BYU West Mountain Observatory Project

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2025

Abstract

Brigham Young University’s West Mountain Observatory (WMO) is a research facility that offers primarily undergraduate students valuable mentoring and hands-on learning opportunities. Established in 1981, the observatory was built in response to increasing light pollution in Provo, Utah, which began affecting research at the Orson Pratt Observatory (OPO) atop the Eyring Science Center on the BYU main campus. Before WMO was created, OPO served as the primary observatory for astronomical research at BYU. Construction plans for a new observatory began in the late 1970s, as university planners and astronomers sought a location with minimal light pollution, favorable elevation, relatively easy access and accessible utilities, that was located close to the Provo campus. After careful consideration, they chose a site on West Mountain, about a one-hour drive southwest of Provo. The location offered good seeing conditions, at an altitude of about 7,000 feet, that was free from the light pollution that had hindered research at OPO.

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