Paul E. Hickes Observatory

Can you visit Paul E. Hickes Observatory? Yes

Free Observatory Nights on scheduled Mondays 8-10 pm during semesters; no registration.

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 Paul E. Hickes Observatory

16-in SCT, (2) 8-in Dobs, solar scope.

Juniata College campus

How dark the sky is at Paul E. Hickes Observatory

Paul E. Hickes 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.

Paul E. Hickes Observatory among the observatories of Pennsylvania

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

The coordinates on this page point to zip 16652 (approximate): 40.502°N, 78.005°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 Paul E. Hickes Observatory

Paul E. Hickes Observatory is about 23 km (14 mi) from Trough Creek State Park, a Bortle Class 4 dark sky place. See Trough Creek State Park for camping, where to set up and the sky by season.

Nearest dark sky places

Other observatories open to the public within 150 km

• Naylor ObservatoryLewisberry, Pennsylvania, 104 km (65 mi). Astronomical Society of Harrisburg public observing nights at Naylor Observatory on scheduled weekend evenings (see ASH calendar)
• Bucknell ObservatoryLewisburg, Pennsylvania, 106 km (66 mi). Free Public Observing Nights several times per semester (e.g. Mar 20 and Apr 25, 2026)
• Morgan County ObservatoryBerkeley Springs, West Virginia, 107 km (66 mi). Morgan County Observatory Foundation public stargazing and talks; new telescope first-light open house Mar 2026

Astronomy clubs within 150 km

• Starlight Astronomy ClubAltoona, Pennsylvania, 33 km (20 mi). Meets 3rd Thursday monthly, 7 pm
• Central Pennsylvania ObserversState College, Pennsylvania, 35 km (22 mi)
• Astronomical Society of HarrisburgHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, 98 km (61 mi). Meets Monthly general meeting, Mondays 7:30-9 pm (see astrohbg.org for venue)
• Tri-State AstronomersHagerstown, Maryland, 99 km (62 mi). Meets Monthly, Wednesday 7 pm (3rd Wednesday in 2026)
• Cumberland Astronomy ClubGrantsville, Maryland, 123 km (77 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly, 7:30 pm

Star parties near Paul E. Hickes Observatory

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Pennsylvania 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.

Paul E. Hickes Observatory record

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