ANGELINA DOHRE
Staff Writer
Viewing celestial objects up close in the night sky has now become a little easier for the community.
The observatory at the Science Center is now open to the general public. Advanced reservations are currently required, and the designated night for each week will be Wednesday.
During the public observing nights, residents will be given a brief tour of the night sky, a description of operation telescopes and several opportunities to peek through the telescope.
Due to the restriction of space, there are only 10 spots available per event. As a result, there will be two events each Wednesday, both lasting about two hours. The time of the events will also vary throughout the year depending on the weather and the time of sunset.
Running the event is assistant professor of physics Michael Dunham. He explained what made him choose to showcase this to the public.
“This [event] is a common activity with telescopes on college campuses and was always one of the primary intended uses of this telescope,” he said. “The other primary use is in student education.”
The telescope was installed back in November 2015 and was later commissioned and collaborated in the Summer and Fall of 2016. It will be the primary activity of these events.
According to Dunham, this is the first time the observatory will be open to the public. “These events starting next week will be the inaugural events,” he said. “We’ve been ready since shortly before Thanksgiving last year and have just been waiting for the weather to improve.”
During the weekly events, Dunham will be on hand to explain how telescopes operate and the different objects viewers will be seeing, as well as narrate the brief tour of the night sky.
“I will also be answering any questions visitors have about physics and astronomy at Fredonia, astronomy in general, science or whatever else visitors want to ask about,” he said.
Reasons behind opening the observatory to the public were to show off the resources available at Fredonia, expose students and members of the public from all backgrounds to astronomy and science in general and share the wonders of the night sky, Dunham explained.
“Looking at the night sky is one of the oldest nighttime activities and inspires us to ask some of the most profound questions,” he said. “‘How did we get here?’ ‘What will become of us?’ ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ ‘How did all these things we see come to be?’”
Dunham believes that, as long as interest remains, the public observing nights will continue in the future. He plans to conduct them every year from April 1 through Nov. 1.
“Right now, space limitations limit us to 10 visitors per event, but we have some exciting plans in the works to increase our space and accommodate larger groups at once,” he said. “We’re not quite ready to talk about those yet, but stay tuned for more information.”