Open Nights – Stephens Memorial Observatory

No Open Nights until further notice

June 8, 2020October 25, 2021StephensAstroLeave a comment

Sadly, there will be no Open Nights conducted at Stephens Memorial Observatory until further notice. One of the most effective means of preventing spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is to maintain at least six feet of distance between each other. Inviting the public to share the crowded space beneath the observatory’s ~16-foot dome would not be wise in view of the risk. Furthermore Hiram College, in compliance with CDC recommendations, does not permit gatherings of 10 or more people on campus properties. To assist in protecting the health of our attendees (and ourselves) we do not expect to conduct any Open Night sessions the spring or summer of 2021. This notice will be updated as changes warrant. Until we meet again, please watch this website for other news and follow us on Twitter. Thank you for your interest!

First Published June 8, 2020
Update: April 3, 2021

The observatory’s closed, video programs to be produced

April 15, 2020StephensAstroLeave a comment

The space inside Stephens Memorial Observatory’s dome has seen throngs of people over the years. Anyone who has visited on a busy Public Night knows it doesn’t take very many people to make a crowd around the big telescope. So to help protect public health with the novel coronavirus on the loose our Public Nights are cancelled, almost certainly for the remainder of 2020.

In place of public gatherings, we plan to produce a series of non-technical short video programs on various astronomy-related topics. The first program will be a look at several telescopes and how they work. Announcement of programs will be made via this website and Twitter.

Here’s a link to a video of observatory director James Guilford talking about the situation:

If you have suggestions for program topics, please write us using the Contact Us tab at the top of this page.

We’ll be apart for a while

March 23, 2020April 15, 2020StephensAstro1 Comment

I don’t need to tell you the sort of impact the spread of the novel coronavirus has had on plans for, well, just about everything this spring. Around now is when we at Stephens Memorial Observatory would be scheduling and opening to the public for monthly stargazing.

As we noted in a recent post here, a small observatory dome is no place to collect a group of people — a group of any size — when there is a pandemic disease circulating. If you’ve been to one of our Open Nights, you know it gets crowded and loud with not very many people present!

So early on we independently decided to postpone our public openings.

The novel coronavirus is “out there” and circulating. It is foolhardy to believe that after two weeks or so it will simply go away. With no vaccine available, the only true preventative is isolation. So that’s what we’re doing.

Remember this when you think about whether widespread closures are actually needed: The virus that causes COVID-19 appears to spread about as easily as the common cold. But this disease can be much more severe — sometimes deadly. A deadly disease that can be caught and spread as easily as a cold! That’s the reason for current shutdowns of bars, restaurants, and other businesses that bring people together. Think about that, please, as you go about your daily living.

I believe relative isolation will be advised for the general public for some months to come. I enjoy our public nights together under the dome but I don’t want anyone, myself included, to become ill because of our little gatherings. So there’s a very good chance Stephens will not open to the public any time this year.

In the meantime, I’m putting together technologies that will allow us to share either live or recorded live views of astronomical objects from a local telescope. We may also do some video presentations about the observatory and its telescope. I’ll keep you informed about future developments along those lines.

I’ll close here by thanking you for your interest in what we do, and thanking those who are repeat visitors to our humble observatory. Please help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus and stay well. We’re all in this together and it will take sensible behavior from all of us to get out.

Best wishes and stay healthy,

James Guilford, Director and Janitor
Stephens Memorial Observatory

For trustworthy information about the novel coronavirus, and COVID-19 disease, visit the Ohio Department of Health website: https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/home

Season opening postponed

March 13, 2020March 23, 2020StephensAstroLeave a comment

Well, it looks like we’ll not be opening our Public Nights season this month after all.

Outside of the usual concerns over wet and cloudy weather, and issues with our old building, now we have public health matters to take into consideration.

While the observatory is pretty much open to outside air when in use, people are quite close together under the dome — closer than public health experts recommend.

We’d rather everyone enjoy the night sky in good health and not have Stephens become a place where illness is spread; so we will watch and wait for resolution of the pandemic COVID-19 disease. When gatherings again make sense, we’ll announce and commence our season of Public Nights.

