Can you visit Otter Creek Observatory? No regular public access
No regular public access.
For telescope views near Otter Creek Observatory, see the observatories open to the public and astronomy clubs nearby; clubs hold free public star parties.
What Otter Creek Observatory observes
The list does not describe the instruments at Otter Creek Observatory yet; the official site has them.
How dark the sky is at Otter Creek Observatory
Otter Creek 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.
Otter Creek Observatory among the observatories of Kentucky
Green dots are observatories open to the public, blue dots research or private sites, squares dark sky places; select one for its page. See Kentucky observatories for the full list.
The coordinates on this page point to Otter Creek Observatory, Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area: 38.073°N, 86.016°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 Otter Creek Observatory
Nearest dark sky places
| Place | Where | Bortle | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison-Crawford State Forest | Indiana | 4 | 29 km (18 mi) |
| Blackacre State Nature Preserve | Kentucky | 6 | 44 km (28 mi) |
| Deam Lake State Recreation Area | Indiana | 4 | 46 km (29 mi) |
| Rolleigh Peterson State Forest | Kentucky | 5 | 49 km (31 mi) |
| Beckley Creek Park Urban park | Kentucky | 5 | 50 km (31 mi) |
| Clark State Forest | Indiana | 4 | 58 km (36 mi) |
Other observatories open to the public within 150 km
- South Harrison ObservatoryLaconia, Indiana, 8 km (5 mi). One or two public sessions a month: evening sky tour near first-quarter moon and daytime solar open house near third quarter
- Kirkwood ObservatoryBloomington, Indiana, 126 km (78 mi). Free open houses Wednesday evenings from spring break to Thanksgiving, weather permitting; no reservation
- Wahnsiedler ObservatoryLynnville, Indiana, 137 km (85 mi). Evansville Astronomical Society free Star Watches and open houses monthly in warm months; club meets there 3rd Friday 7:30 pm
Astronomy clubs within 150 km
- Louisville Astronomical SocietyLouisville, Kentucky, 29 km (18 mi). Meets General meetings Friday, 8 pm
- Evansville Astronomical SocietyLynnville, Indiana, 113 km (70 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly (except Jun)
- Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy ClubLexington, Kentucky, 129 km (80 mi)
Star parties near Otter Creek Observatory
| Star party | Near | Distance | Usual timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bootleg Fall Star Party | Harmon, Illinois | 497 km (309 mi) | Autumn new moon |
| Bootleg Spring Star Party | Harmon, Illinois | 497 km (309 mi) | Spring new moon |
| Green Bank Star Quest | Green Bank, West Virginia | 542 km (337 mi) | Summer |
| Almost Heaven Star Party | Riverton, West Virginia | 570 km (354 mi) | New-moon weekend in August |
Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Kentucky 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.
Otter Creek Observatory record
Every value in the observatories dataset for Otter Creek Observatory
| ID | 154 |
|---|---|
| Name | Otter Creek Observatory |
| Address | Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area |
| City | Brandenburg |
| State | KY |
| Zip | 40108 |
| Country | USA |
| Web | https://jefferson.kctcs.edu |
| Public | n |
| Lat | 38.07307 |
| Lon | -86.01636 |
| LatLonSpot | Otter Creek Observatory, Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area |
| Status | Active |
| StatusNote | Still used by Jefferson Community and Technical College for teaching; closed to the general public since the park closure in 2009 |
| PublicNote | No regular public access |
| Sources | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otter_Creek_Observatory |
From the site's observatories dataset (observatories_q426). Distances are computed from the coordinates.