Whitin Observatory

Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Lat. +42.295°, Long. −71.303°, Elev. 32 m

The Whitin Observatory is the home of the Wellesley College Astronomy Department and houses classrooms, astronomy laboratory facilities, the Astronomy Library, and faculty offices. Built in 1900, and enlarged in 1906 and 1966, it is considered an unusually fine facility for undergraduate training in astronomy, and the telescopes are used for College teaching activities and research observing nearly every clear night.

We wish Maria Raffi all the best in her retirement! (2009 June)
Are you thinking of taking an Astronomy class, or majoring in Astronomy? See the Prospective Students page for information about choosing a first course, majoring or minoring, research opportunities in the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium and elsewhere, and more!
Read about the Whitin Observatory Construction Project: Links to the Past and a Vision for the Future. (ca. 2001, PDF file, 1 Mb; requires Acrobat Reader.)

(list of past featured items)

Several local observatories frequently offer programs that are open to the general public. We recommend the weekly programs at the Clay Center Observatory in Brookline, MA, and at the Gilliland Observatory at the Boston Museum of Science.

From time to time we do host a Public Night at the Whitin Observatory, although the next one has not yet been planned.