Physics & Astronomy Lab, Observatory Control Room & Workshop

This suite of rooms on the fifth floor of the College of Arts & Sciences building is home to the university’s astronomical observatory, including the 1-meter telescope and six rooftop telescopes. The suite includes the Physics and Astronomy Lab, the Observatory Control Room and the Observatory Workshop.

The Physics and Astronomy Lab supports a variety of classes taught by the Department of Physical Sciences, and provides space for the design and development of instrumentation for the telescopes. These include newly purchased CCD cameras that allow students in the introductory and intermediate astronomy labs to carry out digital astronomical imaging and image processing.

The Observatory Control Room houses the computer equipment that controls the 1-meter telescope and its instruments. There are also large displays on the wall for viewing current images from the telescope, weather conditions and cloud cover.

This equipment is maintained on-site using the Observatory Workshop. Here, faculty and staff can work on and maintain telescopes, cameras, and other support instrumentation and hardware.

Equipment

• CCD cameras
• Computer equipment to maintain telescopes