Public Events at the ONU Observatory

Spring 2024 Schedule -- ONU Observatory Maps to the ONU Observatory can be found here. Descriptions of each event will appear in the week leading up to the event. Friday, Feb 9, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "The Winter Milky Way" ONU and the surrounding communities are invited to the ONU Observatory this Friday for a stargazing event called "The Winter Milky Way". The Milky Way is our home Galaxy. It appears as a swath of light that wraps around the sky. In the summer, the Milky Way runs through constellations like Cygnus (the Swan), while in the winter, it runs through Gemini and Canis Major (the great dog) next to Orion. In February, this "Winter Milky Way" is crossing the meridian around 9:30 pm, making it a good time to explore its treasures with a telescope. These include Hubble's Variable Nebula, the Seagull Nebula, and several star clusters. We can also look at the planets Uranus and Jupiter under the moonless sky. This event was a success. Friday, Feb 16, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Moon passing through the Pleiades " ONU and the surrounding communities are invited to the ONU Observatory this Friday for an astronomy event called "Moon passes through the Pleiades". The Moon moves through the constellations of the zodiac as it orbits the Earth and it sometimes passes in front of some interesting stars, or, even better, star clusters. This increases the chance of grazing occultations, when stars blink off and on as they are blocked by the Moon's irregular terrain. The Moon will have already passed the Pleiades by 8 pm (closest passage around 2:30 pm), so we will mostly use this as an opportunity to get a close-up look at the craters and maria of the first quarter Moon. Other convenient targets will be Jupiter, Uranus, the Pleiades, and stars of the winter Milky Way. Friday, Mar 8, 7:30-9:30 pm. -- Public Event. "Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks" ONU and the surrounding communities are invited to the ONU Observatory this Friday for an astronomy event called "Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks". Comet Pons-Brooks is currently the brightest comet in the sky, but still too faint to see without a telescope. Comets are icy fragments usually 2-10 km across which give off gas and dust when they get close to the Sun. This comet comes in close to the Sun, as it is now, once every 70 years. We start earlier than usual, 7:30 pm, because the comet will be low in the northwest and will be too low to observe by about 8:30 pm. But don't despair, there are other objects for us to observe like the planet Jupiter. Friday, Mar 22, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Mercury at dichotomy" This Friday's public event is called "Mercury at dichotomy". On this day, Mercury will appear half lit by the Sun, displaying a phase much like the 1st quarter Moon. Since Mercury's orbit is an ellipse and not a circle, the moment of dichotomy can differ from the moment of it's greatest elongation from the Sun. The Greatest Elongation East occurs a few days later on Mar 24 this year. Mercury will be almost 19 degrees from the Sun on both occasions, making it a good time to go after this elusive planet. Mercury will get too low to observe by about 8:30 pm, so our telescopes will slew to other targets in the Western sky. These include Jupiter and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. We were clouded out during the last event which went after the comet, but now it should be brighter and more well-placed for observing. It should have a long tail and be visible in binoculars 23 degrees northwest of Jupiter. Friday, Apr 5, 9:00-11:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Galaxies of Spring" April is a good month to look for galaxies in the Ohio skies! The chance of cloudcover is going down and the temperatures are going up. More importantly, the North Galactic Pole is well placed in the sky before midnight. This is where many of the nearby galaxies are located, residing in the Virgo Cluster and various other groups. On this night, with the Moon just past new, we will point our telescopes at galaxies. They are generally faint, so we may also use sensitive cameras to display them. The Lyrid meteor shower is also producing occasional meteors. This event is cancelled. We have many cameras and telescopes carefully setup for the total solar eclipse streaming on Monday. The cables and portable telescopes represent a trip hazard so it is best to not hold a nighttime event this April 5. Monday, Apr 8, 2:00-4:00 pm. -- Streamed Event. "Total Solar Eclipse!" Totality of the April 8th solar eclipse can (and should) be viewed outside with your naked eye. But in the hours of partial eclipse before and after totality, you must use protective eclipse glasses or suffer eye damage. Typical eclipse glasses offer no magnification and you can only perceive the largest of sunspots. That's why you should follow the ONU YouTube livestreaming event from the ONU Observatory. We will show images from not just one but three different telescope/cameras set ups. We will also provide play-by-play and NASA graphics showing the progress of the umbra across the US. Update: current forecast predicts 55-60% cloudcover and 15% chance of rain for Ada on eclipse day. The streaming event will still be held even if the skies are cloudy. Total Solar Eclipse!!! Live streaming this April 8. The link to the stream is now available below. Link to stream. Stats for ONU Observatory Duration of totality: 3 m 56 s* Time of totality: 3:10:05 to 3:14:01 pm EDT. Duration of partiality: 2 h 31 m 4 s Distance from centerline: 6.7 mi NW Local Magnitude: 1.0239 (max=1.0565 in Mexico)   *Max duration for OH is 3 m 59 s. Printer-friendly version here.

Information for visitors to the ONU Observatory:

• Before coming to the observatory, check for cancellations on this Public Events page.
• The observatory is wheelchair accessible. We also attach video cameras to some telescopes to allow viewing on our wall-hanging TVs.
• There are heated restrooms at the back of the observatory.
• Follow good ASTRO-ETIQUETTE: :
  1. Don't shine lights in other's eyes or use flash photography
  2. Try not to push the telescopes
  3. Try not to touch the lenses of the telescopes or eyepieces
  4. Ask questions of the manager or student helpers, who may be wearing glow lights
• You can arrive any time during the scheduled event; there is usually no advantage to being early. (Sometimes there are short presentations but they occur in the middle of the event.)
• The observing room gets cold in the winter, dress warmly!
• The observatory has a heated control room (cool in summer) in case you get cold (or hot).
• If the lines aren't too long, you can take cell phone pictures of brighter objects through the telescope eyepieces.
• You can donate to ONU here , or look for a donations jar at the observatory to specifically help the ONU Astronomy Club.

See Archive of previous Astronomy Events at ONU.