List of astronomical observatories

Legend

Space observatory

Gravitational observatory

Antimatter observatory

Airborne observatory

Radio observatory

Microwave observatory

Ground based observatory

Solar observatory

Neutrino observatory

Cosmic-ray observatory

This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in operation. While other sciences, such as volcanology and meteorology, also use facilities called observatories for research and observations, this list is limited to observatories that are used to observe celestial objects.

Astronomical observatories are mainly divided into four categories: space based, airborne, ground based and underground based.

Many modern telescopes and observatories are located in space to observe astronomical objects in wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere (such as ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays) and are thus impossible to observe using ground-based telescopes. ^[1] Being above the atmosphere, these space observatories can also avoid the effects of atmospheric turbulence that plague ground based telescopes, although new generations of adaptive optics telescopes have since then dramatically improve the situation on the ground. The space high vacuum environment also allow to free the detectors from the ancestral diurnal cycle due to the atmospheric blue light background of the sky, therefore increasing significantly the observation time.

An intermediate variant is the airborne observatory, specialised in the infrared wavelengths of the EM spectrum, that conduct observations above the part of the atmosphere containing water vapor that absorbs them, in the stratosphere.

Historically, astronomical observatories consisted generally in a building or group of buildings where observations of astronomical objects such as sunspots, planets, asteroids, comets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies in the visible wavelenghts of the electromagnetic spectrum were conducted. At first, for milleniums, astronomical observations have been made with naked eyes. Then with the discovery of optics, with the help of different types of refractor telescopes and later with reflector telescopes. Their use allowed to dramatically increase both the collecting power and limit of resolution, thus the brightness, level of detail and apparent angular size of distant celestial objects allowing them to be better studied and understood. Following the development of modern physics, new ground based facilities have been constructed to conduct researches in the radio and microwaves wavelenghts of the electromagnetic spectrum, with radio telescopes and dedicated microwave telescopes.

Modern astrophysics has extended the field of study of celestial bodies to non electromagnetic vectors, such as neutrinos, neutrons and cosmic-rays or gravitational waves. Thus new types of observatories have been developed. Interferometers are at the core of gravitational wave detectors. In order to limit the natural or artificial background noise, most particle detector based observatories are build deep underground.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Name	Established	Location
Abu Reyhan-e Birooni Observatory	1976	Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Aker Observatory	1995	Safford, Arizona (USA)
Aldershot Observatory	1906	Aldershot, Hampshire (England)
Algonquin Radio Observatory	1959	Algonquin Park, Ontario (Canada)
Allegheny Observatory	1859	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States)
Ametlla de Mar Observatory	1992	l'Ametlla de Mar, Catalonia, (Spain)
AMiBA	2006	Mauna Loa, Hawaii (United States)
Anderson Mesa Station	1959	Flagstaff, Arizona, (USA)
Andromeda Observatory	1992	Isle of Man
Angell Hall Observatory		Ann Arbor, Michigan (USA)
Anglo-Australian Observatory	1971	Coonabarabran, Australia
Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array	2002	Antarctica
Apache Point Observatory		Sunspot, New Mexico (United States)
Apatity Cosmic-Ray Station		Apatity, Russia
Apollo Observatory	1969	Dayton, Ohio (USA)
Arcetri Observatory		Arcetri, Florence, Italy
Arecibo Observatory	1963	Arecibo, Puerto Rico (USA)
Armagh Observatory	1790	Armagh, United Kingdom
Ashton Observatory	1983	Baxter, Iowa (USA)
Asiago Observatory	1942	Asiago, Italy
Astron (defunct)	1983-1989	Highly eccentric Earth orbit
Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon	1867	Lisbon, Portugal
Astrophysical Institute Potsdam	1992	Potsdam, Germany
Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX)	2003	Llano de Chajnantor Observatory, Chile
Australia Telescope Compact Array	1988	Narrabri, Australia

