Physics & Astronomy

Orson Pratt Observatory - Main Page

The Orson Pratt Observatory is located on the 5th and 6th floor of the Eyring Science Center, right in the heart of the Brigham Young University campus. A 0.4-m ASKO telescope, donated to the university by Mr. David Derrick, and was installed March 26, 1998. The telescope has been officially named the David Derrick telescope and is refereed to in publications as the DDT.

Red Light Conditions	From the Observations Deck	Counter Weight Side	Finder Scopes and CCD

The telescope is used for a number of student activities. It is used primarily for teaching astronomy majors basic observational techniques in the Phscs 329 class. Some majors will also take data with the telescope for their senior thesis projects. Finally the telescope is open to the general public on Friday nights when there is a planetarium show.