The MacAdam Student Observatory is a University of Kentucky building located on top of parking garage structure #2 that is used by faculty and students for research and learning.

Except when the observatory is open to the public, even though the parking gates in parking structure #2 are up,  the structure is patrolled by parking officers. On public nights you may drive to the top of the parking structure and leave your vehicle without receiving a parking citation. 

Our street address is 301 Hilltop Ave., Lexington, KY 40506.

Timothy Knauer, Director

MacAdam Student Observatory
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Email: TimKnauer@uky.edu
Phone (Office): (859) 257-7147

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News & Updates

Kentucky SkyTalk: Thursday June 8, 2017 - 8 PM Chem-Phys Room 155

Tim Knauer - Powers of Ten

• June SkyTalk Flyer.pdf
• June All Sky Chart.pdf
•  
• May SkyTalk Flyer.pdf
• May All Sky Chart.pdf
• Comet 2015 V2 Johnson finder.pdf

• (PDF maps on this page were created using Guide 9)

The MacAdam Student Observatory staff are pleased to welcome the public to our facility. We present a program of public outreach on the second Thursday of every month.  A 40-minute presentation on astronomy will be held  in  the Chemistry-Physics Building, before moving across the street to the observatory, weather permitting. Note that the temperature at the telescope is the same as it is outside. The Observatory is located on Parking Structure #2 on the University of Kentucky campus on this map.)

Parking Note: Guests for the monthly SkyTalk that bring vehicles should plan on leaving them in Parking Structure #2, next to the observatory. Visitors that park elsewhere are subject to citation. Some streets near the observatory will be closed due to construction intermittently over the next few years. These include Rose Street and Alumni Drive. The recommended path to Parking Structure #2 is outlined in red, here: Directions with street closures.pdf.

To AST191 and 192 Students:

The observatory is now closed for the Spring 2017 term.

• Astronomy Picture of the Day:  A visually stunning page with a cogent paragraph explaining the daily image.  Their archives go back to June, 1995.
• SpaceWeather: Updated every day, the site covers the Sun, the Solar Wind, Aurora Borealis, Noctilucent Clouds, and information of bright satellite passes over your location. (See Satellite Flybys in the panel on the right.)
• Is it going to be clear or cloudy tonight? See Attilla Danko's page for your area. In Lexington, KY,  we use this Clear Sky Chart. Read the top line of the chart, white is cloudy and dark blue predicts clear skies.