The Goodricke-Pigott Observatory is a private astronomical observatory in Tucson, Arizona.[1] It was formally dedicated on October 26, 1996, and observations began that evening with imaging of Comet Hale-Bopp.
The observatory is named after two late-eighteenth century astronomers who lived in York, England - John Goodricke and Edward Pigott.
The observatory opened with a Celestron C14, 0.35-meter aperture, f/11 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. This instrument has been upgraded with a new optics lens and a new clock drive, and an ST-4 star tracker was attached to the telescope's side to correct a two-minute, ten-arc second periodic motional error. There is another telescope dubbed MOTESS (Moving Object and Transient Event Search System) which is essentially a giant camera aimed at the sky.