SRO was originally designed and built, and continues to be owned and operated by amateur astronomers. This observatory has served its members, science investigators, students and the public (through planned outreach programs) since its completion in 1963.

Our observatory is perched on a ridge above the 2000-foot deep Devil's Canyon, about 6 miles (9.7 km) north by north-east of the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory. Stony Ridge is located very near a site that had been considered for the location of George Ellery Hale's "new" 200-inch (5-m) telescope. That location was at "Horse Flats" described in this 1928 paper.

After a 45-minute drive along the Angeles Crest Highway north of Pasadena, California, the visitor arrives at Stony Ridge Observatory in the heart of the beautiful Angeles National Forest.

We invite you to browse our website by starting with our History page, or by visiting our SRO Vistas Gallery to view some of our members' photographs of the Stony Ridge area.

Above: The telescope first arrives at its new mountain home.

Above: Photo of a bronze plaque mounted next to the entrance door of the Stony Ridge dome. The names are those of the original 15 founding members of Stony Ridge Observatory. An asteroid, (10168) Stony Ridge, was discovered at SRO in 1995 and named to honor these members.
Click here to see what these folks did for SRO.

Spring 2012 Observatory Status

Stony Ridge Observatory remains closed to the general public. Power has been restored to the site. Cleanup and equipment testing is in progress. We hope to have the observatory ready for invited guests sometime this Summer.

During the past several years, SRO has been engaged in a major upgrade to the 30-inch (0.76-m) telescop. The original telescope's dual-chain drive, designed by George A. Carroll (1902-1987) and later modified by Tim Cann, has been replaced with a new harmonic drive system that will enable the observer to easily point the telescope quickly to an astronomical object with greater precision.

As this upgrade project was coming to completion in the summer of 2009, tragedy struck in the form of a wild fire that raced over the observatory grounds, destroying most of the surrounding forest, but leaving the observatory untouched by flames. The Station Fire was the largest fire in Los Angeles County history, destroying 251 sq. mi. (650 sq. km.) of forest and killing 2 firefighters.