B

Name	Established	Location
Badlands Observatory	2000	Quinn, South Dakota (USA)
Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope	1993	Baikal Lake, Russia
Baker Observatory	1980	Marshfield, Missouri (USA)
Baksan Neutrino Observatory	1977	Prielbrusye, Baksan Valley, Russia
Ball State University Observatory		Muncie, Indiana (USA)
Barnard Observatory (defunct)	1859	Oxford, Mississippi (USA)
Bareket observatory israel	1990	Macabim, Israel
Behlen Observatory	1972	Mead, Nebraska (USA)
Beijing Astronomical Observatory	1958	Beijing, China
Beijing Ancient Observatory	1442	Beijing, China
Belogradchik Observatory	1961	Belogradchik, Bulgaria
Benmore Peak Observatory	1996	Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand
BeppoSAX (defunct)	1996-2003	Low Earth orbit
Bergisch Gladbach Observatory		Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Berlin Observatory	1711	Germany
Besançon Observatory	1882	Besançon, France
BESS	1993	Antarctic
Big Bear Lake Solar Observatory	1969	Big Bear City, California (USA)
Black Moshannon Observatory (defunct)		Pennsylvania, (USA)
Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory(BOAO)	1996	Youngchun, Republic of Korea
BOOTES	1985	Spain
Bordeaux Observatory	1878	Floirac, France
Bosscha Observatory	1923	Lembang, West Java (Indonesia)
Boswell Observatory (defunct)	1883	Crete, Nebraska, (USA)
Bowman Observatory	1940	Greenwich, Connecticut (USA)
Boyden Observatory	1889	Bloemfontein, South Africa
Bradstreet Observatory	1996	St. Davids, Pennsylvania (USA)
Bradley Observatory	1950	Decatur, Georgia (USA)
Braeside Observatory	1976	Flagstaff, Arizona (USA)
Brera Observatory	1764	Milan, Italy
Brooks Observatory		Toledo, Ohio (USA)
Brooks Astronomical Observatory	1964	Mount Pleasant, Michigan (USA)
Brorfelde Observatory		Holbæk, Denmark
Bucknell Observatory		Lewisburg, Pennsylvania (USA)
Bucharest Observatory	1910	Bucharest, Romania
Byurakan Observatory	1946	Mount Aragats, Armenia

C

Name	Established	Location
Cagigal Observatory	1888	Caracas, Venezuela
Cagliari Observatory	1899	Cagliari, Sardinia
Calar Alto Observatory	1975	Almería, Spain
Caltech Submillimeter Observatory		Mauna Kea, Hawaii, (USA)
Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory		Guarcino, Frosinone, (Italy)
Canopus Hill Observatory		Hobart, Tasmania (Australia)
Capilla Peak Observatory		Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA)
Carter Observatory	1937	Wellington, New Zealand
Catania Astrophysical Observatory		Catania, Italy
Celestial Observatory		Russellville, Arkansas (USA)
Centennial Observatory	2004	Twin Falls, Idaho, (USA)
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory	1962	Atacama Desert, Chile
Cerro Pachón Observatory	2000	Atacama Desert, Chile
Chabot Space & Science Center	1883	Oakland, California (USA)
Chamberlin Observatory	1890	Denver, Colorado (United States)
Changchun Astronomical Observatory		Changchun, Jilin Province, China
Chandra X-ray Observatory	1999	Highly eccentric Earth orbit
Chico Community Observatory		Chico, California (USA)
Cincinnati Observatory	1843	Cincinnati, Ohio (USA)
City Observatory, Edinburgh	1818	Edinburgh, Scotland
Clarke Observatory	1897 / 1923	Dunkirk, New York / Alliance, Ohio, (USA)
Coats Observatory	1883	Paisley, Scotland
Coit Observatory		Boston, Massachusetts (USA)
Collm Observatory		Leipzig, Germany
Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (defunct)	1991–2000	Low earth orbit
Concordia College Observatory		Moorhead, Minnesota, (USA)
Consell Observatory	1987	Majorca, (Spain)
Copenhagen University Observatory	1861	Copenhagen, Denmark
Cordell-Lorenz Observatory		Sewanee, Tennessee (USA)
COROT	2006	Polar orbit
Cosmic Background Imager (CBI)	1999	Llano de Chajnantor Observatory, Chile
Côte d'Azur Observatory	1988	France
Crane Observatory		Topeka, Kansas (USA)
Crawford Observatory	1880	Cork, Ireland
Creighton University Observatory (defunct)	1886–1955	Omaha, Nebraska, (USA)
Crimean Astrophysical Observatory	1945	Ukraine
Črni Vrh Observatory	1975	Idrija, Slovenia
Cupillari Observatory		La Plume, Pennsylvania (USA)
CUASAR, University of Valencia observatory	2008	Aras de los Olmos, Valencia (Spain)
Custer Observatory	1927	Southold, New York (USA)

D

Name	Established	Location
Daniel Scholl Observatory (defunct)	1886–1966	Lancaster, Pennsylvania (USA)
Darling's Observatory (defunct)	1917	Duluth, Minnesota (USA)
Detroit Observatory	1854	Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
David Dunlap Observatory	1935	Richmond Hill, Ontario (Canada)
Dome C		Antarctica
Domingos Forlin Observatory	2003	Videira, Santa Catarina, (Brazil)
Dominion Observatory	1905	Ottawa, Ontario, (Canada)
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory	1947	Victoria, B.C., British Columbia (Canada)
Dunsink Observatory	1785	Dublin, Ireland
Dyer Observatory	1953	Brentwood, Tennessee (USA)

