Dyer Observatory

Dyer Observatory, Vanderbilt University’s astronomical observatory in Brentwood near Nashville, opened in 1953 as the university’s only facility away from the main campus. It emerged from an earlier campus observatory associated with E. E. Barnard’s earliest work before that facility no longer met Vanderbilt’s needs. Astronomer Carl Seyfert advanced plans for the new observatory after joining the faculty in 1946, with support from Nashville businesses and Arthur J. Dyer, who funded and installed its dome. The observatory became a center for teaching and public outreach, and a 1963 repainting of the dome improved observing conditions. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee · United States