Cline Observatory, on the Jamestown Campus of Guilford Technical Community College, makes it possible for school groups, families, and interested residents to have the wonders of the universe available in a convenient setting.
We are open to the public on clear Friday nights, weather permitting. Sessions feature views of a variety of objects through the telescope under the dome and through smaller instruments set up on our outdoor observing pad.
Have you ever wanted to view the moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies?
The observatory is equipped with a 24-inch PlaneWave CDK24 reflector on a Mathis MI1000 high-precision fork mount. Other 8-inch reflectors are set up outside the dome during viewing sessions if attendance warrants. Additional telescopes can be set up on an adjacent observing pad.
Other large telescopes at publicly accessible observatories in NC include:
There is another Cline Observatory in the Triad, at Guilford College, featuring a 16-inch telescope.
On any clear Friday night during the year, you are invited to come out to the observatory to see the wonders of the sky.
Free public viewings begin at 7 p.m. November-February. From March to October, the sessions start about 45 minutes after sunset.
See our public viewing session calendar for more details.
Sessions usually last about two hours. School, scout, or community group sessions can be arranged by contacting the observatory staff.
For updates about observatory events and the status of our viewing sessions, follow us on Twitter (X) @gtccastro at https://twitter.com/GTCCASTRO.
In addition to our weekly public viewing sessions, we often hold viewing sessions for special events such as eclipses, transits, or other remarkable astronomical phenomena. As with our Friday public viewings, special viewing sessions are free and open to anyone with an interest in astronomy.
The observatory presents special lectures and events that are free and open to the public, including TriStar, an annual astronomy festival in March; the annual Fall Astronomy Day Lecture; and the Stellar Society Lecture, part of the N.C. Science Festival.
Learn more about our Fall Astronomy Day Lecture
Learn more about the Stellar Society Lecture
The observatory also hosts the N.C. Astronomers’ Meeting, a scientific conference that brings members of the N.C. professional astronomy community together to network and share research. It is not open to the public.
GTCC’s Solar System Walk begins at the observatory and stretches across the Jamestown campus. It provides images and information about the sun, planets, and minor bodies in the solar system in a set of displays in scale with the real solar system.
Learn more about the Sidewalk Solar System
Cline Observatory exists thanks to the generous support of J. Donald Cline and his wife, Jo. You can help support the work we do by becoming a Friend of Cline Observatory or by sponsoring one of our many programs.
Learn more about Supporting the Observatory
Cline Observatory is near Lake Katherine on the Jamestown campus of GTCC. Use the interactive map below to get to the campus. The observatory is building 7 on the Jamestown campus map. The best places to park are the section of Lot C near Lake Katherine (and walk around the lake to the observatory) or in Lot F (and walk to the observatory between Science Hall – building 24 on the map – and the Auto/Diesel Transportation Complex – building 2 on the map).
For information about our facility and its programs, contact observatory Director Tom English at trenglish@gtcc.edu or 336-334-4822, ext. 50023. For updates about our Friday viewing sessions and other observatory events, follow us on Twitter(X) @gtccastro at https://twitter.com/GTCCASTRO.
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Local Astronomy Clubs Greensboro Astronomy Club Forsyth Astronomical Society Local Observatories Frank Family Science Center at Guilford College Three College Observatory |
Local Planetariums Greensboro Science Center Omnisphere Kaleideum North (formerly SciWorks) Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute Visit the website. Click here |
| Observatory | Planetarium |
|---|---|
| At an observatory, you look through telescopes at objects in the night sky. Sessions at the observatory are subject to weather conditions. | At a planetarium, you sit in an auditorium as images of the sky are projected onto the ceiling. Planetarium shows do not depend on sky conditions because they are held indoors. |
Local planetariums include the Greensboro Science Center and Kaleideum North (formerly SciWorks) in Winston-Salem.