E

Name	Established	Location
Echo Valley Observatory		Algonquin Park, Ontario (Canada)
Effelsberg Radio Telescope	1972	Bonn, Germany
Einstein Observatory (defunct)	1978	Low Earth orbit
Elginfield Observatory	1969	Middlesex Centre, Ontario (Canada)
Eskdalemuir Observatory	1908	Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
European Gravitational Observatory	2003]]	Cascina , Italy]]
European Southern Observatory La Silla Observatory Llano de Chajnantor Observatory Paranal Observatory	1962 1969 2005 1999	Atacama Desert, Chile

F

Name	Established	Location
Fabra Observatory	1906	Barcelona, Spain
Fan Mountain Observatory	1966	Albemarle County, Virginia (USA)
Farm Cove Observatory	2000	Auckland, New Zealand
Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope	2013	Duyun, Pingtang County, Guizhou Province, China
Félix Aguilar Observatory	1965	San Juan, Argentina
Fernbank Observatory		Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
Fick Observatory	1966	Boone, Iowa (United States)
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory	1976	New Salem, Massachusetts (United States)
Flarestar Observatory		San Gwann, Malta
Foggy Bottom Observatory	1951	Hamilton, New York (USA)
Foothill Observatory		Los Altos Hills, California (USA)
Ford Observatory	1998	Ithaca, New York (USA)
Fox Observatory		Sunrise, Florida (USA)
Fox Park Public Observatory	1999	Potterville, Michigan (USA)
Francis Marion University Observatory	1982	Florence, South Carolina (USA)
Fremont Peak Observatory	1986	San Juan Bautista, California (USA)
Frosty Drew Observatory	1980s	Charlestown, Rhode Island (USA)
Fuertes Observatory	1920's	Ithaca, New York (USA)

G

Name	Established	Location
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)	2003	Caltech, JPL
Galloway Forest Observatory	2007	Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire, Scotland, UK
Gemini Observatory	1999	Southern Operations Center: La Serena, Chile; Northern Operations Center: Hilo, Hawaii
Gifford Observatory	1912	Wellington, New Zealand
Givatayim Observatory	1969	Givatayim, Israel
Glen D. Riley Observatory	1973	Naperville, Illinois, (USA)
Godlee Observatory	1902	Manchester, England
Goodsell Observatory	1887	Northfield, Minnesota, (USA)
Goethe Link Observatory	1939	Brooklyn, Indiana (United States)
Goldendale Observatory	1973	Goldendale, Washington (United States)
Gornergrat (HFSJG) (defunct)	1967-2005	Gornergrat, Switzerland
Granat (defunct)	1989-1999	Highly eccentric Earth orbit
Gran Telescopio Canarias	2006	Canary Islands, (Spain)
Grant O. Gale Observatory	1984	Grinnell, Iowa (USA)
Green Bank Telescope,		Green Bank, West Virginia, (USA)
Green Point Observatory,	1961	Sutherland, New South Wales (Australia)
Griffith Observatory	1935	Los Angeles, California, (USA)
Guillermo Haro Observatory		Cananea, Sonora (Mexico)

H

Name	Established	Location
HALCA (defunct)	1997–2005	Elliptical earth-centered orbit
Haleakala Observatory		Maui, Hawaii, (USA)
Halley Observatory	1987	Heesch, Netherlands
Hamburg Observatory	1803	Hamburg, Germany
Hancock Astrophysical Observatory		San Juan Bautista, California, (USA)
Hat Creek Radio Observatory	1950s	Shasta County, California, (USA)
Hard Labor Creek Observatory		Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
Hartung-Boothroyd Observatory	1974	Ithaca, New York (United States)
Harvard College Observatory	1839	Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics	1973	Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)
Haute-Provence Observatory	1937	Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
Haystack Observatory	1964	Westford, Massachusetts, (USA)
Hector J Robinson Observatory	1964	Lincoln Park, Michigan
Helsinki University Observatory	1834	Helsinki/Kirkkonummi, Finland
Herrett Observatory	2004	Twin Falls, Idaho (USA)
Herschel Space Observatory	2008 (planned)	Earth-Sun L2 point
Hidden Valley Observatory	1960s	Rapid City, South Dakota, (USA)
Hirsch Observatory	1942	Troy, New York, (USA)
Hobbs Observatory	1974	Fall Creek, Wisconsin (USA)
Hoher List Observatory	1954	Daun, Germany
Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium	1954	Indianapolis, Indiana (United States)
Hong Kong Observatory	1883	Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong SAR, China
Hopkins Observatory	1838	Williamstown, Massachusetts (USA)
Howell Observatory		Starkville, Mississippi, (USA)
Hradec Králové Observatory	1961	Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Huairou Solar Observing Station		Beijing, China
Hubble Space Telescope	1990	Low Earth orbit
Hyde Memorial Observatory	1977	Lincoln, Nebraska, (USA)

