, each housing different instruments for members and visitors to use.

Telescopes & research

The flagship instrument is a 1.8-metre Clements reflector, widely described as the largest amateur-built optical telescope regularly available for public use anywhere. Alongside it sit an 81-centimetre computer-controlled reflector, a 40-centimetre Cassegrain, and a 200-millimetre Brandt refractor, giving the complex a genuinely varied set of tools for deep-sky and planetary observing.

Location & getting there

Stansbury Park lies in North America's Great Basin, west of the Oquirrh Mountains and within reach of Salt Lake City, in a part of Utah where the horizon stays largely free of city glow after dark. The observatory complex is easiest to plan for with a look at the SLAS website beforehand, since access to specific buildings can depend on which events are running.

Visiting Stansbury Park Observatory Complex

SLAS hosts public star parties through the summer months, opening the complex's telescopes to anyone who wants to look through them under volunteer guidance. Because these events depend on volunteer scheduling and weather, it's worth checking the official SLAS observatory page for the current calendar before making the trip out to Tooele County.

See your named star from here

With multiple telescopes of serious aperture on site, staff and members at Stansbury Park can point their optics at almost any set of sky coordinates, including the exact right ascension and declination of a star named through Star Register. If you've named a star for someone, this is the kind of dark, well-equipped site where it can actually be found and shown off. Browse the full star catalogue to see what's overhead tonight.