October 12, 1998 Volume 21, No. 4

College Observatory Gets Eye for Sky

Facility to boost College's astronomy offerings

It may not have been one of the more visible signs of construction on campus, but it will have students seeing stars. The College’s first observatory was built over the summer, and with the recent installation of a 16-inch telescope it will give a boost to efforts to expand astronomy offerings in the Department of Physics.

Associate professor of physics Dan Briotta says the facility will be used in introductory astronomy lab courses and for general observing in the astronomy lecture courses. He plans to initiate a concentration in astronomy, and is laying the groundwork for a potential minor in the subject.

The observatory was built largely by the College’s own physical plant staff; funds for the project came from a bequest from the late Clinton Ford, a College trustee and noted amateur astronomer, as well as a grant from the National Science Foundation.

More information on the observatory and astronomy courses can be found at www.ithaca.edu/briotta/observatory.