Name: UCL Observatory Tours 2025/26
Start: 2025-10-24T18:30:00+01:00
End: 2026-01-30T21:30:00+01:00
Location: University of London Observatory

$UCL Observatory Tours 2025\/26$

Public Visits to the UCL Observatory in Mill Hill, London.
About this Event

Public Visits

The Observatory holds free public open evenings, roughly fortnightly, on Fridays during UCL's autumn and winter terms, 18:30–19:50 and 20:00–21:20 (18:00 and 19:30 on Saturday). The earlier tour may be preferable for families with children, but note that the content and nature of the tours (including negotiating some steep, open-tread stairs) mean they may not be suitable for all children younger than 7 years old.

The Observatory is a teaching and research establishment, not a tourist attraction; it is not open to visitors, except as summarised here. Advance booking is essential, more public tours will be added to the schedule for 2024/25 dates.

Visitors are given a short introduction to the Observatory by one of the guides, then divided into groups for a guided tour of the telescopes and facilities. During the tour season, only about 1 evening in 4 is clear, winds or even wispy clouds can prevent us from observing too. Nonetheless, if the weather permits, visitors will normally be given the opportunity to view the sky through the Fry 8-inch refractor.

The 18th and 19th Oct 2024 will be a special themed event on Comets. We will be telling you about these marvelous objects and if we are lucky we will try to spot one ourselves.

Unfortunately, the site is not wheelchair-friendly, with gravelled grounds and steep stairways. Disabled visitors, and those of limited mobility should contact us in advance to discuss access requirements, we will do our best to make your visit enjoyable and we will continue to run our popular virtual tours alongside these physical tours of the site.

Sessions may be cancelled at short notice if, in our view, any circumstances such as extreme weather conditions make it hazardous to travel to the Observatory or to visitors/staff (e.g. ice or snow). Under such circumstances, we will make every reasonable effort to contact booked visitors, and an alternative session will be offered. Because of this, it is a requirement that a valid contact phone number and email be given for each booking.