I

Name	Established	Location
Indian Astronomical Observatory	2001	Hanle, India
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias	1975	Canary Islands, (Spain)
Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique	1979	Spain, France and Germany
INTEGRAL	2002	Highly eccentric Earth orbit
Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) (defunct)	January-November 1983	Earth orbit
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) (defunct)	1995–1998	Earth orbit
Innsbruck Observatory		Innsbruck, Austria
IRAM - 30 m	1984	Pico Veleta, Spain
IRAM - Plateau de Bure Interferometer	19??	Plateau de Bure, France
Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes	1979	La Palma, Spain
Iso-Heikkilä Observatory (defunct)	1935 (only amateur use since 1972)	Turku, Finland

J

Name	Established	Location
Jack C. Davis Observatory	2002	Carson City, Nevada, USA
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope	1987	Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA
James Webb Space Telescope	2013 (planned)	Earth-Sun L2 Lagrangian point
Jantar Mantar	1727	Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Jena Observatory	1962	Jena, Germany
Jewett Observatory	1953	Pullman, Washington (USA)
Jodrell Bank Observatory	1945	Cheshire, England
Jones Observatory	1936	Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA)
Judson B. Coit Observatory		Boston, Massachusetts (USA)

K

Name	Established	Location
Khajeh Nasiredin Observatory	~1980	Tabriz University, Tabriz (Iran)
Kamioka Observatory	1983	Hida, Gifu, Japan
Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory	1943	Villach, Austria
Karl Schwarzschild Observatory	1960	Jena, Germany
Keck Observatory	1993	Mauna Kea, Hawaii, (USA)
Keeble Observatory	1963	Ashland, Virginia (USA)
Kennon Observatory	1939	Oxford, Mississippi (USA)
Kepler Space Observatory	2008 (planned)	Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit
Kevola Observatory	1963	Kevola, Finland
Kielder Observatory	2008	Kielder Forest, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom
Kirkwood Observatory	1901	Bloomington, Indiana (United States)
Kitami Observatory		Hokkaidō, Japan
Kitt Peak National Observatory	1958	Tucson, Arizona (United States)
Kleť Observatory	1957	České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Kodaikanal Solar Observatory	1899	Palani, India
Konkoly Observatory	1871	Budapest, Hungary
KOSMA observatory	1985	Gornergrat, Switzerland
Kuffner observatory	1884	Austria
Kuiper Airborne Observatory	1974	14 km in the stratosphere
Kvistaberg Observatory		Sweden
Kyung Hee Observatory	1992	Seoul, South Korea

L

Name	Established	Location
Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble	2001	Grenoble, France
Observatorio de La Cañada (La Cañada Observatory)	2002	Ávila, (Spain)
Ladd Observatory	1891	Providence, Rhode Island (United States)
Lake Afton Public Observatory	1979	Wichita, Kansas (USA)
Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl	1898	Königstuhl, Heidelberg, Germany
La Plata Astronomical Observatory	1883	La Plata, Argentina
La Silla Observatory	1969	Atacama Desert, Chile
Large Millimeter Telescope		Sierra Negra, Puebla, Mexico
Las Brisas Observatory	1979	Colorado, (USA)
Las Campanas Observatory		La Serena, Chile
Laws Observatory	1880	Columbia, Missouri (USA)
Leander McCormick Observatory	1885	Mount Jefferson, Charlottesville, Virginia (USA)
Lee Observatory	1873	American University of Beirut, Beirut, (Lebanon)
Leiden Observatory	1633	Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
Leipzig Observatory		Leipzig, Germany
Leoncito Astronomical Complex	1986	Calingasta, San Juan, (Argentina)
Levenhagen Observatory		Seattle, Washington (USA)
Libyan National Telescope Project		Kufra Desert, Libya
Lick Observatory	1881	Mount Hamilton, San Jose, California (United States)
LIGO Hanford Observatory	1999	Hanford Nuclear Reservation (USA)
Llano de Chajnantor Observatory	2005	Atacama Desert, Chile
Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory	1975	Mèrida, Venezuela
Lowell Observatory Anderson Mesa Station	1894 1959	Flagstaff, Arizona (USA)
Lulin Observatory	1999	Mount Lulin, Taiwan
Lund Observatory	1749	Lund, Sweden
Luoxue Mountain Cosmic Rays Research Center	1953	Luoxue Mountain, Yunnan Province, China
Lyon Observatory	1877	Saint-Genis-Laval, France

