Night observing sessions will be held for about eight nights at the Campus Observatory, southeast of Foellinger Auditorium. At the observing sessions there will be 3 stations that you should visit in any order. Two of these are outside on the grass in between the observatory and the Morrow Plots and the third station is the 12-inch telescope in the dome. At the two stations outside on the grass there will be (1) a T.A. who will be pointing out features of the night sky (constellations and the celestial sphere) and (2) one or two telescopes that are ordinarily pointed at the Moon or one of the major planets in our Solar System. Please see your class syllabus and/or webpage for specific information on the assignment you must complete.
To view objects through the 12-inch telescope, enter the observatory from the north door and go up the stairs to the observing chamber. Astronomy Department personnel will be present to operate and explain the telescope and the objects(s) being viewed. Freely ask questions and sketch what you see.
Objects to be featured at the observing sessions will be the Moon, planets, double stars, star clusters, gaseous nebulae and in rare circumstances a distant galaxy. You might even be lucky enough to see a comet. Each observing session will concentrate on only a few objects.
Observing session dates are tentatively scheduled as follows.
Night observing sessions run from 8-10pm each scheduled night; please sign up to attend an observing session below. You may arrive when you wish, but be sure to allow approximately 45 minutes to one hour to complete all the observation stations before the end of session. Dress warmly.
All are welcome to look through the telescopes, including your friends.
Observing can be done only if the sky is clear. Sometimes it will be clear an hour before a session is to start, only to cloud over in the next hour. At other times the sky is cloudy at the time we want to open the observatory and it clears up after the professors and the T.A.s have gone home. It is obvious to say that the professors and T.A.s who are involved cannot control the weather, but we try to cope with the circumstances as best we can.
The Astronomy Department maintains a webpage that gives an up-to-the-minute report on whether the Campus Observatory is open on a particular night. The URL for this website is http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/classes/nightobs/status.php.
Also, if the temperature is under 20 F, the session will be cancelled.
You can sign up for and receive e-mail updates on an observing session's status (possible cancellations due to weather) via the Night Observing Session SignUp Webpage.
Note: If you are signed up for a particular night, and that night is cancelled due to inclement weather, you can sign up for a new night via the Night Observing Session SignUp Webpage.
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