University of Utah Observatory

The U of U Physics Department conducts free public Star Parties every CLEAR Wednesday night on the roof of the South Physics Building at the University of Utah. They start just one hour before sunset (in summer) to view the sun and run for about 2 - 3 hours. During winter, star parties will begin at 7:00 pm. We will also hold a monthly solar party (during summer months) that will be held usually on a Wednesday at a time preceeding a public star party. I will post those days on this website's calendar so return for updates.

There are now star parties on the FIRST Monday of every month held in conjunction with a free opening of the Musuem Of Natural History at the University of Utah. There will be a short physics demo held at the musuem that night. Arrive at the musuem at around 5:30 pm to see the demo and tour the musuem. The star party will start up at 7:30 pm as the musuem closes at 8:00 pm.

We give tours for scout groups on weekdays and Saturdays. These must be scheduled with the physics department secretary. Star Parties may also be available for other events or occasions on other nights outside of our usual Wednesdays. The tours are subject to weather and availability. Call 801-581-6901 for scheduling. Questions concerning the tours can be directed to Paul's email. Be sure to sign our guest log while you're there to be a part of the observatory's history and to help track attendance. Tours will not be avaliable on tuesdays and thursdays during the months from January to May due to astronomy classes being held on those nights.

The current Star Party conductor is Paul Ricketts. If you have any questions about star parties please contact Paul at radioman99@hotmail.com. If you would like to be included in Paul's astronomy newsletter, use the same email as above with your name and the email you wish to receive it at.

The University of Utah Astronomy Club (formerly University of Utah Astronomical Society) has been revived. For more information and to become a member, please email uofuastronomyclub@hotmail.com. If you would like to join, please send your name, email address, major and year (for students), and if you would like, your telephone number. Meeting times will be placed on the calendar. A separate web page is up at UUAC so take a look.

For information about astronomy, click the links on the left of the page. For updates for astronomy events, click on updates or view the calendar.

*I have added a new icon below for current status at the obervatory. This will show if the doors are currently open and the observatory is available for visitation for that night. I will update this no earlier than 6:30 pm for the night due to unpredictable weather changes throughout the day.

Dan Burn and Dave Pawlowski retired from conducting Star Parties on May 18, 2005.

UPDATES
Click on UPDATES for the updates page.

*OBSERVATORY STATUS:

As of 8:51 pm 5-07-08

Clear Sky Clock: