Welcome to the Fort Lewis College Observatory

The Fort Lewis College Observatory is located at the Old Fort Lewis, on the mesa west of the La Plata River. The Old Fort, approximately five miles south of Hesperus, Colorado, is an agricultural research station managed by Colorado State University. Approximately one acre has been fenced off for the facility. The primary observing instrument is a Meade 16” LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope housed in a 12’ diameter clamshell dome. An SBIG ST-10XE CCD camera, with a CFW-10 filter wheel is used for imaging. This site, telescope, camera, and several other instruments are shown and described in more detail on the equipment page. The observatory is being used for teaching and undergraduate research projects, and has also hosted numerous star parties for various school groups, and other, non-academic organizations. This web site shows some equipment and student projects, and is also a repository for the many pictures taken here.