Monroe Remote Observatory | Department of Physics – Astronomy Education Program

Monroe Remote Observatory

The Monroe Remote Observatory is located under the dark skies of north Texas near Gainesville, Texas. It is the primary research site of astronomy graduate students.

This research facility was made possible after a generous land donation from John David Monroe, whose ancestors first settled on this land in 1852. The land is located in western Cooke County, in a remote area, far from urban light pollution. The Monroe Robotic Observatory is designed to be operated by students in a control room located in the Environmental Science Building (ENV) on the University of North Texas campus, in Denton, Texas.

Unlike a conventional domed observatory, which opens to reveal only a small portion of the night sky, the Monroe Remote Observatory features a roll-away roof design. This permits several telescopes to image different parts of the sky simultaneously. Currently, the Monroe Remote Observatory contains five research-grade telescopes.