Until then, we’ll point out opportunities for home stargazing when clear nights occur and most of those suggestions come via our Twitter feed. You don’t need to have a Twitter account to see what’s going on, simple visit: https://twitter.com/StephensObs

Through this all, we’ll fall back on the wisdom of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy upon which is written in large, friendly letters, “Don’t Panic”. No need to hoard toilet paper or bottled water. Just be smart about what you do to protect your health and the well-being of others. There’s plenty of good information available online if you choose wisely.

Here are a few good resources:

Ohio Department of Health

Ars Technica — Updated Daily

World Health Organization

Saturday, December 21: Special Open Night

December 18, 2019December 22, 2019StephensAstroLeave a comment

Photo: The Orion Nebula by James Guilford, 2012 — The Orion Nebula, Messier 42, as it may appear to viewers through small telescopes. Photo by James Guilford, 2012.

UPDATE: Over the course of the event 29 visitors enjoyed exquisite views of the Orion Nebula. Excellent seeing conditions allowed the nebular cloud to fill and extend beyond the telescope’s field of view at 104X magnification; possibly the finest view of that astronomical object that we have enjoyed. Also viewed was the red supergiant star, Betelgeuse, which is at the left shoulder of the constellation’s mythic figure. Betelgeuse has been the topic of discussion lately because the variable star has dimmed noticeably from its more typical brilliance.

Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will host a special Public Night Saturday, December 21, from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. The Great Orion Nebula will be the featured object on a night billed as a “holiday gift.” The observatory is usually closed for the winter but organizers wished to offer views of the nebula this year. Clear skies will be especially important for this event.

Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event in which case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.

The Observatory is located on Wakefield Road (Rt. 82) less than a quarter of a mile west of Route 700 in Hiram. There is no parking at the Observatory. Visitors may park on permissible side streets near the Post Office, a short distance east of the observatory.

Updates on programming are available via the Observatory’s Twitter feed: @StephensObs and on this website.

August 10 Open Night: Saturn and the Moon

August 1, 2019StephensAstroLeave a comment

Saturn and Moons, July 10, 2019. Simulation via Gas Giants.

Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will host a Public Night Saturday, August 10, from 9:00 to 11:00 PM. On the observing list are two Stephens favorites: Earth’s Moon, and the Ringed World – Saturn! Other objects of interest may also be viewed using the Observatory’s 1901 vintage telescope. Given good viewing conditions the telescope delivers outstanding detail of the Moon and impressive views of Saturn and distinctive rings.

Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event in which case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.

Updates on programming are available via the Observatory’s Twitter feed: @StephensObs or its website: StephensObservatory.org.

July 13: Two favorite sights… The Moon and Jupiter

June 14, 2019July 14, 2019StephensAstroLeave a comment

Jupiter and its Galilean Moons as they will appear the night of July 13, 2019. Labels for Ganymede and Io overlap. Simulation via "Gas Giants". — Jupiter and its Galilean Moons as they will appear the night of July 13, 2019. Labels for Ganymede and Io overlap. Simulation via “Gas Giants”.

WRAP-UP: We played peek-a-boo through clouds with Moon and Jupiter all evening. When they first became visible from behind neighboring trees, viewing of our Moon and the planet was fair to poor. As time passed and the atmosphere settled down, seeing became better and late visitors were treated to excellent views of Moon and fair to good views of Jupiter with his four Galilean Moons and even the Great Red Spot (GRS). In fact, just before we closed for the night, the GRS showed not just as a thickening in the Southern Equatorial Band but as a definite shape with red coloration! Saturday’s was not the best view we’ve had of Jupiter but in the end, it was pretty good. Thanks to the 34 visitors who came out on a muggy and buggy night to enjoy the sights!

Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will host a Public Night Saturday, July 13, from 9:30 to 11:00 PM. On the observing list are two Stephens favorites: Earth’s Moon, and planet Jupiter with its moons. Other objects of interest may also be viewed using the Observatory’s 1901 vintage telescope. Given good viewing conditions, organizers say, the telescope delivers outstanding detail of the Moon and impressive views of Jupiter including, when it’s in position as it will be July 13, the planet’s Great Red Spot feature.

