Bays Mountain Observatory
Explore the skies at the Bays Mountain Observatories
Bays Mountain Park is the home of two observatory structures housing a number of telescopic instruments. The smaller "roll-off" observatory was first opened around 1980. The "domed" observatory was completed in 1989 and was constructed by club members and park staff.
The current roster of instruments includes...
- A custom 8" refractor owned by Milligan College.
- A 12" Meade LX200-GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain on a computer controlled mount.
- A large aperture Coulter 17.5" reflector on an alt-azimuth Dobsonian style mount.
- A 6" Meade APO refractor mounted on a portable alt-azimuth tripod mount.
- A superb Newtonian 10" reflector with optics by Jerry Lappin, a founding Astronomy Club member.
The Bays Mountain Astronomy Club and planetarium staff use all of these telescopes at various times to show the public astronomical sights in both the daytime and nighttime skies.
Public Observing Programs
Our observing programs are free for everyone! Be sure to dress warmly, it can become very cold after the Sun goes down. The Bays Mountain Observatories are located along Bays Mountain Park Road just up from the dam. Look for the small circular building with a domed top. Please park in the parking lot and walk along the gravel road to reach the observatory grounds.
Saturday Evenings during
March, April, October and November
Starts at dusk.
View the night sky with many large telescopes at our observatories. See fascinating celestial objects like planets, the moon, star clusters, nebulae & galaxies.
Typically our telescopes can show you star clusters, nebulous gas clouds, colorful multiple star systems and distant galaxies. We can see features of the bright planets and our nearest neighbor, the Moon, is a remarkable sight. The instruments at Bays Mountain reveal thousands of craters, mountains and lava plains.
Saturday and Sunday afternoons
3 - 3:30 p.m*
March through November
Safely view the surface of the Sun through specially filtered telescopes. With our instruments it is possible to view a wide variety of eruptive disturbances on the Sun including sunspots, prominences and solar flares.
*Viewing is cancelled if it is cloudy.
Be sure to bring warm clothes for the Nighttime Observing. Though the day may be sunny and warm, the temperature can drop after the sun goes down. Having the proper clothing will make your experience much more enjoyable.