Northolt Branch Observatories

Northolt Branch Observatories is an astronomical observatory in the London Borough of Harrow. It began in 2015 as part of a local astrophotography group and now operates as a British-German collaboration. Astronomers work at telescopes in West London while data is processed remotely in Germany. Despite heavy light pollution, the team has earned praise from Chris Lintott for their skill in near-Earth object spotting. Their equipment tracks asteroids and other small Solar System bodies nightly. The observatory has made notable contributions to astronomy. Two main-belt asteroids bear the names of its members, Guywells and Danielbamberger. In April 2020, the team tracked object 2020 GL2, later retracted when identified as ESA’s BepiColombo spacecraft. Their images of the probe won an informal competition for the best spacecraft track that month. Such work shows how amateurs refine orbits and reduce false alarms in professional catalogues. Visitors find two telescopes and a small control room where observers log data. The site sits among suburban streets, yet the team still spots faint moving objects. Clear nights bring views of the sky despite the glow from nearby London. The atmosphere is quiet, focused on tracking distant rocks and spacecraft. A modest garden surrounds the domes, with benches for quiet study. The observatory remains a rare example of amateur astronomy thriving in an urban setting.