Native American Astronomy Outreach Fund

Since 1996, Lowell’s Navajo-Hopi Astronomy Outreach Program has connected Native American students with astronomers. The Lowell Observatory Foundation Board of Trustees created this endowed fund to support the continuation of this award-winning program in perpetuity. The Native American Astronomy Outreach Fund connects hands-on STEM* curricula with traditional Native American astronomy to inspire underserved students living on reservations to imagine themselves as scientists. The initial gift to this fund came from the estate of Robert and Verlee Hunter. We welcome new gifts to the Native American Astronomy Outreach Fund through current donations or a designation in your will, trust, life insurance, or other estate planning vehicle.

Percival Lowell Postdoctoral Fellowship Fund

The Percival Lowell Postdoctoral Fellowship Fund aims to attract the brightest, most innovative, and productive young minds in the fields of astronomy, planetary science, and astronomical instrumentation to Lowell Observatory. Percival Lowell Fellows receive a salary, good duration of employment, resources that go beyond a standard postdoctoral position, and access to cutting edge instrumentation to help launch their careers as professional scientists.

In the unlikely event there are no recipients of the Percival Lowell Postdoctoral Fellowship in any given year, funds from this endowment may support expenses for other postdoctoral staff working with Lowell Observatory faculty.

Astronomy Discovery Center Endowment Fund

Support from the Astronomy Discovery Center (ADC) Endowment Fund will assure the highest quality experience for Lowell Observatory guests. Annual payouts from this fund will support operation, maintenance, and upgrades to the Marley Foundation Astronomy Discovery Center, its theaters and exhibits as well as development, production, and marketing of ADC programming. We welcome new gifts to the Astronomy Discovery Center Endowment Fund through current donations or a designation in your will, trust, life insurance, or other estate planning vehicle.

Astronomical Exploration and Discovery

Sponsor Lowell Observatory astronomers’ scientific discoveries. Our astronomers study a myriad of astronomical targets, from dwarf galaxies to comets and exoplanets. You can fund a night or create a fund that endows astronomical discoveries in perpetuity. Contact us to learn how you can make a difference.

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Sponsor a post-doctoral fellow. These newly-minted PhDs launch their careers at Lowell Observatory by supporting the research of Lowell astronomers. By supporting a post-doc, you’re investing in future discoveries. You can fund a portion of a post-doc’s years at Lowell Observatory or create an endowment to fund post-doctoral fellows in perpetuity. Contact us to learn how you can make a difference.

Nights of Exploration

Your gift underwrites a night of astronomical research at the Lowell Discovery Telescope. You choose the date. We inform you of the research conducted on your night and any resulting discoveries. You will be cited as a source of support for the discoveries. Contact us for more information about funding a night of exploration and discovery at the Lowell Discovery Telescope.

Transformative instrumentation

IGRINS, the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer, has come to Lowell Observatory’s Lowell Discovery Telescope. IGRINS is like no other spectrometer available today. Developed by the University of Texas at Austin and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, IGRINS captures infrared light that is invisible to our eyes and dissects it in extremely fine detail, recording the output on state-of-the-art semi-conductor detectors. What makes IGRINS unique is that it uses new technology to capture a large portion of the infrared band pass in a single exposure.

The revolutionary capabilities of IGRINS coupled with the ample light-gathering power of Lowell Observatory’s Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) available in large time allocations to Lowell Astronomers will be transformative. Contact us to find out how you can help fund discoveries using this instrument.