Washburn Observatory

Washburn Observatory, completed in 1881, was a major research facility for about 50 years. Now, it is used primarily by the public duringopen houses and by students in the Introductory Astronomy courses. The Observatory houses a 15-inch refractor with a magnification of about 500. It is located at 1401 Observatory Drive on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

• Washburn Public Viewing Information
• What you can see from Washburn
• Washburn History (short summary)
• Washburn History (long summary)
• UW Astronomy Department
• The text of the Washburn Info Line

Questions? Mail to webmaster@astro.wisc.edu

About the picture on the top of the page:

This picture of Washburn observatory was taken by an unknown person with a special wide angle telescope designed for observing large portions of the M ilky Way. The telescope is basically just a tripod on top of a spherical mirror. The sharp curvature of the mirror is what gives the picture its "fish eye" look. You can see the camera at the top of the tripod in the middle of the picture.

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last update: September 22, 2003 .

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