Observatories that allow public access Are there any observatories with high powered telescopes that also allow public access?
Astronomy is a VERY expensive addiction, because no matter what telescope you get, you always want the next model up.   If we can find an observatory that allows the public to see through their scope in America or Canada, we can make our vacation plans accordingly.  Kids want to see Pluto.  Scopes that powerful are &quot;slightly&quot; over our budget.
Amateur astronomers regularly broadcast their viewing sessions over the Internet on the LiveSkies network. Pluto is within the viewing capabilities of most of the equipment used to broadcast but it just looks like a dim star that can be seen to move over long periods of time.
https://www.liveskies.org/
Scroll down to the  View As A Guest Link then click on a live broadcast. There are no schedules. People can broadcast from anywhere but the majority broadcast from North America. If it is dark and clear somewhere in North America someone may be on line.
Many amateur astronomy clubs have their own observatories that are open to the public on occasions. Google amateur astronomy clubs. There is probably a group near you.
Professional observatory time is a valuable commodity. Observatories with &quot;high powered&quot; equipment and skies dark enough for good viewing will have limited if any public access.