Seagrave Memorial Observatory facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Seagrave Memorial Observatory
The Observatory during construction in 1914
Organization	Skyscrapers, Inc.
Location	North Scituate, Rhode Island
Coordinates	41°50′43″N 71°35′28″W / 41.84528°N 71.59111°W / 41.84528; -71.59111
Established	1914 (1914)
Website Seagrave Memorial Observatory
Telescopes Alvan Clark 8¼-inch refractor Patton 12-inch reflector Meade 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Meade 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain

Seagrave Memorial Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in North Scituate, Rhode Island. It is named after astronomer Frank Evens Seagrave and is wholly owned and operated by Skyscrapers, Inc. The main instrument is an 8¼-inch Alvan Clark refracting telescope which was given to Frank Evens Seagrave for his 16th birthday in 1876, however the telescope took two years to build, so he did not receive it until 1878. The telescope and Seagrave Observatory (as the private observatory was then known) were originally at 119 Benefit Street in Providence. At the time it was the third largest telescope in New England. The telescope was moved to North Scituate in October 1914 when the construction of the current observatory was completed. The observatory was acquired by the Skycrapers in 1936 after the death of Seagrave.