Boyden Observatory

The Boyden Observatory ( IAU code 074) is an astronomical observatory and scientific institute affiliated teaching.

It was originally founded by Harvard University near Lima in Peru in 1889. In 1927 it moved to its current location, south of the small town Maselspoort, northeast of the city of Bloemfontein in South Africa. It is managed by the University of the Free State. The observatory was named after Uriah A. Boyden (1804-1879), the 238,000 U.S. dollars to the Harvard College Observatory bequeathed in his will for astronomical purposes. His first and long-time director was John S. Paraskevopoulos.

The Observatory houses the third largest optical telescope in South Africa. It is the 1.5 m UFS - Boyden Rockefeller reflector. Other telescopes include the 33 inch Alvan Clark refractor, which is over a century old, the historic 25 cm Metcalf triplet telescope, the 40 cm Nishimura reflector, the 40 cm Watcher robotic telescope, a 20 cm coelostat solar telescope and numerous smaller mobile telescopes.