The Observatory opened its doors in October 1997. GTCC hired its first full-time astronomy instructor, Aaron Martin, in 1990. He came to the college with a vision of building a campus observatory with a strong public outreach program, and it only took seven years to bring his dream to fruition. Since we opened, nearly 30,000 people have visited the facility.
Our facility would not have been possible without the support and assistance of J. Donald Cline and his wife, Jo. The Clines recognized the importance of Aaron Martin’s vision of bringing astronomy to our students and the public and generously supported the building of the facility.
Don Cline has also supported other astronomical and scientific ventures across North Carolina, including The Cline Observatory at Guilford College (not to be confused with Cline Observatory at Guilford Tech!), Appalachian State University’s Dark Sky Observatory, and the North Carolina Science Museum.
In 1997, Don established the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) in the N.C. mountains. PARI is an astronomical research and education facility. Don Cline continues to serve as PARI president, as well as a GTCC Cline Observatory Advisory Committee member.
The observatory is equipped with a 24-inch PlaneWave CDK24 reflector on a Mathis MI1000 high-precision fork mount. The magnification of the telescope changes, depending on which eyepiece is being used. Typical views range in the 120x-180x range. A more important property than magnification is light-gathering power – a larger telescope mirror collects more light, and thus makes fainter objects look brighter. We can see galaxies that are a few hundred million lightyears away, but they are very faint.
If the sky is clear, we open the facility to allow visitors to view objects through the telescope in the dome and additional telescopes set up on the observing pad. You look through the telescopes with your own eyes. There is no official program – it is simply a viewing session. We show various astronomical objects through the telescopes, point out constellations and other objects in the sky, and answer questions.
Visitors are free to come and go as they please. You don’t have to arrive at the beginning or stay until the end.
Typical turnout for our sessions is about 40 to 50 visitors per night, though session attendance has varied from one or two to nearly 300.
Start times vary throughout the year depending on when the sun sets. Find out when the sun sets on a particular date.
What time do public viewing sessions start:
| January through March | Around 7 p.m. |
| April through mid-October | 30-40 minutes after sunset (June-July could be as late as 9 p.m.) |
| Late October through December | Around 7 p.m. |
Sessions usually last about two hours. If we still have a big crowd or enthusiastic visitors at the scheduled ending time, we usually extend our session time. If sky conditions worsen and we can’t see any more objects, we will end the session early.
All our events are free and open to anyone with an interest in astronomy. No reservations are necessary.
If it is raining or completely cloudy, the session will be canceled.
If the weather is uncertain, the best way to check the session status is through the observatory’s Twitter page (@gtccastro: https://twitter.com/GTCCASTRO). Cancellation decisions are usually made by the official start time.
If it is cloudy at the start, and weather sources indicate that it might stay that way for a while, then we will close for the night.
There are a some restrictions:
No. Because the dome opens to the night air, any heat from inside will escape, and the warm air going through the dome opening creates unsteady conditions that distort the views of the objects we observe. Therefore, our policy is to try to keep the temperature of the interior of the dome about the same temperature as outside. Be sure to dress for the conditions.
The observatory is family-friendly. Observing the moon and planets is an exciting experience for children with an interest in science. Very young kids are fascinated by the moon but tend to be overwhelmed by the observatory experience.
Groups are welcome at our Friday sessions, but we do ask that you let us know well ahead of time if you plan to bring a large group so that we can try to recruit more volunteers to help with the session. Because Friday sessions are open to the public, and there are no limits on the number of attendees (typical sessions average 40-plus visitors), a group visiting on a Friday cannot be guaranteed any special attention.
Group visits on other nights are possible, typically weeknights. Specific availability will depend on the availability of our staff. Because of our teaching schedules, daytime visits are usually difficult to accommodate.
To inquire about bringing a group to the observatory, call 336-334-4822, ext. 50023, or email Observatory Director Tom English.
If you have other questions you would like to see posted here, call 336-334-4822, ext. 50023, or email Observatory Director Tom English.