M

Name	Established	Location
Macalester College Observatory		Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)
Magdalena Ridge Observatory (under construction)	2006	Socorro County, New Mexico, (USA)
Malakoff Tower	1845	Recife, (Brazil)
Majorca Observatory	1991	Majorca, (Spain)
Manastash Ridge Observatory	1972	Ellensburg, Washington (USA)
Maragheh Observatory	1259	Maragheh, Iran
Margaret M. Jacoby Observatory	1978	Warwick, Rhode Island (USA)
Maria Mitchell Observatory	1908	Nantucket, Massachusetts (USA)
Markree Observatory	1837	County Sligo, Ireland
Marseille Observatory		Marseille, France
Martz Observatory		Chautauqua County, New York (USA)
Mauna Kea Observatory	1967	Mauna Kea, Hawaii, (USA)
Mauna Loa Solar Observatory		Hawaii, (USA)
Maynard F. Jordan Observatory	1901	Orono, Maine (USA)
McDonald Observatory		Davis Mountains, Texas, (USA)
McKim Observatory	1884	Greencastle, Indiana (USA)
McMath-Hulbert Solar Observatory	1930	Lake Angelus, Michigan (USA)
MDM Observatory		Kitt Peak, Arizona, (USA)
Mead Observatory	2001	Columbus, Georgia (USA)
Mees Observatory		Rochester, New York (USA)
Mehalso Observatory		Erie, Pennsylvania (USA)
Melbourne Observatory	1862	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Melton Memorial Observatory	1928	Columbia, South Carolina (USA)
Mendenhall Observatory	2002	Stillwater, Oklahoma (USA)
Menke Observatory	1994	Davenport, Iowa, (USA)
Metsähovi Observatory	1966	Kirkkonummi, Finland
Meudon Observatory	1876	Meudon, France
Meyer-Womble Observatory	1996	Mount Evans, Colorado (United States)
Michigan State University Observatory	1969	East Lansing, Michigan (USA)
Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées Pic du Midi Observatory Toulouse Observatory	1878 1733	Headquarters: Toulouse, France Pyrenees, France Toulouse, France
Miller Observatory	1976	Maiden, North Carolina (USA)
Mills Observatory	1935	Balgay Hills, Dundee (Scotland)
MMT Observatory	1987	Mount Hopkins, Arizona, (USA)
Moletai Astronomical Observatory	1969	Moletai, Lithuania
Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST)	1960	Bungendore, New South Wales, Australia
Mont Mégantic Observatory	1978	Mont Mégantic, Québec, Canada
Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy	1972	Monterey, California, (USA)
Moore Observatory	1978	Oldham County, Kentucky (USA)
Morgan-Monroe Observatory	1966	Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Indiana (USA)
Morris Observatory	1973	North Manchester, Indiana (USA)
Morrison Observatory		Fayette, Missouri, (USA)
Moscow Cosmic-Ray Station		Troitsk, Russia
Mounds Observatory		Tulsa, Oklahoma, (USA)
Mount Cuba Astronomical Observatory		Greenville, Delaware (USA)
Mount Graham International Observatory	1993	Mount Graham, Arizona, (USA)
Mount John University Observatory		Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand
Mount Laguna Observatory	1968	San Diego, California, (USA)
Mount Lemmon Observatory		Tucson, Arizona, (USA)
Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory		Tasmania
Mount Stromlo Observatory	1911	Canberra, Australia
Mount Suhora Observatory	1987	Poland
Mount Wilson Observatory	1904	Mount Wilson, Los Angeles County, California, (USA)
Mountain Skies Observatory	1997	Lyman, Wyoming (USA)
Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory	1957	Cambridge, England

