CUAS has access to two telescopes, both fine refractors, stored at the Institute of Astronomy on Madingley Road (see map). These refractors both have interesting heritage - for more information click below:

  Northumberland
  Thorrowgood

CUAS runs regular Obs Nights (see Events), where Committee members will be at the domes to show you the sights, and Demo Nights, where you are shown how to properly use the telescopes. If you're feeling adventurous, you can start using the telescopes in your own free time, provided you have been to two Demo Nights and have passed the Obs Test (contact the ObsSec for more information). To get you started, we have produced a brief tutorial on how to use the telescopes.

For examples of the kinds of images available through these telescopes, look at our Astrophotography page.

To see what objects will be visible in the sky during the current year see the calendar.

The Binoculars

If you use the binoculars in the Northumberland annexe: It would seem there is a common misconception as to how to lift the binoculars when you take them out onto the lawn to observe. They must only ever be lifted by the tripod; lifting by the upper part will cause it to detach from the base in a dangerous manner.

In case you're still confused, an excellent photo of Jonathan Shanklin showing how it's done can be found here:

Jon Shanklin with
Binoculars (40Kb)