The Holcomb Observatory is owned by the Indianapolis University and is the largest observatory in the world open to the public. The construction of the observatory began in 1888 when a 6-inch telescope used by students on the Irvington campus was placed there. In 1928, the observatory moved to another place. And the first building was demolished.

In 1953, James Irving Holcomb and his wife donated $ 325,000 to build a new observatory for Butler University. This gift was dedicated to the centenary of the university. A year later, a 38-inch reflecting telescope was purchased. Then this telescope was the largest in the entire state of Indiana.

The telescope has been changed and upgraded several times throughout the history of the observatory. In particular, a camera for remote control was installed. So now it can be controlled from anywhere in the world.

Over the years, the observatory has conducted numerous studies of outer space, mainly asteroids, eclipsed variable stars, exoplanets, and long-period variables in globular star clusters.

The observatory houses a planetarium that has been constantly improved over the years of operation. Now a special technique allows its dome to show the sky as it was millions of years ago. During the show, you can immerse into space as much as possible: see the starry sky, accompanied by sound effects.

Anyone can look through a telescope for only $ 7. Of course, this is only possible if there is good visibility. You can also visit one of the planetarium programs. Traveling through our galaxy with the opportunity to see the birth of stars and star systems is so exciting that you will not want to leave the planetarium after the end of the lecture.