N

Name	Established	Location
Nachi-Katsuura Observatory		Nachikatsuura, Wakayama, Japan
Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Research Centre	1958	Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan	1988	Headquarters: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
National Astronomical Observatory (Mexico)	1967	Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico
National Observatory of Athens	1846	Athens, Greece
National Optical Astronomy Observatory Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Gemini Observatory Kitt Peak National Observatory National Solar Observatory	1982	Headquarters: Tucson, Arizona, USA
National Optical Observatory		Turkey
National Radio Astronomy Observatory Atacama Large Millimeter Array Green Bank Telescope Very Large Array Very Long Baseline Array	1957	Headquarters: Charlottesville, Virginia, (USA)
National Solar Observatory		Sunspot, New Mexico (United States) & Kitt Peak, Arizona, (USA)
Naylor Observatory		Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (USA)
Neuchâtel Observatory	1858	Neuchâtel,Switzerland
Nice Observatory	1879	Nice, France
Norman Lockyer Observatory	1912	Sidmouth, Devon, England
Nordic Optical Telescope	1988	Canary Islands, (Spain)
Norilsk Cosmic-Ray Station		Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
North Georgia Astronomical Observatory		Dahlonega, Georgia (USA)
North Otago Astronomical Society Observatory		Oamaru, South Island, New Zealand
Nyrölä Observatory	1997	Jyväskylän maalaiskunta, Finland

O

Name	Established	Location
Observatorio Astronomico Nacional	1961	Tonantzintla, Mexico
Observatorio Solar Carl Sagan	2000	Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Oil Region Astronomical Observatory		Venango County, Pennsylvania (USA)
Ondřejov Observatory	1898	Ondřejov, Czech Republic
Onsala Space Observatory	1949	Onsala, Sweden
Orioloromano Observatory	2007	Oriolo Romano,Viterbo (Italy)
Orion 1 (defunct)	1971	Low Earth orbit
Orion 2 (defunct)	1973	Low Earth orbit
Otter Creek Observatory	1995	Meade County, Kentucky (USA)
Oulu Cosmic-Ray Station		Oulu, Finnland
Owens Valley Radio Observatory		Bishop, California, (USA)

P

Name	Established	Location
Palisades-Dows Observatory	1987	Cedar Rapids, Iowa (USA)
Palomar Observatory	1948	Palomar Mountain, California (USA)
Panzano Observatory		Bologna, Italy
Paranal Observatory	1999	Cerro Paranal, Atacama desert, Chile
Paris Observatory	1667	Paris, France
Parkes Observatory	1961	Parkes, Australia
Paul Robinson Observatory	1965	High Bridge, New Jersey (USA)
Peach Mountain Observatory	1950	near Dexter, Michigan, (USA)
Perkins Observatory	1931	Delaware, Ohio (United States)
Perth Observatory	1896	Perth, Australia
Pic du Midi Observatory	1878	Pic du Midi, Pyrenees, France
Pico dos Dias Observatory	1981	Minas Gerais, Brazil
Piera Observatory	1968	Barcelona, (Spain)
Pine Bluff Observatory	1958	Cross Plains, Wisconsin (United States)
Pine Mountain Observatory	1965	Bend, Oregon (USA)
Pistoia Mountains Astronomical Observatory	1990	Pian dei Termini (near San Marcello Pistoiese), Italy
Poznań Observatory	1919	Poznań, Poland
Puckett Observatory		Ellijay, Georgia United States
Pulkovo Observatory	1839	Pulkovskiye Heights, Russia
Purple Mountain Observatory	1929	Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

Q

Name	Established	Location
Quito Astronomical Observatory	1873	La Alameda Park, Quito (Ecuador)

R

Name	Established	Location
Radcliffe Observatory	1772	Oxford, England. Moved to Durban, South Africa in 1939
Rainwater Observatory		French Camp, Mississippi (USA)
Ralph A. Worley Observatory	1964	Shreveport, Louisiana (USA)
Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory	1971	Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington (USA)
Red Barn Observatory	2006	Ty Ty, Georgia (USA)
Red Buttes Observatory	1994	Laramie, Wyoming (USA)
Riley Observatory	1974	Naperville, Illinois (USA)
RIT Observatory		Rochester, New York (USA)
Robert Brownlee Observatory		Lake Arrowhead, California (USA)
Robinson Observatory		Orlando, Florida (USA)
Robotic Lunar Observatory	1995	Flagstaff, Arizona (USA)
Rogers Observatory	1981	Traverse City, Michigan (USA)
Rolnick Observatory		Westport, Connecticut (USA)
Rome Observatory		Italy
Rothney Astrophysical Observatory	1984	Priddis, Alberta (Canada)
Royal Observatory, Greenwich	1675	Greenwich, England
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh	1896	Edinburgh, Scotland
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory	1979 (officially inaugurated in 1985)	La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
Rozhen Observatory	1981	Peak Rozhen, Bulgaria.

