Links


Next open house: mid-late November
See the Open Houses link for more information on past, current, and future open houses.

Rice University Campus Observatory [RUCO]

RUCO LX200GPS Telescope RUCO


About the Observatory

Operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Rice University Campus Observatory (RUCO) features a computerized 16" Meade telescope, and several smaller telescopes for use primarily in undergraduate courses at Rice. RUCO is situated on the a terrace on the eastern side of the roof of the Brockman Hall of Physics on campus. The observatory moved to this location early in 2011 and is in full operation. During the Academic Year (Sept through May) we typically hold open houses sometime during the weekend near the first quarter Moon, with a faculty member present to answer questions on astronomy. RUCO is normally closed during the summer months. Please refer to our schedule of open houses for dates and times.

Classes which make use of the observatory include

The observatory is guided by a committee of faculty with Professor Patrick Hartigan as its chair.

More Information

For more information about astronomy at Rice please refer to the Physics and Astronomy Department home page. Additional space-related events of interest to the public can be found on the Rice Space Institute page.