Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Founded in 1890 to measure "the amount and character of the Sun's heat," this observatory's solar research likely inspired the Smithsonian's own sunburst logo.
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One of the oldest astrophysical research institutes in the U.S., SAO moved to Harvard's campus in 1955 and formalized their collaboration with the Harvard College Observatory in 1973 as the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, under a single Director. Its scope spans the full spectrum — gamma rays to radio waves — plus gravitational waves, all rooted in daily solar telescope measurements that refined the Solar constant and revealed solar variability.
What to look for
- The Harvard College Observatory grounds where SAO has been embedded since 1955 — the collaboration predates the official Center for Astrophysics by 18 years.
- Any reference to Fred Lawrence Whipple, the Harvard Astronomy Department chair who became SAO director when the institute relocated from Washington, D.C.
- The Smithsonian sunburst logo — designed in 1965 by Crimilda Pontes and likely shaped by the observatory's founding mission as a solar observatory.
This is an active research institute, not a public museum — check the Center for Astrophysics website for open lectures or public programs before making the trip.
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is one of 31 sights worth the detour in Boston, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Boston pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts BostonFour hundred and fifty thousand works of art under one roof — one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas.
- TD GardenThe subway stops underneath it — TD Garden is built directly above MBTA's North Station, so you step off the train and you are already at the door.
- Harvard College ObservatoryOn the night of July 16-17, 1850, astronomers here made the first daguerreotype of a star — Vega — through a telescope that was the largest in North America.
- Fenway ParkThe oldest active ballpark in MLB, where a cramped city block accidentally invented some of baseball's most famous features.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIn 1990, thieves walked out with thirteen works worth $500 million — none have ever come back, and the case is still open.
- Boston Public LibraryJohn Adams' personal 3,800-volume library lives here — and any Massachusetts adult can walk in and access it.