ONU Observatory Astrophoto Gallery Public Events
ONU Logo

Public Events at the ONU Observatory

ONU Logo

The ONU Observatory holds public events in order to share astronomy with the surrounding communities. The events on the Schedule below marked "Public Event" are free and open to the public! More information will be given as the date approaches. Note: these events are subject to cancellation when the weather is poor, or equipment needs repair. Please watch inside the schedule for cancellations in red which will be posted by 2:30 pm on the day of the event.
Cross your fingers for good weather. We'll leave the light off for ya!

Spring 2025 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 14, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Valentine's Day Star Party"
It's Valentine's day! So what better time to look at love-related objects in astronomy. The planet Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love. It just so happens to be in a special position called "maximum brilliancy" on February 14, 2025! This is when Venus appears the brightest. It isn't when Venus is the closest to Earth or the Sun, nor is it when Venus is at it's greatest angle away from the Sun. But it happens when Venus is around 40 degrees from the Sun. This makes it an easy target for our telescopes at the start of this public event. Continuing the Valentine's day theme, we can look for more challenging deep sky objects like the Heart Nebula and the Heart-shaped cluster (Messier 50). It turns out that dozens of heart shaped features have been discovered on other planets, like Mars and Pluto, although they are not visible from our ground-based telescopes.
Hearts on Mars There are over ten heart shaped features on Mars alone! Check out this collage by NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team.
This event was cancelled due to clouds.


Friday, Mar 7, 7:00-9:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Mercury joins the party"
The planets have been putting on a good show so far this winter. In early February, all of the planets except Mercury were above the horizon just after sunset. Now, in March, Saturn has become unobservable, but Mercury has joined the planet party, reaching Greatest Elongation East on Mar 8. So on March 7, we will hold a viewing, free to the public, in which we train our 'scopes on all of these planets. Mercury will only be 12 degrees above the horizon at 7 pm and set within an hour. So you'll have to arrive early to catch a glimpse of this elusive planet. On the bright side, the waxing gibbous Moon will be right between Jupiter and Mars in the sky. All 3 will be easy targets during this ONU Observatory event.

Unfortunately, this event is cancelled due to clouds in the forecast.


Friday, Mar 28, 8:30-10:30 pm. -- Public Event. "Mars loops through Gemini"
ONU and the surrounding communities are invited to a free star party at the ONU Observatory on Friday, Mar 28, from 8:30-10:30 pm. The theme is "Mars loops through Gemini" referring to the path that Mars is taking relative to the constellation Gemini. All of the planets vary their angular speed and even reverse in their motion relative to the stars, creating a "loopy" path. Around 9 pm, Dr. Pinkney (professor of astronomy) will give a short presentation about these paths and how they played a very important role in the history of astronomy and science.
On this night we will train our telescopes on Mars and Jupiter, which is nearby in Taurus. The Moon will not interfere, so we can also look for Uranus, double stars, and deep sky objects.
This event is on!


Friday, Apr 25, 9:00-11:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Galaxies of Spring"

Printer-friendly version here.

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.

Sunday, Aug 25, 8:30-9:30 pm. -- ONU Event. "Welcomefest Meet-n-greet"

Friday, Sept 13, 8:30-10:30 pm. -- Public Event. "Saturn near its brightest"

Friday, Sept 20, 8:30-10:30 pm -- Public Event. "Nova watch: T Corona Borealis"

Saturday, Oct 19, 7:30-9:30 pm -- Public Event. "Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is bright!"

Friday, Nov 15, 7:30-9:30 pm -- Public Event. "Mercury and the Supermoon "

Friday, Dec 13, 7:30-9:30 pm -- Public Event. "Geminid Meteor Shower"

Printer-friendly version here.

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"

Friday, Feb 16, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Moon passing through the Pleiades "

Friday, Mar 8, 7:30-9:30 pm. -- Public Event. "Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks"

Friday, Mar 22, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Mercury at dichotomy"

Friday, Apr 5, 9:00-11:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Galaxies of Spring" Monday, Apr 8, 2:00-4:00 pm. -- Streamed Event. "Total Solar Eclipse!"

Total Solar Eclipse!!!
Live streaming this April 8.

The link to the stream is now available below.
Link to stream.
The stream was a success! Now check out the Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery HERE
ONU Logo

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.

Fall 2023 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.

Sunday, Aug 20, 8:30-9:30 pm. -- ONU Event. "Welcomefest Meet-n-greet"

Friday, Sept 8, 8:30-10:30 pm. -- Public Event. "Saturn puts on a show"

Friday, Sept 22, 8:30-10:30 pm. -- Public Event. "The Autumnal Equinox"

Friday, Oct 13, 8:00-10:00 pm.  -- Public Event.  "Eclipse Eve Viewing"

Saturday, Oct 14, 12:30-1:30 pm.  -- STREAMED Event.  "Annular Solar Eclipse"

Friday, Nov 3, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Jupiter at its closest"

Friday, Nov 17, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Leonid Meteor Shower"

Printer-friendly version here.

Spring 2023 Schedule -- ONU Observatory



Friday, Feb 3, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Comet ZTF close to Earth"

Friday, Feb 24, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Explore the waxing crescent Moon"

Friday, Mar 24, 8:30-10:30 pm. -- Public Event. "Spring Star Party!"

Friday, Apr 7, 9:00-11:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Mercury at Greatest Elongation"

Friday, Apr 21, 9:00-11:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Galaxies of Spring"

Printer-friendly version here.


Fall 2022 Schedule -- ONU Observatory


Sunday, Aug 21, 8:30-9:30 pm -- ONU event. "Welcomefest Open House"

Friday, Sept 16, 9:00-11:00 pm -- Public Event "Neptune at its closest"

Friday, Sept 23, 8:00-10:00 pm -- Public Event. "Autumnal Equinox and Jupiter approaching opposition"

Friday, Oct 21, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Orionid Meteor Shower"

Friday, Oct 28, 8:00-10:00 pm. - Public Event. "Observe the crescent Moon"

Friday, Nov 11, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Uranus at Opposition"

Friday, Dec 9, 8:00-10:00 pm. -- Public Event. "Opposition of Mars"

Printer-friendly version here.



Arrange a tour or visit?

We encourage your K-12 students and other organizations to visit during the Public Events listed above. However, you may be able to schedule a special visit. We can comfortably fit about 60 people in the observing room. Bigger groups can still attend. During the daytime, we will show you the building and telescopes and, if clear, can view the Sun! We don't roll back the roof if there is precipitation. If interested, contact the Observatory Manager:

Dr. Jason Pinkney
ONU Dept of Physics and Astronomy
525 S. Main St., Ada, OH, 45810
j-pinkney@onu.edu
Office: 419-772-2740
Observatory: 419-772-4028

See maps to the ONU Observatory.
Check the weather at ONU Observatory: Clear Sky Chart.
See the Observatory's Astrophoto gallery.

Information for visitors to the ONU Observatory:

See Archive of previous Astronomy Events at ONU.


Go to Pinkney's Homepage
Go to ONU Physics
Go to ONU