Melton Memorial Observatory, Astronomical observatory at University of South Carolina, United States.
Melton Memorial Observatory is an astronomical facility on the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia with a 16-inch Cassegrain telescope housed under a copper-green dome on Greene Street. The building was designed to hold the primary telescope along with several additional instruments used for observing stars, planets, and other celestial objects.
Edwin Seibels funded construction of the observatory in 1928 with a donation of 15,000 dollars and named it after William Davis Melton, who was president of the University of South Carolina at that time. The facility was established to support astronomical research and education at the university.
The observatory is run by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which regularly organizes public lectures and stargazing nights for the community. These events connect visitors directly with the science and make distant celestial objects feel accessible to everyone.
The observatory opens regularly for stargazing nights when visitors can look through multiple telescopes to see stars, planets, and other celestial objects. It helps to check current opening times before your visit and bring warm clothes, as observing happens outdoors at night.
A vintage black iron spiral staircase with red lighting leads up to the observation room inside the dome. Once there, astronomers use green lasers to point out star positions in the night sky for visitors.
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