Neil Armstrong Observatory
school astronomical observatory of the Universal School Pierre and Marie Curie in District V, Managua municipality, Managua Department, Nicaragua, named after Neil Armstrong
The Neil Armstrong Observatory was completed March 1, 2014, making Nicaragua the only country in Latin America with an astronomical observatory reserved for use by scholars. The observatory, which cost half a million U.S. dollars to build, is located at the Pierre and Marie Curie School in Managua.
The building consists of two floors plus a dome of more than 4.5 square meters. The telescope's main lens is 11 inches across and can magnify stellar objects by 50 to 800 times. The first floor is a chemistry lab named for Irene Joliot-Curie. The second floor, dedicated to the study of physics, is named for Isaac Newton. The observatory is named Neil Armstrong in honor of the first man to touch the Moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
“Neil Armstrong Observatory” enters the record as school astronomical observatory of the Universal School Pierre and Marie Curie in District V, Managua municipality, Managua Department, Nicaragua, named after Neil Armstrong. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Neil, Armstrong and Observatory can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Neil Armstrong Observatory” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Neil, Armstrong and Observatory provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20656095. Authority coordinates are 12.091, -86.223. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014 and 1969.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Neil Armstrong Observatory”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Neil Armstrong Observatory primary sources, Neil Armstrong Observatory archive and Neil research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Neil Armstrong Observatory”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Neil Armstrong Observatory” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.