Kitt Peak was selected as the site for a national observatory after a three-year survey involving more than 150 mountain sites across the United States. Kitt Peak is located on the Tohono O'odham Reservation. In October 1958, the National Science Foundation signed a lease with the Tribal Council for use of 200 acres of the mountaintop under a perpetual agreement that is valid as long as scientific research facilities are maintained at the site. Rare spiral sunspot of February 19,1982, taken with the Solar Vacuum Telescope. Tours Kitt Peak is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Thanksgiving Day, December 25 and January 1.
Admission is free.
For a different experience, visit Kitt Peak at night. The Visitor Center telescope dome is open to the public every evening. View planets, the birth and death of stars, nebulae, and galaxies. Reservations are required for the nighttime observing program. Steward Observatory facilities are not open to the public.