S

Name	Established	Location
Sayan Spectrographic Cosmic Ray Complex		Irkutsk, Russia
SFA Observatory	1976	Nacogdoches, Texas (USA)
Sagamore Hill Radio Observatory	1963	Hamilton, Massachusetts (USA)
Shattuck Observatory	1854	Hanover, New Hampshire (USA)
Seven Hills Observatory	1996	Kearney, Nebraska, (USA)
Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory	1958	Shamakhi, Azerbaijan
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory	1962	Shanghai, China
Shepherd Observatory	2008 (planned)	Montevallo, Alabama (USA)
Sherzer Observatory	1878	Ypsilanti, Michigan (USA)
Sheshan Astronomical Observatory	1900	Shanghai, China
Siding Spring Observatory		Siding Spring, New South Wales, Australia
Sierra Nevada Observatory	1874	Sierra Nevada, (Spain)
Silesian Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory	1955	Chorzów / Katowice, Silesia, Poland
Simeiz Observatory		Simeiz, Crimea, Ukraine
Sisk Observatory		Mulberry, Kansas (USA)
Skalnaté Pleso Observatory	1953	Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia
Skylab	1973	low Earth orbit; re-entered in 1979
Smith Observatory	1880s	Beloit, Wisconsin (USA)
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory	1890	Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)
Sola Fide Observatory		Austin, Minnesota (USA)
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)	1996	Earth-Sun L1 point
Solar Space Telescope	2009	709 km SSO; life: 3 years
Sommers-Bausch Observatory	1949	Boulder, Colorado (USA)
Sonnenborgh Observatory	1853	Utrecht, Netherlands
Sonoma State Observatory	1976	Rohnert Park, California (USA)
South African Astronomical Observatory Cape Town Sutherland	1820 1972	Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa Sutherland, Northern Cape, South Africa
Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR)	2004	Cerro Pachón (Chile)
Space Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope	2010	550 km LEO
Spanish National Observatory	1790	(Spain)
Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences		Caucasus Mountains, Russia
Sperry Observatory	1967	Cranford, New Jersey (USA)
Spitzer Space Telescope	2003	Heliocentric orbit
Springwater Observatory	2005	Estacada, Oregon (USA)
Sproul Observatory		Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (USA)
Stardome Observatory	1967	Auckland, North Island, New Zealand
Starkenburg Observatory	1970	Heppenheim, Germany
Štefánik's Observatory	1928	Prague, Czech Republic
Steward Observatory MMT Observatory Mount Graham International Observatory Mount Lemmon Observatory	1916	Tucson, Arizona, (USA)
Stjerneborg	1581	Hven, Sweden
Stockholm Observatory	1749	Stockholm, Sweden
Stokesville Observatory		Virginia, (USA)
Stonyhurst Observatory	1838	Lancashire, (UK)
Strasbourg Observatory	1881	Strasbourg, France
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy	2006	Boeing 747SP airliner
Stull Observatory	1966	Alfred, New York (USA)
Stuttgart Observatory	1920	Stuttgart, Germany
Submillimeter Array		Mauna Kea,Hawaii (USA)
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory	1999	Sudbury, Ontario, (Canada)
Sunriver Observatory		Sunriver, Oregon (USA)
Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission	2004	Low Earth orbit
Sydney Observatory	1858	Sydney, Australia

T

Name	Established	Location
Table Mountain Observatory		Angeles National Forest, Wrightwood, California (USA)
Tacubaya Observatory	1882	Tacubaya, Mexico City, Mexico
Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory	1986	Taejon, South Korea
Tamke-Allen Observatory	1998	Roane County, Tennessee (USA)
Tartu Observatory	1964	Tartumaa, Estonia
Teide Observatory	1964	Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Ten Acre Observatory		Tribbey, Oklahoma (USA)
The Heights Observatory	1989	The Heights School, South Australia (Australia)
Texas A&M Astronomical Observatory		College Station, Texas (USA)
Theodore Jacobsen Observatory	1895	Seattle, Washington, (USA)
Thompson Observatory	1968	Beloit, Wisconsin (USA)
Tien Shan Mountain Cosmic-Ray Station		Almaty, Kazakhstan
Tuorla Observatory	1952	Piikkiö, Finland
Trieste Observatory		Trieste, Italy
Turin Observatory	1759	Pino Torinese, Italy

