Astronomical Observatory

- 2017 High in the Cederberg Mountains, 240km north of Cape Town, on the farm Dwarsrivier lies the Cederberg Astronomical Observatory (19 deg 15' E 32 deg 30' S). Privately owned and a non-profit organization it is run by seven partners. The observatory has been in existence since the early eighties. Originally an undeveloped plot of land with little more than unpolluted dark skies and magnificent mountain views to recommend it, the observatory has developed over the years into an amateur astronomer's paradise. Basic but comfortable accommodation has been erected, complete with ablutions and cooking facilities for the astronomers on duty. A 16" Meade Newtonian telescope is housed in a dome and a 300mm Meade Scmidt Cassegrain is housed in a slide off roof observatory. Another dome, the ‘Sherman Tank’, has just been completed and now graces