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Tours of Mount Graham International Observatory, including the VATT, are run on Saturdays from mid-May to mid-October (weather-permitting) from Discovery Park in Safford, AZ. The Eastern Arizona College’s Discovery Park Campus is the official tour agent for the Mount Graham International Observatory.
The observatory is open to the public for tours by advance registration only from mid-May through October (weather permitting).
The Alice P. Lennon Telescope and its Thomas J. Bannan Astrophysics Facility, known together as the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), is a Gregorian telescope observing in the optical and infrared situated on Mount Graham in southeast Arizona, United States.
Tours of Mount Graham International Observatory, including the VATT, are run on Saturdays from mid-May to mid-November (weather-permitting) from Discovery Park out of Safford. Both observing time and responsibility for VATT are shared with the University of Arizona on a 75% VORG, 25% Arizona basis.
The tour features a trip up scenic Mount Graham, focusing on the mountain's rich geology, history, and diversity of life; a lunch near the summit of the mountain; and a guided tour of the observatories -- The Submillimeter Telescope, the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, and the Large Binocular Telescope!
Visits to the Vatican Observatory sites are constrained by our small staff and restricted quarters. Individual visits to the Observatory are not possible. Our telescope in Arizona is in a protected Forest Service area. Visits can be arranged through the Eastern Arizona College Discovery Park Campus: https://www.eac.edu/discoverypark/mgio.shtm
The Vatican Observatory donated a radio telescope. A full-motion simulator takes guests on a ride past Mt. Graham to tour the solar system. As the park grew, Nature’s Hideaway was added as a riparian habitat just south of the Gov Aker Observatory.
