About Us

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About the Observatory

Lookout Observatory was built in 2013 with a $546,000 donation from the Astronomy Club of Asheville, and was designed by Padgett & Freeman Architects of Asheville. It sits just below the ridge line on a hill at the north end of the UNC Asheville campus. The site’s benefits include nearby access for the Asheville community and the beautiful long range mountain views on the horizon.

Our Equipment Mailing List

Lookout Observatory

UNC Asheville Physics Department

Address: One University Heights Asheville, NC 28804
Phone: 828.250.3958
Location: RRO 124, CPO 2430
Email: lookout@unca.edu

"This observatory will bring our solar system and the universe a whole lot closer to the residents of Asheville, Buncombe County and our region. There are many wonderful astronomical images available today, but nothing takes the place of observing a planet or other celestial objects directly in the telescope eyepiece."

- former President of the Astronomy Club of Asheville

Bernard Arghiere

Our Telescopes

The two telescopes – one owned by UNC Asheville, the other provided by the Astronomy Club of Asheville – are great for viewing a wide variety of celestial bodies.

  • Each pier has a 14-inch aperture f/11 Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain design telescope.
  • Each primary telescope has a side-by-side mounted apochromatic (APO) refractor telescope for wider field viewing and imaging
  • One of the refractors is a 180mm aperture f/7 Telescope Engineering Company instrument.
  • The other refractor is a 150mm aperture f/7 Takahashi instrument.
  • 2 Paramount ME robotic, German equatorial mounts from Software Bisque – a Colorado company.

Stay in the Know

If you would like to receive periodic emails regarding upcoming observatory events, please fill out the form below. If you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please email lookout@unca.edu.

You may also Like the Lookout Observatory Facebook page to know when registration for our next public event opens.

Name

Email Address

Donate

Lookout Observatory is financially supported by the UNC Asheville Department of Physics and Astronomy and donations from people like you!  Donations, in particular, help us to fund our public stargazes and to purchase everything from imaging equipment for undergraduate research to play-dough for making solar system models with local elementary school students. Even a few dollars can make an impact.

To make a financial contribution please click here. Select “Lookout Observatory” from the designation drop down menu.

If you are interested in making a planned or estate gift, please click here for more information.