Observatory

observatory at suny corning

 

The Observatory will be open on April 5 and April 19, 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 Spring Semester:  January 19, February 2 and 16, March 1 and 15, April 5 and 19, and May 3 and 17.   Starting in April, the Observatory will be open from 8:30pm - 10:30pm.  Masks are not required indoors at this point in time.  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.  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

Total Solar Eclipse Q&A

Friday, April 5

8-9pm

During this informal event, Dennis O'Connell will be available to answer any last minute questions about viewing or photographing the upcoming eclipse.  Mr. O'Connell gave a talk on Solar Photography in February, but he thought it might be helpful to have someone available right before the eclipse if there were any questions! 

Did you know there is an upcoming Total Solar Eclipse on April 8?  Did you know Corning will NOT be in the path of totality (we will get ~99% coverage)?  So if you are staying local, you will need to have some solar filters for your photographic equipment, as well as your eyes!   

You are welcome to use the field around the Observatory on April 8 approximately 1:30pm to 4:00pm to view the partial eclipse in our area. Volunteers will be there to answer questions and share 1500 eclipse glasses. You are welcome to bring your own eclipse glasses or viewers, too.  NEVER look directly at the sun with your naked eyes!  Even during the partial eclipse that we will get here in Corning, you MUST use eclipse glasses or other appropriate eyewear when looking at the sun throughout the whole event!  Regular sunglasses are NOT enough to block out the sun's light.

Our full schedule of eclipse events can be found here

Here are some links that can help you with the upcoming eclipse! The path of totality is very close to Corning, so please consider traveling there!  This might be a once in a lifetime event to have totality so close to us.  Check out the links below to see how close the path of totality is to you! 

https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america-2024

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8

 

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! 

Parking is available in the Planetarium parking lot. The only parking at the Observatory is reserved for our visitors requiring accessible parking. 

Questions?

607-962-9494

Deborah Dann, Director of the Observatory

dann@corning-cc.edu