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Celestial Wonders

An anonymous alum has donated $100,000 to Conn for the purchase of a new telescope.

In November, “Solar System Astronomy Lab” students observed the moon under the guidance of Professor Geoffrey McLean from the F.W. Olin Science Center observatory. Soon, they’ll have an even better view of the night sky; an anonymous alum has donated $100,000 to the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics for the purchase of a new telescope and upgrades to the observatory.

The 14-inch telescope, a CDK350 Observatory System built by PlaneWave Instruments out of Michigan, is more efficient and easier to use than the current 20-inch scope that was installed in 1996, said Assistant Teaching Professor of Astronomy Alex Gianninas, who is also the campus director for the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. The gift will also fund other upgrades to the observatory atop the F.W. Olin Science Center.

Associate Professor Emeritus of Physics Leslie Brown, who taught at Conn from 1992 to 2022, said, “This most generous gift of a new telescope and dome upgrades ensures that opportunities for astronomy students to engage in hands-on learning and research, and for the campus and the local community to share in the joys of the night sky that were enjoyed in the past, will be available long into what looks to be a very bright future for astronomy at Conn.”

Gianninas said students in his “Observational Techniques” course will be able to train on the new telescope, an activity that mechanical and electronic issues prevented on the current one for the past five years. “We’ve been able to work around that by using publicly available data,” Gianninas said, “but the whole point is to give students hands-on experience, and we’ll be able to start doing that again.”

The public will have opportunities to experience it, too. Department staff are hopeful the new telescope will be set up in time for a planned April open house event, at which guided observations, astronomy-themed activities, talks and videos will be offered to the public.