Schoonover Observatory
Schoonover Park
670 N. Jefferson St.
Lima, OH 45801
Michael Ritchie, LAS Vice-President
(419) 371-1289
Email: stargazer@woh.rr.com
The Schoonover Observatory became a reality in 1964 through the vision of the Lima Astronomical Society, the philanthropy of the Thomas R. Schoonover family, and the cooperation of the city of Lima.
The facility is located in Schoonover Park in Lima, Ohio. Club members built from the ground up a 12 ½-inch Newtonian Cassegrain telescope, which was installed and used for over 20 years. That telescope was replaced, after the wood frame warped, by a 14-inch Celestron CGE Catadioptric telescope in the early 1990s. This telescope is still in use today, and is available from Celestron.
Other upgrades were made to improve the usability of the telescope. The mount was updated to include encoders to improve locating objects with the telescope using a computer with a planetarium program. Accessories were bought to improve the viewing enjoyment through the telescope, including a bino-viewer and new eyepieces. In 2017 a new mount was put under the telescope with a GoTo system to provide even easier locating of objects in our night sky, which has considerable light pollution.
The members of the organization have hosted numerous programs and observing sessions to many different groups from Lima and the surrounding area. Monthly meetings have been open to the public with a program then observing, with cooperating weather, since the beginning. For many years, Lima Astro has opened the observatory to the public for weekly observing sessions during the warmer months, and during special requests. The Society has provided star parties and programs to other organizations outside of the observatory as well. Regularly-scheduled star parties are hosted with the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Parks District for Allen County, and members assist with star parties and programs at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta.
— Lima Astronomical Society
Observatories of Ohio 
May I bring students to experience the telescope sometime in September or October?
PLEASE NOTE: For information on programs, open nights, and other observatory-related questions please use the contact information you will find on the page describing the observatory in which you are interested. Observatories of Ohio seeks to document the state’s facilities but does not operate or speak for any of them.
Please check out our Facebook page, LIma Astronomical Society, for updates, but the Observatory is down for repairs and we are not able to meet or have visitors because of the Covid pandemic. It would not be wise to share an eyepiece or be in close proximity to each other in the dome if it was useable.
Are u open tonight May 19, 2023. 419-303-5866
PLEASE NOTE: For information on programs, open nights, and other observatory-related questions please use the contact information you will find on the page describing the observatory in which you are interested. Observatories of Ohio seeks to document the state’s facilities but does not operate or speak for any of them.