Sutherland Observatory

Sutherland Observatory sits on a remote plateau in the Northern Cape, South Africa, about 370 km from Cape Town, at an altitude of 1,768 metres.

About Sutherland Observatory

The site is operated by the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), under the National Research Foundation of South Africa, with SAAO's headquarters based in the Observatory suburb of Cape Town. The Sutherland station was established in 1972, chosen for its seismic stability, dark skies, and photometrically stable conditions.

Telescopes & research

Sutherland hosts twelve optical and infrared telescopes in total. Its centrepiece is the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), a hexagonal array 11 metres across made up of 91 individual 1.2-metre mirrors, ranking among the five largest single optical telescopes in the world. The site supports a broad range of optical and infrared astronomy and astrophysics research.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits on the Sutherland plateau in South Africa's Northern Cape, a sparsely populated, high-altitude region prized for its unusually dark and stable night skies. Use the map and directions button on this page for the route.

Visiting Sutherland Observatory

Public tours and night-sky viewing are offered at the Sutherland site; check the official SAAO website for current visiting hours, tour bookings, and ticket details before you travel, as sessions are typically pre-booked.

See your named star from here

With twelve telescopes on site, including one of the world's largest, Sutherland Observatory is well equipped to seek out the precise right ascension and declination of a star named through Star Register. Name a star or browse the full catalogue of named stars.