Keeble Observatory

Can you visit Keeble Observatory? Yes

Free open viewing nights during the semester (e.g. Apr 9, 2026).

A public night at an observatory usually starts at dusk with a short talk, then a line at the eyepiece of the main telescope for the Moon, a planet or a bright cluster, with volunteers' smaller telescopes set up outside. Dress for the night air even in summer: domes are not heated, so the telescope stays at outside temperature. Many nights sell out or cancel for clouds, so check the observatory's site on the day.

Telescopes at Keeble Observatory

12-inch reflector, 3m radio telescope.

How dark the sky is at Keeble Observatory

Keeble Observatory has no Bortle rating in the list yet. The scale below shows what each class looks like.

Sky brightness and class come from the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness (Falchi et al. 2016, CC BY-NC 4.0), with natural skyglow added, at the coordinates below. Research telescopes are often sited on mountains above the haze, so the real sky can be darker than the map suggests.

Keeble Observatory among the observatories of Virginia

Green dots are observatories open to the public, blue dots research or private sites, squares dark sky places; select one for its page. See Virginia observatories for the full list.

The coordinates on this page point to zip 23005 (approximate): 37.740°N, 77.478°W.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Mountain observatory roads are often gated after dark; go only on a scheduled public night.

Dark sky places, observatories and clubs near Keeble Observatory

Nearest dark sky places

Other observatories open to the public within 150 km

• Leander McCormick ObservatoryCharlottesville, Virginia, 95 km (59 mi). Free Public Nights 1st and 3rd Friday monthly year-round (9-11 pm DST, 7-9 pm winter); free Eventbrite registration required
• George Mason ObservatoryFairfax, Virginia, 124 km (77 mi). Free public tours Wed, Thu, Sat late Aug-late Apr; Evenings Under the Stars talks with telescope tours during the academic year

Astronomy clubs within 150 km

• Richmond Astronomical SocietyRichmond, Virginia, 20 km (12 mi). Meets 2nd Tuesday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Rappahannock Astronomy ClubFredericksburg, Virginia, 61 km (38 mi). Meets Monthly Wednesday, 7:30 pm
• Southern Maryland Astronomical SocietyMarbury, Maryland, 96 km (59 mi). Meets Observing sessions on Saturdays nearest third quarter and new moon at Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center
• Charlottesville Astronomical SocietyCharlottesville, Virginia, 97 km (60 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 7-9 pm
• Langley Exchange SkywatchersHampton, Virginia, 121 km (75 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 6 pm (business meeting)

Star parties near Keeble Observatory

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Virginia puts the dark sky places, observatories, clubs, star parties, planetariums and science centers of the state on one map, with the best night out worked out.

Keeble Observatory record

From the site's observatories dataset (observatories_q426). Distances are computed from the coordinates.