Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory - Gilbert, AZ - Astronomical Observatories on Waymarking.com

The Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory (GRCO) is located in the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, AZ. It can be found on the South side of Guadalupe Rd., just East of Greenfield Rd. The optical telescope in the observatory is a 16-inch diameter Meade, modified Richey-Cretien scope, guided by a Paramount ME computer controlled German equatorial mount slaved to The Sky professional computer program.

Funding for the observatory has been collected from Riparian Institute memberships and grants, private and corporate donations, and the Gilbert Rotary Club. Funding for the telescope was provided by SRP. The observatory was built as part of the Gilbert Rotary Club's centennial anniversary in 2005 and opened on October 21, 2006.

The observatory is open to the public every Friday and Saturday evening as weather permits. The hours are from sunset to 2 hours after nautical twilight. Typically these hours are 6p-9p in the Winter, 7p-10p in the Fall and Spring, and 7:30p-10:30p in the Summer. Attendance is free, but a voluntary $3.00 donation is suggested.

Specific diagrams of the observatory can be found on the observatory's website.

Observatory Purpose: Research Optical / Infrared Telescopes?: Yes Radio Telescopes?: No Solar Telescopes?: No Open to the Public?: Yes Is this a Club Observatory?: Yes Public Viewing Allowed?: Yes Active Observatory?: Active Number of Telescopes or Antennas: 1 Site URL: [Web Link] Year Dedicated or Opened: 2006 Altitude (meters): 390

Visit Instructions:
Note the time of day of your visit, and your own photo of your favorite part of the observatory. This might be the view from the observatory, picture of your favorite building or favorite exhibit. (Be mindful of flash photography rules!)

If you participated in an observing session, let everyone know what you saw!

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Date Logged Log User Rating   02/25/2022 T2D visited it 01/08/2018 Julie&Ray visited it 04/28/2014 rjmcdonough1 visited it 04/08/2014 merlot visited it 02/07/2014 dkestrel visited it 01/31/2014 DocDTA visited it 09/04/2013 ILuvAZ visited it 07/20/2013 Poehunters visited it 07/20/2013 philbeer visited it 04/03/2013 stlee visited it 12/07/2012 Greybeard-42 visited it 09/12/2012 roadrunners visited it 09/26/2010 Brad&Kim visited it 08/12/2010 adenium visited it 06/05/2010 AZTech visited it 04/05/2010 simpjkee visited it 04/04/2010 sundevil1994 visited it

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