Goethe Link Observatory

Goethe Link Observatory, July 2025
Organization	Indiana University (Indiana Astronomical Society)
Observatory code	760
Location	Brooklyn, Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates	39°33′00″N86°23′42″W / 39.55000°N 86.39500°W /39.55000; -86.39500
Altitude	293 metres (962 ft)
Weather	Clear Sky Clock
Established	1939
Website	iasindy.org/link.html
Telescopes
Nasmyth–Cassegrain 0.91 m (36-inch) f/10.0 Astrograph Decommissioned 255 mm (10-inch) f/6.5 Cooke triplet Schmidt-Cassegrain 355.6 mm (14-inch) f/11.0 Celestron SCT
Location of Goethe Link Observatory
[edit on Wikidata]

TheGoethe Link Observatory, observatory code760, is an astronomicalobservatory nearBrooklyn, Indiana, United States.^[1] It is owned byIndiana University and operated by the Indiana Astronomical Society, which efforts are dedicated to the pursuit ofamateur astronomy.^[2]

Observatory Address: 8403 Observatory Ln, Martinsville, IN 46151.

Hours: During and after General Meetings of the Indiana Astronomical Society (IAS).

It is named for an amateur astronomer Dr. Goethe Link, anIndianapolissurgeon, who built it with his private funds. Construction of the observatory started in 1937, and the telescope was first operated in 1939. In 1948, he donated the observatory to Indiana University.^[1]

From 1949 until 1966, theIndiana Asteroid Program was conducted at Goethe Link, using a 10-inchCooke tripletastrograph (f/6.5).^[3] The program resulted in thediscovery of 119 asteroids, which were credited by theMinor Planet Center to "Indiana University".^[4]

Whenlight pollution began to degrade the Goethe Link Observatory's capabilities in the 1960s, Indiana University built a new facility in theMorgan–Monroe State Forest officially designated as theMorgan–Monroe Station (MMS) of the Goethe Link Observatories.^[5][6] IU operated that facility through about 2014. Today, Indiana University primarily uses theWIYN 3.5-m and 0.9-m telescopes located at theKitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ for ongoing research.^[7]

The naming of the two main-belt asteroids,1602 Indiana and1728 Goethe Link – both discovered at Goethe Link Observatory in 1950 and 1964, respectively – is related to the Observatory and its parent institution.^[8][9]

• List of astronomical observatories

• Ray E. Boomhower, '"The Doctor and the Stars: Goethe Link and His Observatory,"Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, v. 19, no. 4, Fall 2007, pp. 17–23.
• Frank K. Edmondson, "Recent Developments at the Goethe Link Observatory,"Sky and Telescope, December 1948, p. 34.
• "Reports of Observatories, 1950-1951: Goethe Link Observatory, July 1, 1949 to June 30, 1951,"The Astronomical Journal, v. 56, no. 6 (1951), p. 153, col. 2.
• https://indyencyclopedia.org/goethe-link/ Charles A. Bonsett, "Goethe Link, Brief Bio"Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, 1994, Revised 2021.

• Indiana Astronomical Society website
• WTIU Friday Zone Field Trip: A Look Through the Goethe-Link Observatory's Giant Telescope
• Image of the 10-inch lens telescopeArchived 2016-03-03 at theWayback Machine manipulated by ProfessorFrank K. Edmondson of Indiana University at the Goethe Link Observatory (1950s)
• Goethe Link Observatory at indiana.edu at theWayback Machine (archived 6 May 2005)

39°33′00″N86°23′42″W / 39.55000°N 86.39500°W /39.55000; -86.39500

• 1939 establishments in Indiana
• Astronomical observatories in Indiana
• Buildings and structures in Morgan County, Indiana
• Discoveries by Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program)
• Indiana University
• Minor-planet discovering observatories

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