West Mountain Observatory

West Mountain Observatory sits above the community of West Mountain, Utah, about 22 km southwest of Provo, and has been Brigham Young University's dark-sky research site since 1981.

About West Mountain Observatory

West Mountain Observatory (WMO) is owned and operated by Brigham Young University (BYU) as its primary research observatory, sited away from the growing light pollution of the university's home campus.

History

WMO opened in 1981, replacing BYU's earlier Orson Pratt Observatory on campus, whose usefulness had been eroded by increasing city light pollution. In its first year of operation, the new 0.9-metre telescope was already being used to image intrinsic variable stars and high-mass X-ray binaries.

Telescopes & research

The observatory's main instrument is a 0.9-metre telescope. Research carried out here has included light curve analysis of Delta Scuti variable stars and searches for pre-main-sequence stars by identifying H-alpha emitting objects.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits on West Mountain, roughly 22 km (14 miles) southwest of Provo, Utah, chosen specifically for its distance from urban light pollution.

Visiting West Mountain Observatory

As a working BYU research facility, access is generally tied to university astronomy programs rather than casual drop-in visits. Check with Brigham Young University's physics and astronomy department for any public observing nights.

See your named star from here

A 0.9-metre research telescope like the one at West Mountain is powerful enough to pick out faint variable stars, let alone a single named point of light. If you've named a star through one of our packages, its coordinates can guide any properly equipped telescope, including research instruments like this one. Browse the catalogue to see other named stars.