The Cahill Rooftop Observatory (CRO), formerly the Robinson/Downs Rooftop Observatory, provides members of the Caltech community the ability to carry out astronomical observations from Pasadena. CRO offers six different telescopes, filling every niche from a "mini-observatory" for class projects to a manageable telescope for casual stargazing to an ultra-portable telescope for public outreach.
CRO comprises two facilities. The rooftop observatory proper includes an 8-inch, 10-inch and 14-inch Celestron telescope. The 14-inch, our flagship instrument, is computer-controlled and is designed to be quickly polar-aligned. The observatory also features a CCD camera, which may be used with either the 8-inch and 14-inch, and a variety of eyepieces and filters, which can be used with any of the three telescopes.
Our second facility supports the department's outreach program. We store several telescopes that can be checked out by users for events or observing trips. Currently, our repertoire includes three pairs of binoculars, two Galileoscopes and a 3.5-inch Questar. The 8-inch Celestron from the rooftop is also light enough to be taken to outreach events, and is in fact our most frequently checked-out telescope.
Please contact us to join the user list, check out telescopes, arrange observing sessions, report problems or suggestions regarding the telescopes, or anything else.