U

Name	Established	Location
Udaipur Solar Observatory		Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
University of Alabama Observatory	1950	Tuscaloosa, Alabama (USA)
University of Alabama Observatory (Old)	1849-1890s	Tuscaloosa, Alabama (USA)
University of North Alabama Observatory		Florence, Alabama (USA)
University of London Observatory	1929	London, England
University of Maryland Observatory		College Park, Maryland (USA)
University of New Hampshire Observatory	1985	Durham, New Hampshire (USA)
University of Oklahoma Observatory		Norman, Oklahoma (USA)
Uppsala Astronomical Observatory	1741	Uppsala, Sweden
Urania (Antwerp)		Hove, Belgium
Urania (Berlin)		Berlin, Germany
Urania (Vienna)	1909	Vienna, Austria
Urania Observatory (Zürich)	1907	Zürich, Switzerland
Uraniborg	1572	Hven, Sweden
Urumqi Astronomical Observatory	1957	Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
U.S. Naval Observatory U.S. Naval Observatory (Flagstaff Station)	1842 1955	Washington, D.C., (United States) Flagstaff, Arizona, (USA)

V

Name	Established	Location
Valongo Observatory	1924	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Vainu Bappu Observatory		Tamil Nadu, India
Astronomical observatory of Aosta Valley	2003	Nus (Aosta Valley, Italy)
Van Vleck Observatory	1914	Middletown, Connecticut (USA)
Vanderbilt University Observatory		Nashville, Tennessee (USA)
Vartiovuori Observatory (defunct)	1819–1834	Turku, Finland
Vassar College Observatory	1865	Poughkeepsie, New York (USA)
Vatican Observatory Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope	1891 1993	Headquarters: Castel Gandolfo, Italy Mount Graham, Arizona, USA
Veen Observatory	1970	Lowell, Michigan (USA)
Vega-Bray Observatory	1990	Benson, Arizona (USA)
Vernonia Peak Observatory		Vernonia, Oregon, (USA)
Very Large Array	1980	Socorro, New Mexico (United States)
Very Long Baseline Array	1993	Various locations
Vienna Observatory	1753	Vienna, Austria
Vilnius University Observatory	1753	Vilnius University, Lithuania
Višnjan Observatory	1978	Višnjan, Croatia
Vsetín Observatory	1950	Vsetín, Czech Republic

W

Name	Established	Location
Warner Observatory	1882	Rochester, New York (USA)
Warner and Swasey Observatory	1919	Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Warren Rupp Observatory	1985	Mansfield, Ohio (USA)
Washburn Observatory	1881	Madison, Wisconsin (United States)
Weaver Student Observatory		Monterey, California (USA)
Weitkamp Observatory	1955	Westerville, Ohio (USA)
Whipple Observatory	1968	Mount Hopkins, Arizona, (USA)
Whitin Observatory	1901	Wellesley, Massachusetts (USA)
Widener University Observatory	2004	Chester, Pennsylvania (USA)
Wilder Observatory		Amherst, Massachusetts (USA)
Williams Observatory	1990	Boiling Springs, North Carolina (USA)
Winer Observatory	1983	Sonoita, Arizona (USA)
Winfree Observatory	1900	Lynchburg, Virginia (USA)
Wise Observatory	1971	Negev, Israel
Witte Observatory	1984	Mediapolis, Iowa (USA)
WIYN Observatory	1994	Kitt Peak, Arizona (USA)

X

Name	Established	Location
Xiangfen Astronomical Observatory	2100 B.C.	Xiangfen County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province, China
XMM-Newton	1999	Highly eccentric Earth orbit
Xujiahui Astronomical Observatory	1872	Shanghai, China

Y

Name	Established	Location
Artic Space Weather Center		Yakutsk, Russia
Yale Student Observatory		New Haven, Connecticut (USA)
Yangbajing International Cosmic-Ray Observatory		Yangbajing Valley, Tibet, China
Yantra Mandir	1724	New Delhi, Delhi, India
Yerevan Cosmic-Ray Station		Yerevan, Armenia
Yerkes Observatory	1897	Williams Bay, Wisconsin (United States)
York University Observatory		Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
Yunnan Astronomical Observatory	1957	Kunming, Yunnan, China

Z

Name	Established	Location
Zimmerwald Observatory	1956	Zimmerwald, Switzerland

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Subsections of Category:Astronomical observatories by country
• History of telescopes
• List of astronomical instrument makers
• List of observatory codes
• List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
• List of largest optical refracting telescopes
• List of telescope types
• Space observatory
• Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology
• List of planetariums

References

1. ^ Chaisson, Eric; McMillan, Steve (2002). Astronomy Today, Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall. 

External links

• Ecuador National Observatory
• History of Astronomy: Observatories and other places
• American observatories by state
• Observatories with Clear Sky Clocks
• Map of observatory locations