Field notes · Cat Mountain, AZ
Out past Gates Pass, the sky goes dark.
Spencer's Observatory is a small private observatory on 13 acres of desert below Cat Mountain, next to Saguaro National Park West. Two-hour Star Tours, after dark, by reservation.
Entry 01 · The road out
25 minutes from downtown.
West out of Tucson on Gates Pass Road, over the pass and down into the desert. The Oasis at Cat Mountain is at 2727 S. Kinney Rd.
Entry 02 · The grounds
Three chapters under one name.
The observatory shares its 13 acres with The Oasis at Cat Mountain, which brings three places together under one name:
- 2010The Lodge, built to strict light-pollution standards
- 2018The Inn
- 2023The Casitas
If you stay over, the observatory is just steps from your room, and the tour costs $25 less.
Entry 03 · Why it's dark
A city that turned its lights down.
Tucson was one of the first cities in the world to adopt dark-sky lighting ordinances.
Milky Way On clear nights it's visible from the property with no telescope at all.
Southern Arizona Home to some of the darkest skies in the country, in the observatory's words.
The roof Rolls back for a panoramic view of the dark Tucson Mountain sky.
Entry 04 · Who's on the roof
Victor Sunstar's crew.
Victor Sunstar and his team of night sky guides host the Star Tours, for groups of up to ten. The observatory's short version of their approach: start where each guest is, then let the sky take over.
Yes, Sunstar is his real name. The observatory says so on its own page.
Entry 05 · Pick a night
Check the Moon first.
A bright Moon washes out faint galaxies; a thin or new Moon leaves the sky darker. Choose a date to see the Moon's phase, then ask the observatory about that night.
Moon phase is calculated in your browser. Tour times and availability come from the observatory; weather can still close a night.