Orchard Hill Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at the highest point on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Constructed in 1965, the observatory is a red brick building featuring a 16-inch Cassegrain reflector optical telescope housed under a distinctive dome.
Location and Coordinates
The observatory is situated at an altitude of 413 feet (126 m) above sea level, at coordinates 42°23′38.62″N 72°31′17.63″W.
History
The observatory originally housed a 20-inch telescope donated to the department by an amateur astronomer from central Massachusetts. This telescope was a 1:10 scale model (loosely) of a larger 200-inch scope. After a crack was discovered in the 20-inch mirror during a re-aluminizing process, the telescope was decommissioned.
A 16-inch telescope was purchased from Competition Associates, a racing car company, arriving in 1976. However, it was never mounted on the roof of the Graduate Research Center (GRC) due to vibration and safety concerns, and was instead stored in the basement of Hasbrouck for several years, where it became known as the "Subterranean Telescope." The 16-inch scope was eventually moved to Orchard Hill and installed in the dome before the fall of 1984.
Telescope
The observatory's primary instrument is a Group 128 Inc. X16 Cassegrain reflector with a 16-inch (406 mm) aperture. The 20-inch telescope may still be stored in the Astronomy Research Facility, though its drive mechanism was likely not preserved.
Administration and Operations
The observatory does not receive external funding. It is part of the College of Natural Sciences/Astronomy, maintained and operated by the UMass Amherst Astronomy Department, and supported by members of the Five College Astronomy Club. The observatory does not currently maintain a regular public schedule, though it was regularly open for public viewing on Thursday nights until at least 2011. The Five College Astronomy Club continues to host observing nights on clear nights.
Observations
The observatory is used to observe a variety of astronomical bodies, including double stars (such as Albireo), the Andromeda Galaxy, dense star patches in the Milky Way, Jupiter with its Galilean moons, the Moon, Mars, and the binary stars Alcor and Mizar. Members maintain an online log of observations.
