After being closed to the public for more than three years — first due to COVID and later because of damage from a wildfire — Kitt Peak National Observatory reopened to visitors Friday.
“After a long wait, we’re thrilled to announce that Kitt Peak National Observatory is reopening its doors and domes,” observatory officials said Friday in a post to their official Facebook page.
Visitors can book guided tours and “select nighttime observing program” for Fridays through Sundays, the observatory said.
Due to limited parking, the observatory will only be available to visitors through “advance tour reservations,” they said. Sixty slots will be available each of the three days. Visitors can expect more days open in October, they said.
The observatory was already closed to the public due to COVID protocols when the Contreras Fire ripped through the area in June 2022.
The wildfire, which was sparked by lightning in the Baboquivari Mountain range, burned nearly 30,000 acres and took over 350 personnel to contain.
While the telescopes themselves remained unharmed, observatory officials said the site sustained heat, smoke and secondary effects as four non-scientific buildings were destroyed.
In March, the Arizona Department of Transportation began replacing guardrails on an 8-mile stretch of Arizona 386, the highway leading up to the observatory, after they were burned by the fire.
The observatory, on the Tohono O’odham Nation about 55 miles southwest of Tucson, was established in 1958 and now hosts 22 optical telescopes and two radio telescopes, including several instruments owned and operated by the University of Arizona.
Photos: Kitt Peak National Observatory - crown jewel of U.S. observatories
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope, KPNO, 1969
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope, KPNO, 1969
Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope, KPNO, 1969
Mayall Telescope
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
KPNO, lightning, 1998
Mayall Telescope
Bok Telescope, KPNO, 1969
Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak National Observatory
Southwest view of McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope during construction
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory, 1959
Building the road to Kitt Peak National Observatory
Building the road to Kitt Peak National Observatory
Building the road to Kitt Peak National Observatory
Building the road to Kitt Peak National Observatory
Building the road to Kitt Peak National Observatory
Snow in Tucson
Snow in Tucson
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Contreras Fire, Kitt Peak National Observatory, 2022
Contreras Fire, Kitt Peak National Observatory, 2022
Scott, who did not use his last name, Ulm, on the air, worked as a disc jockey while he attended the University of Kansas. He came to Tucson i…
Kitt Peak National Observatory, west of Tucson, reopened to the public Friday after being closed for more than three years due to COID and a damaging wildfire.