Naval Academy Observatory, Annapolis

The Naval Academy Observatory was dedicated in 1991 as part of the United States Naval Academy’s science and navigation facilities, funded by the Class of 1941 for the 50th anniversary of their graduation. The academy’s connection with astronomy is much older, as its first observatory was built between 1850 and 1854 to support the study of celestial navigation used by naval officers at sea.

That original observatory building was demolished in 1909 during a major campus reconstruction led by architect Ernest Flagg. For more than eighty years afterward, the academy operated without a dedicated observatory building. The modern facility built in 1991 restored a permanent place for astronomical observation and teaching, continuing the academy’s tradition of linking navigation training with the study of the night sky.

Inside the observatory is a 7.75-inch refracting telescope built by Alvan Clark & Sons in the 1850s, later restored and installed in the current building. Today the facility is used for astronomy courses, where midshipmen observe stars, planets, and constellations while learning how navigators once used the sky to determine position at sea. It also supports astronomy club activities, small research projects, and occasional evening viewing sessions for visitors.