An Observatory Designed With The Community In Mind
Open House
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Cancelled due to weather forecast
Check events page for more information !
Observation Opportunity
Check back as these are offered
when weather and volunteers align.
This opportunity is provided if clear skies are prevalent at sunset.
Members, registered volunteers and those interested in membership, are welcome to set up their own astronomy gear to observe from the Ryan Observatory Amphitheater.
Arrive when you wish. A Rittenhouse Representative will be on site to turn off lighting for dark sky observation or astrophotography at nightfall. They can provide on site membership information.
Muddy Run Campground is open for overnight stays. You may not stay overnight at the observatory.
Open Houses
Conducted second
Saturday of the Month from April through December
Winter Maintenance Break January through March
Messier Marathon
March 14, 2026
Alt. March 21, 2026
Ryan Observatory at Muddy Run is a public outreach facility with programming designed for S.T.E.A.M. outreach and featuring astronomical sciences. Located at Muddy Run Park, It is a Constellation Energy Generation LLC property located in Holtwood, Pennsylvania just south of Lancaster.
Ryan Observatory and educational programs are provided by Rittenhouse Astronomical Society under contract with Constellation Energy.
The observatory is open to the public for monthly stargazing and presentations and are open on scheduled private nights for members of Rittenhouse Astronomical Society and others from around the region whose volunteering make programming possible.
Contact us for rates and availability of public tours: 717-284-5856
LATEST NEWS
Dr. Ophelia M. Chambliss, Ryan Observatory’s new Arts Laureate is an Artist, Lecturer, Designer and Muralist
Ophelia M. Chambliss is a resident of York County and has been successfully working as a fine artist for several years. In addition to a number of solo and group exhibitions, she has participated in several distinguished juried shows, and has successfully completed a number of large scale, and permanent art installations for public spaces like schools, municipalities, history centers, and hospitals.
Dr. Chambliss focuses on community engagement, participation, and collaboration to create art that is both of and by the community. She established the non-profit, Ophelia’s Making Agency in 2023. OMA works to provide professional development, with the goal of sustainability, to small, minority owned and creative businesses. OMA also operates working studio spaces that are commission cost free to the artists and come with professional development and community building support. The OMA studios now consist of three buildings which have reactivated buildings in downtown York and grew the arts community.
One of a handful of artists selected by NASA to commemorate the James Webb Space Telescope, Her multi-canvas acrylic work is just off an exhibition tour and will be on display at the observatory in an exhibition in 2026 to celebrate Ms. Chambliss as the next artist to hold the Laureate position at Ryan Observatory. As JWST Project Manager Bill Ochs said, “There is an inherit connection between artist and engineers. We both start with a blank sheet of paper and use the tools of our trades and vision to create.”
All events are conducted by Volunteers and volunteering is easy! Just click on the Events and Volunteering Tab.
Or, click on the Contact Tab for more information on the benefits of being a volunteer and we will guide you through the process.
Mike Witkoski is the latest Featured Contributor. Mike is an ever-present fixture on public starwatch nights with his own telescope, helping others with theirs and talking about what’s up there in the sky tonight. Click on his name to go to our featured contributors page for other things Mike does for the Observatory.
Telescope Workshop
Do you have a new telescope or one that you need assistance with? Join us with your telescope gear to get a greater understanding of how this tool works. Tools require calibration or adjustments that you can make to ease and enhance your view.
[ What we discuss at Workshop ]
Night-Hiking
The practice of hiking or bushwalking after nightfall with no assisted lighting. Dark adaptation serves to guide us. Join a guided night hike with astronomers. Included are two sky orientations and some dark adaptive interactives.
