Uranidrome, Murfreesboro

About Uranidrome

The Uranidrome is an outdoor observatory in Murfreesboro where visitors conduct astronomy experiments using a plaza and twelve columns arranged around a 32-foot diameter image of the Sun. Each column represents a planetary object and is inscribed with the object's scale relative to the Sun on black granite slabs, along with descriptive features and the historical ideogram for that object. The columns are topped with iron sculptures, some decorative and some designed for celestial observation. Colored tiles on the Jupiter column help visitors locate the North Star, while radial lines on another sculpture measure star passage to determine the length of a day. A large solar clock formed by plaza features and the gnomon's shadow can accommodate an entire science class. Visitors can identify constellations, determine latitude and longitude, learn celestial navigation, observe sunrise and sunset points, examine moonrise and moonset positions, track planetary paths, locate meteor showers, and measure Earth's rotation rate using the facility's design and features.