The Observatory Tower
This year the Westport Astronomical Society celebrates 40 years of bringing the wonders of the night sky to the thousands who have visited the Rolnick Observatory. We’re a non-profit organization of all volunteers that’s free and open to the public every Wednesday night from 8-10 pm, if the skies are clear. The Dome Observatory houses a 12.5″ Newtonian telescope and the lawn regularly hosts the newly upgraded and HUGE 25″ Obsession telescope, the largest in Connecticut available to the public.
WAS has free monthly meetings with experts at the top of their fields. We feature speakers from the Hayden Planetarium, The American Museum of Natural History, Yale, NYU, UConn, Columbia and educators from all over the globe who enrich our community with cutting edge discussions on cosmology, physics and astronomy. Additionally, there are additional special, private events scheduled throughout the year for our members and supporters.
SUPPORT SCIENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY – BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
Check out and register on our new forum! Discuss the sky and upcoming events with members of the Westport Astronomical Society.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, March 17, 8:00pm
The Westport Astronomical Society’s Free Monthly Lecture Series
Rick Bria, Director of the Astronomical Society of Greenwich will discuss the recent, big upgrades to their Bowman Observatory and how we may be able to do the same in WestportThe Bowman Observatory has been part of the Greenwich skyline since the 1940’s. The Astronomical Society of Greenwich has operated the observatory since 1986. The ASG just installed a ‘new’ 16” RCOS telescope in October 2014. The telescope was donated by a Greenwich resident in 2008. Generous donations large and small allowed the ASG to purchase a Paramount MEII and complete the installation. My talk will cover the long and winding road traveled through red tape, and the team work required to successfully complete this project.
Join us Tuesday the 17th for Cal’s Corner and a quick run down of everything else you may have missed in the Universe.
Coming Soon:
April 21 – William Zmek – “Interferometry for the Amateur Telescope Maker”
So what is interferometry? How does it work? How would an amateur telescope maker use it for testing a mirror? These questions and more will be addressed in this talk.
May 19 – Statia Luszcz-Cook, postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Dr. Statia Luszcz-Cook
Dr. Luszcz-Cook is an observational astrophysicist interested in giant planets. She uses observations at several different wavelengths, along with atmospheric models, to learn about the composition, structure, and variability of the atmospheres of the giant planets within our solar system. She is also a member of the Project 1640 team, which directly images planets and brown dwarfs around other stars.
The outer solar system is home to giant planets and numerous small bodies; each of these objects provides us with unique clues as to how our solar system formed. I will highlight some of the ways scientists are using observations of the outer solar system to investigate solar system formation, highlighting the contributions of the New Horizons mission, which will fly past Pluto this July.
June 16 – The Westport Astronomical Society’s Members-Only Pre-Summer Solstice Star-B-Q and Election!
This is a members, friends and family occasion. We break out the mighty WAS grill of Carbon and cook up tasty bits of bovine, some mystery meats as well as veggie favorites for our annual picnic and Board of Directors election.
Bob Meadows!
August 18 – The Bob Meadows Annual Stellafane Report
The intrepid Director of the Rolnick Observatory returns from the 80th annual Stellafane Convention, the home of the Springfield Telescope Makers in Springfield VT. Bob has the low down on all the latest amateur telescope innovations and how they performed during the Convention.
Please Support Science in your Community with a Donation to WAS
The Rolnick Observatory is an all volunteer organization 100% supported by your donations and memberships. We are all unpaid volunteers and completely rely on YOU for financial support. No tax-deductible amount you can give is too small and no amount is too great! Please donate or become a member today: Individual, Family and Corporate memberships are available.
What’s this thing?
Clear Sky Forecast for the Rolnick Observatory
It’s the astronomer’s forecast. It shows when it will be cloudy or clear for up to the next two days. It’s a prediction when The Rolnick Observatory will have good weather for astronomical observing. Hint: If you see white blocks at night near the red vertical line (midnight), there’s a good chance we’ll be closed. Click the image to refresh.
