Naylor Observatory

Can you visit Naylor Observatory? Yes

Astronomical Society of Harrisburg public observing nights at Naylor Observatory on scheduled weekend evenings (see ASH calendar).

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 Naylor Observatory

17-inch,(2) 14-inch, 12.5-inch reflectors.

How dark the sky is at Naylor Observatory

Naylor 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.

Naylor 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 17339 (approximate): 40.146°N, 76.870°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 Naylor Observatory

Nearest dark sky places

Other observatories open to the public within 150 km

• Bucknell ObservatoryLewisburg, Pennsylvania, 92 km (57 mi). Free Public Observing Nights several times per semester (e.g. Mar 20 and Apr 25, 2026)
• Maryland Space Grant ObservatoryBaltimore, Maryland, 94 km (58 mi). Free open houses on scheduled Friday evenings with the Morris W. Offit telescope (check observatory updates)
• Crosby Ramsey Memorial ObservatoryBaltimore, Maryland, 100 km (62 mi). Rooftop observatory at Maryland Science Center; daytime sungazing and Friday evening stargazing events (see calendar)
• Paul E. Hickes ObservatoryHuntingdon, Pennsylvania, 104 km (65 mi). Free Observatory Nights on scheduled Mondays 8-10 pm during semesters; no registration
• Mt. Cuba Astronomical ObservatoryWilmington, Delaware, 114 km (71 mi). Monday 8 pm Public Nights (lecture plus viewing, max 28, $10 adults) and select Friday Family Nights; reservations required
• Villanova ObservatoryVillanova, Pennsylvania, 130 km (81 mi). Open to the public Mon-Thu 7-9 pm per the Villanova Astronomical Society page; other times by appointment

Astronomy clubs within 150 km

• Astronomical Society of HarrisburgHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, 14 km (9 mi). Meets Monthly general meeting, Mondays 7:30-9 pm (see astrohbg.org for venue)
• York County Astronomical SocietyYork, Pennsylvania, 28 km (18 mi)
• Astronomy Enthusiasts of Lancaster CountyLancaster, Pennsylvania, 47 km (29 mi). Meets 1st Wednesday monthly, 6:30-8 pm
• Westminster Astronomical SocietyWestminster, Maryland, 61 km (38 mi). Meets Monthly member meetings with guest speakers, open to the public (see club site)
• Berks County Amateur Astronomical SocietyReading, Pennsylvania, 79 km (49 mi)

Star parties near Naylor 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.

Naylor Observatory record

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