Frosty Drew Observatory - Ninigrit Park - Charlestown, RI - Astronomical Observatories on Waymarking.com

In Charlestown, within Ninigret Park and surrounded by the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, is the Frosty Drew Observatory.

The observatory is well within the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, a short distance south of US Roue 1. To get to the observatory, from US 1, turn onto the west end of Route 1A and turn south at the sign for the park. Follow the main road (take a left at a split) to the observatory.

The building is on the south side of the access road, in the center of a grass lawn. It is a white cylindrical building with the usual rounded roof with an opening for the telescope. According to the web site, the building is 18 ft in diameter.

The main telescope is a Meade Schmidt Cassegrain LX200 16" (4064 millimeters) telescope fork mounted on an alt-azimuth pier. It was installed in 1999. There are three other telescopes at the site: a Questar 3.5 MCT, The Art Guarino Telescope - 10" Dobsonian, and an 8" Orion Dobsonian.

Public nights are every Friday night, all year round, of course weather permitting. When they are open, the web site (in 2014) stated the following for hours:

"During the months closest to the winter solstice Frosty Drew Observatory will open at 6:00 p.m. and remain open till the crowd dies or the weather crashes our sky. Usually around 10:00 p.m. but sometimes much later.

March - April, September - November Frosty Drew Observatory will open a half hour after dusk and stay open till the crowd dies down or unfavorable weather attacks. On dark, clear nights we will usually stay open till 2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning with the occasional all niter.

May - September Frosty Drew Observatory will open at 6:00 p.m. with our solar viewing program. At sunset we will open the observatory telescopes for stargazing and stay open until the crowd dies down or unfavorable weather moves in. On dark, clear nights we will usually stay open till 2:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning with the occasional all niter."

Across the street is the Frosty Drew Nature Center. This facility has astronomical and other programs.

The site that the observatory is in presently was once a training field for the Navy. It was turned over to the town of Charlestown in the 1970s. In 1981, the Frosty Drew Memorial Fund, Inc. was started for charitable, scientific and educational purposes. On July 3, 1983, the Frosty Drew Nature Center building was opened. In 1988, the observatory was added. Later, they added the Drew Sky Theatre.

Observatory Purpose: Private Optical / Infrared Telescopes?: Yes Radio Telescopes?: No Solar Telescopes?: No Open to the Public?: Yes Is this a Club Observatory?: No Public Viewing Allowed?: Yes Active Observatory?: Active Number of Telescopes or Antennas: 1 Site URL: [Web Link] Year Dedicated or Opened: 1988 Altitude (meters): 5

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!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/14/2016 wildernessmama visited it