Originally, the observatory was home to a 20" telescope, given to the department by an avid amateur who lived in central Massachusetts. It was a 1/10 scale model (loosely) of a larger 200" scope. Eventually, a crack was spotted during one of the re-aluminizings of the 20" mirror, and the scope was decommissioned. In the meantime, the department had been granted money—associated with its move from Hasbrouck to the Graduate Research Tower—to buy a small telescope and install it on top of the GRC. The GRC had a small "isolation" pad built onto its roof, which was supposed to be a mount for the scope, accessible via a small open elevator. However, the GRC had terrible noise and gross vibration problems. The isolation pad never worked, and there were too many safety concerns about using the roof of the building for observing.
A 16" telescope was later bought from Competition Associates, a racing car company. That scope arrived in 1976, but it was never mounted onto the roof of the GRC due to the aforementioned problems. Instead, it was stored in the basement of Hasbrouck for perhaps 10 years, becoming known as the "Subterranean Telescope". This situation finally led to the 20" being disassembled and the 16" scope being moved to Orchard Hill and installed in the dome there. The 16" was a major improvement in usability. At present, the 20" may still be stored in the Astronomy Research Facility, but the drive was most likely not kept.
Special thanks to Professor Thomas Arny[2] for much of the recent history of the facility.
Hours
The observatory does not currently have a regular schedule. It was regularly open for public viewing on Thursday nights until at least 2011.[3][4]
The Five College Astronomy Club, consisting of students belonging to the Five Colleges, utilizes the observatory to host observing nights on clear nights.
Administration
The observatory does not receive any external funding. It is part of the College of Natural Sciences/Astronomy, maintained and operated by the UMass Astronomy Department and supported by members of the Five College Astronomy Club.[5]
^Lyons, John and Tom Macrae. "Home". Orchard Hill Observatory. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Archived from the original on 2011-07-12. Retrieved 8 September 2023.