Robert A. Schommer Astronomical
Observatory
Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey
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Next Public Open Night
Thursday, 23 May 2013 09:00 p.m. EDT to 11:00 p.m. EDTStatus (as of 23 May 2013, 08:00 p.m. EDT): It is completely cloudy, and it is supposed to rain. So, we will not be open. If you have any questions, please call 732-735-5483 and leave a message. Your call will be returned.
For general information, please call 732-445-5500 x2531 or 732-445-5500 x2503 (08:30 a.m. to 04:30 p.m.).
Schedule of Objects to be Viewed
May 2013
2nd Thursday (the 09th): M5, M13, Vega, Jupiter, and Saturn
4th Thursday (the 23rd): M5, M13, Vega, Saturn, and the Moon (full)
June 2013
2nd Thursday (the 13th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, Saturn, and the Moon (waxing crescent)
4th Thursday (the 27th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, and Saturn
July 2013
2nd Thursday (the 11th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, Saturn, and Neptune
4th Thursday (the 25th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, Saturn, and Neptune
August 2013
2nd Thursday (the 08th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, Saturn, and Neptune
4th Thursday (the 22nd): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, Venus, Saturn, Neptune (near opposition), and the Moon (full)
September 2013
2nd Thursday (the 12th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, Neptune, Uranus, and the Moon (first quarter)
4th Thursday (the 26th): M5, M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, Neptune, and Uranus (near opposition)
October 2013
2nd Thursday (the 10th): M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, Neptune, Uranus (near opposition), and the Moon (waxing crescent)
4th Thursday (the 24th): M13, Vega, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, Neptune, and Uranus
Public Observing at the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory
Members of the Rutgers University community and the general public are invited to observe the night sky through the 20-inch optical telescope of the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month, weather permitting. The observatory is open for two hours starting at 8 p.m. (October through March) or starting about one hour after sunset (April through September, when it is not yet dark at 8 p.m.).
Observing will be canceled for that night if the skies are cloudy at the beginning of the observing session. Please check this web-site for the most up-to-date information.
Naked-eye visibility of satellites from the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory may be found at the Heavens-Above Main Page .
Location
The Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory is located in the dome on the roof of the Serin Physics Laboratories on the corner of Frelinghuysen Road and Allison Road on the Busch Campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Our address is 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ and directions to our building are available. Park in lot 53 (between the building and the street) or lot 53A (about one block east on the other side of Frelinghuysen Rd). Enter the doors on the west end of the building (facing Allison Road) and take the stairs (left or right sides of the lobby) or the elevator (left side of the lobby) to the fourth floor.
Scientific
Highlights
Transit of Venus -- June 05, 2012
This image was taken at 08:03 p.m. EDT through a narrow gap in the clouds during the only few minutes that the transit was visible at the Schommer Observatory. The dark band in the lower-left corner of the image is the roof of the Pharmacy Building. The edge of the silhouette of Venus is ragged because of blurring by the Earth's atmosphere -- the Sun was only 3.3 degrees above the horizon. The 20-inch telescope was stopped down to a 4-inch aperture covered with a Baader solar filter. This single-color image was taken through an SBIG STL-11000M camera with a V-band (green) filter and an exposure time of 0.05 sec.
The Triangulum
Galaxy, Messier 33 (M33)
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ALIGN=top>This color image was created by combining three images taken through blue, green, and red (B-, V-, and R-band) images taken with the CCD camera on the 20-inch telescope of the Schommer Observatory.
