SFSU Observatory

Our telescopes

Four fixed-mount telescopes reside in San Francisco State University's roll-top roof observatory. All are reflectors, using mirrors to collect and focus light. We also share operations of the 30-inch Leuschner Observatory telescope with UC Berkeley, controlling it remotely from Thornton Hall. Several portable telescopes, including two that are specially equipped for solar observing, are used for classes and special events.

Leuschner Observatory

Thanks to a generous donation from Physics and Astronomy alumnus John Luongo in 2009, SFSU partnered with UC Berkeley to refurbish the 30-inch telescope at Leuschner Observatory in Lafayette, CA. SFSU and UC Berkeley now share time on the telescope, operating it by remote control from the two campuses. East of the Berkeley hills, about 30 miles from SFSU, Leuschner's site provides more fog-free nights and darker skies than the SF State campus Observatory. The 30-inch telescope is equipped with an SBIG STL-11000 CCD camera, enabling students to take data which they upload and analyze locally. Two SF State graduate students, Adam Fries and Eileen Gonzales (now a faculty member in the department) helped commission the refurbished telescope and completed Masters theses in 2014 using data they collected with it.

On-campus telescopes

Meade 16" LX-200 Schmidt-Cassegrain

This telescope and its robotic mount were generously donated by Physics and Astronomy alumnus John Luongo.

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 16 inches (406 mm)
• Focal length: 160 inches (4064 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/10
• Mount: equatorial (Paramount ME Robotic Telescope Mount)
• Paramount User's Guide

Meade 12" LX-600 Schmidt-Cassegrain 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 12 inches (305 mm)
• Focal length: 96 inches (2438 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/8
• Mount: alt/az

Epoch Instruments 10" Newtonian 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 10 inches (254 mm)
• Focal length: 65 inches (1651 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/6.5
• Mount: equatorial

Orion SkyQuest XT10i Intelliscope 10" Newtonian 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 10 inches (254 mm)
• Focal length: 47 inches (1200 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/4.7
• Mount: alt/az (Dobsonian)
• Telescope manual

Orion SkyQuest XT8i Intelliscope 8" Newtonian 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 8 inches (203 mm)
• Focal length: 47 inches (1200 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/5.9
• Mount: alt/az (Dobsonian)
• Telescope manual

Meade ETX125 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 5 inches (125 mm)
• Focal length: 47 inches (1900 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/15
• Mount: alt/az 

Meade ETX125 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain with Solar Filter 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 5 inches (125 mm)
• Focal length: 47 inches (1900 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/15
• Mount: equatorial 

Meade SolarmaxII 3.5" Coronado with H-alpha solar filter 

Technical specifications:

• Aperture: 3.5 inches (90 mm)
• Focal length: 31.5 inches (800 mm)
• Focal ratio: f/9
• Mount: equatorial 
• Bandpass: 0.7 Angstroms