Whipple Observatory south of Tucson reopens after four years

Whipple Observatory in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson has reopened to the public after a four-year COVID closure, but visitors will have to wait a while longer before they can tour the mountaintop telescopes again.

The observatory officially unveiled its newly redesigned Science Center at the base of Mount Hopkins on Friday as it welcomed back visitors for the first time since March of 2020.

The Science Center, formerly the visitors center, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on select Fridays through the end of the year.

The next two open dates are Oct. 11 and 25. There is no charge for admission, but guests are required to get a timed pass in advance through the observatory’s ticketing website.

The same ticketing site also offers $15 tickets for a hard-hat walking tour of the nearby gamma-ray-tracking VERITAS, which is short for the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System.

Those reservation-only tours are conducted at noon and 2 p.m. on the Fridays when the Science Center is open.

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“We’re excited to welcome the community back to the Whipple Observatory, and to share our new exhibits and experiences with all of our neighbors and visitors,” said Amy Oliver, manager and designer of the Science Center. “Our site is buzzing with excitement for this reopening, and we’re excited to continue expanding and offering new and better experiences to the community over the coming months.”

The observatory east of Amado, about 45 miles south of Tucson, is part of the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Whipple hopes to expand the number of open dates at the revamped center in 2025 and begin offering new guided walking tours next spring on such topics as light pollution, the “sky island” ecosystem and the birds of Mount Hopkins.

Observatory officials do not yet know when they might resume bus tours to the top of the mountain, where tourists used to be able to visit the MMT observatory and other telescopes.

“We’re working with our community partners and colleagues at the Smithsonian Institution to re-envision our tour up the mountain, and make it a better experience for all of our guests,” Oliver said. “We’re grateful for the input and patience of the community as we work toward reopening those tours.”

Mount Hopkins Road is open to the public for the first 7 miles or so, but beyond the gate at that point no access is allowed farther up the road toward the telescopes without an escort.