The Stone-Kelly Observatory

The dedication ceremony for the new Stone-Kelly Observatory was on September 17th, 2004.

A new observatory has recently arrived at the Observatory Complex at Big Hollow.  Previously located at the now 'light polluted' Burlington High School, the telescope and dome have been moved to the observatory complex site in order to once again provide dark skies for its 16 inch classic Cassegrain.

The telescope was originally purchased by the John H. Witte Foundation in the 1970's for the Burlington School system.  Continued development along Roosevelt Avenue since then had produced so much light that the telescope was unusable at that location. During fall of 2003 and throughout 2004, club members worked to build a new structure and move the telescope and it's dome.  That building has been named The Stone-Kelly Observatory after two Burlington High School Alumni - Dr. Edward Stone, retired director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and local Space Shuttle astronaut James Kelly.