Located on South Campus, the UMass Lowell Schueller Observatory enables students to use professional-grade telescopes and other instruments to observe stars, moons, and other celestial objects.

UMass Lowell students at the Schueller observatory (in its original site) holding a portrait of Richard Schueller (painted by a local artist and friend).

UMass Lowell students at the Schueller observatory (in its original site) holding a portrait of Richard Schueller (painted by a local artist and friend).

The observatory was made possible by the generosity of alumnus Susan Goodwin in honor of her late husband Richard Schueller.

Richard graduated from UMass Lowell, where he met Susan, in 1986. While at UMass Lowell he worked with the particle accelerator along with many of the faculty. He was a research scientist at American Science and Engineering of Billerica, Mass., and worked on satellite and rocket experiments, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Public Observing Nights

Join us for a monthly evening under that stars, hosted by our students and faculty. Visitors can tour the observatory, look through a range of telescopes, and use the big Schueller telescope to image planets and deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, star clusters).  

  • We open at sunset, and there is always something new to explore in the sky depending on the time of year!  
  • During the academic term, open night also features a talk related to astronomy research by UMass Lowell astronomers and a roundup of what’s in the sky this month. 
  • Open Night is a free event suitable for all ages. Parking is available in the Broadway Riverview Lot after 3 p.m. 
  • Information about upcoming events is always posted on Facebook. Send any questions by email to observatory@uml.edu.

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Observatory Events

See the university calendar for a complete list of events