Stellafane Observatory – Springfield, Vermont - Atlas Obscura
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Stellafane Observatory

Springfield, Vermont

An amateur telescope-making club has been gathering at this Vermont site for more than a century. 

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The Pink Clubhouse and the Porter-Turret Telescope Tkeator / CC BY-SA 2.0
The Pink Clubhouse and the Porter-Turret Telescope Tkeator / CC BY-SA 2.0
Pink Clubhouse at the Stellafane Observatory BM6 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Simoni Spectrohelioscope BM6 / CC BY-SA 4.0
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Stellafane is the home of the Springfield Telescope Makers, the oldest and most active telescope-making club in the world. The club was founded by the brilliant polymath Russell W. Porter in 1920, and the pink clubhouse was built at this Vermont site in 1923.

Porter suggested the name Stellafane, which combines the Latin words stella and fanum to mean “Shrine to the Stars.” It’s the site of the annual Stellafane Convention, a gathering of the nation’s amateur astronomy community. It’s the longest-running astronomical convention in the United States, drawing thousands of amateur telescope makers to share their work, join in competitions, and enjoy the night sky together.

Multiple telescopes are spread throughout Stellafane’s 3.5-acre campus, as well as an amphitheater, a bunkhouse, and radio communication equipment.

clubs telescopes observatories astronomy science
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