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Welcome to the official online home of STAHR, the undergraduate-run amateur astronomy club at Harvard College! We manage the Loomis-Michael Observatory, an historic ten-inch refracting telescope on the roof of the Science Center. During the semester, we run observatory Open Houses to show the universe to Harvard affiliates and Cambridge community members alike; we also train Harvard students to use the observatory on their own in semesterly telescope classes. But there’s only so much one can do with the observatory, so we also lead trips to locations with darker skies a couple times a semester! Join our mailing list to hear about those events and get a neat chance to meet fellow star-lovers and see the Milky Way!

In addition to our general-purpose events, we also run a specialized astrophotography workshop in the fall to teach STAHR members how to take pictures of the night sky. Last but not least, we host various community-centric events like club meetings and movie nights throughout the semester, and would love to see you there!

Picture of the Month

The Michael Telescope isn’t just for looking at things; it’s also been used to take pictures of astronomical objects both for class projects and recreational purposes! The large cylindrical tube with a rectangular opening, mounted on the side of the telescope, is actually a powerful glass plate camera, and it has been used in the past to take images like this lovely one of the Moon!

Mare Crisium during waxing crescent phase, author unknown

Get Involved with STAHR!

Jupiter (author Kane Sjoberg)

Get on the Email List!

All of STAHR’s meetings, Open Houses, Dark Sky Trips, classes, and other events are advertised through our Google Group! Some of our shenanigans are only open to Harvard affiliates, but anyone can join the mailing list.

Lunar Eclipse of November 8, 2022 (author Justin Ye)

Join the Slack!

Join STAHR’s Slack workspace to get more involved with the organization! All STAHR events are announced on Slack, and we use it to communicate about fast-changing things like the northern lights and meteor showers.

Comet Zwicky (author John Wang)

Follow us on Instagram!

Follow STAHR’s Instagram page for yet another way to keep up to speed on our upcoming Open Houses and other major events, and to see the pictures we take at those events! Feel free to tag us with pictures of the Observatory!