“Dudley Night” at Union College Observatory
The Union College
Observatory will be open from 8-10 pm on Friday,
September 23 for viewing with the 20" Ritchey-Chretien telescope on the
roof of the Olin Center. Targets will include the famous Ring Nebula and
the Dumbbell Nebula in the summer Milky Way. If clouded out, we will
provide a tour of the Observatory and tell you about improvements
currently under way.
The main purpose of the observatory is for
education. Union students benefit from hands-on experience with current
high-tech instrumentation. A lab course in which students make
professional type observations is offered annually. The observatory is
used for senior theses and independent projects every year; for example,
students have used the telescope to study cataclysmic variable stars.
Students in the non-science majors astronomy classes also use the
telescope in their labs.
The observatory is used for some astronomical
research projects. Even from inside Schenectady, the telescope can
be used for some professional research studies, such as the study of
cataclysmic variable stars (binary star systems in which a red dwarf
star and a white dwarf are in tight orbits about each other, with gas
transferring from the red star to the white dwarf.)
Event is free, and open to the
public.
RSVP 382-7583 to reserve your spot!
Directions
Union College Observatory |
