Observatory
The Observatory will be open on April 3 and 17, from 8:30pm - 10:30pm. If it is clear, we will take out telescopes and look at some beautiful astronomical objects. We also give a tour of the facility, which includes the one-tenth scale model of the Hale Telescope at Mt. Palomar and images that we have taken with the telescopes on campus.
The Observatory will be open the first and third Fridays of the month for the winter/spring: February 6 and 20, March 6, April 3 and 17, and May 1 and 15. Please note the observatory will not be open on Friday, March 20. Beginning in April, the observatory will be open from 8:30pm-10:30pm. No prior reservations are required, but if you have a group of greater than 10 people that you would like to bring to the observatory, call 607-962-9494 and leave a message with a phone number so we can return your call.
Parking for the Observatory is available in the Digital Dome parking lot or the large parking lot by the Gym. Parking at the Observatory is reserved for our visitors who require accessible parking. All of our events are free and open to the public!
If you are interested in attending a Digital Dome Show, please check out their link here.
EVENTS
Searching for Aliens
Talk given by Zoe Learner Ponterio, Manager of the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility (SPIF) at Cornell
April 3, 2026
7:30pm at the Eileen Collins Observatory
Our next meeting of the Elmira-Corning Astronomical Society will feature a talk given by Zoe Learner Ponterio.
Astrobiologists trying to find life beyond Earth are working to answer three questions: where should we be looking, what should we be looking for, and how should we be looking for it? Previous spacecraft missions have given us some ideas for the first question. But we face many challenges in trying to answer the next two questions, having only one example of life and not knowing how it started. And most importantly, how can we keep an open and skeptical mind in this endeavor, despite how much we want to succeed? Come join us at the Eileen Collins Observatory to hear more!
The meeting is free and open to the public. Please park in the lower lot (near the Digital Dome) as parking near the Observatory is reserved for those needed special accommodations.
TELESCOPES
We have many types and sizes of telescopes here at our Observatory. Our two largest telescopes are both reflectors — the 20" and the 16". Our 20" telescope is the one-tenth scale model of the Hale Telescope at Mount Palomar in California.
We have 14", 12", 10", 8", and 6" reflectors that were built by members of the Elmira-Corning Astronomical Society. We have 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain reflectors in addition to 4" refractors and a solar telescope.
Everything at the observatory is free and open to the public! Please note that most of our time is spent outside, if the weather is clear. So please dress for the weather!
Parking is available in the Planetarium parking lot. The only parking at the Observatory is reserved for our visitors requiring accessible parking.
Questions?
Deborah Dann, Director of the Observatory