Organizers hope for clear skies since recent weather conditions have made scheduled observing impossible. Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event in which case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.

Updates on programming are available via the Observatory’s Twitter feed: @StephensObs or its website: StephensObservatory.org.

November 17 Observatory Open Night… Try, try again!

October 25, 2018November 17, 2018StephensAstroLeave a comment

Photo: Earth's Moon two days short of Full. Photo by James Guilford.

CANCELED: Skies will remain cloudy through Saturday and into Sunday with a chance of snow showers. Also, streets in Hiram Village have been stripped for resurfacing and present challenges to parking. We can’t catch a break this year, it seems. Tonight’s scheduled Open Night is CANCELED and the observatory WILL NOT be open. — Saturday, Nov. 17.

UPDATE: It appears that, yet again, we will need to cancel our scheduled Open Night event due to sky conditions and weather! We will post a final update here Saturday afternoon regarding the status of the evening’s event. — Friday, Nov. 16.

Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will host a Public Night Saturday, November 17, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. On the observing list are the Moon, the Pleiades and Perseus Double star clusters, a farewell look at Mars, and a possible peek at planet Neptune. Other objects of interest may also be viewed.

Organizers hope for clear skies since several recent events have been canceled or compromised by weather. Visitors will be able to view planetary and celestial objects using the Observatory’s 1901 vintage telescope as well as stunning views of Earth’s Moon.

Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event and in that case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.

Updates on programming are available via the Observatory’s Twitter feed: @StephensObs (twitter.com/StephensObs)

October 20: International Observe the Moon Night

October 12, 2018October 20, 2018StephensAstroLeave a comment

International Observe the Moon Night, October 20, 2018

UPDATE: Saturday, October 20 — Tonight’s scheduled Open Night and local International Observe the Moon Night event is CANCELED. Weather again spoils our plans with showers and thunderstorms prowling the area, and tonight’s impending Wind Advisory keeping our dome closed. While weather is going to keep us indoors tonight, NASA has other suggestions on how you can observe and enjoy Earth’s Moon tonight and later! Take a look: Ten Ways to Observe the Moon, Some Can be Done Any Time

UPDATE: We are closely watching weather forecasts and, as so often has been the case this year, our Saturday night program appears in jeopardy with the possibility of rain and/or snow predicted. Check back here and watch our Twitter feed for further updates and a final go/no-go decision on our October 20 event.

Members of the public are invited to celebrate International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Oct. 20 from 7:00 to 9:00. The free event will be held at Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College.

International Observe the Moon Night is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation and understanding of our Moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. The annual event connects scientists, educators, and lunar enthusiasts from around the world.

The Hiram event will (given clear skies) include amazing views of Earth’s Moon using the Observatory’s 1901 vintage telescope. If sky conditions allow, other wonders of the night sky will also be sought.

Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event and in that case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.

September 22: Public Night

September 20, 2018September 22, 2018StephensAstroLeave a comment

UPDATE: 8:30 PM — CLOSED. We give up! 😕Although some clearing is expected later, skies will not be adequate to our Public Night needs. The observatory will not be open.

UPDATE: 3 PM — Again we struggle with cloudy skies! Predictions for tonight’s sky range from partly- to mostly-cloudy with seeing conditions rated as fair to poor. If we do open for tonight’s scheduled Public Night, we will doubtless offer only a limited program, perhaps only the Moon and Mars; dimmer objects won’t be seen. Please check back this evening or follow our Twitter feed for further updates. https://twitter.com/StephensObs

Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will be open for public observing Saturday, September 22, from 9:00 to 11:00 PM. Organizers are hoping for clear skies in order to provide visitors with views of the Moon, Red Planet Mars, the Andromeda Galaxy, and a star cluster using the Observatory’s vintage telescope. Weather forecasts (September 20) call for partly-cloudy skies and we will hope for clear air between those clouds; our last public viewing endured mostly-clear skies marred by moonlit smoke from California wildfires high in the atmosphere!

Sadly, a comet, originally expected to be visible, has moved below our horizon and will not be on our agenda.

Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event and in that case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.