Kirkwood Observatory to reopen

The Kirkwood Observatory will open to the public for a free viewing of the night sky from 8 to 10:30 p.m Wednesday. If the weather prohibits clear skies, a rain date has been set for March 29 with the same hours.\nCaty Pilachowski, chair of the IU Department of Astronomy, said in a press release the opening could not take place at a better time because Saturn will be visible. \n"Saturn is particularly interesting because it is bright and the rings are easily visible," she said. "People can easily make the connection between what they see in pictures and Saturn in real life."\nPilachowski said Saturn is probably the most impressive of all the naked-eye objects that people look at with telescopes. Other objects that are visible include the Orion Nebula, or middle "star" in the sword, and Mars, though it is getting fainter.\nDifferent objects are in view in the night sky depending on the season, because of the orbit of the earth and other planets around the sun. Objects that astronomy enthusiasts enjoy viewing include star clusters, the moon and the planets.\nThe Kirkwood Observatory was constructed in 1900. The observatory is named after Daniel Kirkwood, who established a tradition of astronomical research by conducting research on comets, meteors and asteroids. Kirkwood taught mathematics at IU for about 30 years and retired in 1885.\nDirector of the Kirkwood Observatory Stuart Mufson said the observatory is a wonderful tool for admiring the night sky. \n"It's beautiful to look at the night sky with your naked eye," he said. "It is even more amazing to look at the sky using the Kirkwood Observatory's telescope."\nThe 12-inch telescope housed in the the Kirkwood Observatory has remained relatively the same since its first use. Pilachowski said that one of the few changes involved the drift mechanism, which is used to track objects in the sky. It was updated from a clock drive to an electric motor. \nThe telescope is capable of seeing millions of light years away. Pilachowski noted that the bright lights of Bloomington have restricted that power. She explained that the numerous lights in the city "scatter" light throughout the night sky and ground below. \n"From the telescope, this scattered light appears to come from the same direction as the light from astronomical objects," she said. "So it adds to the light from those objects and brightens the sky around them. This extra light overwhelms the faint light from astronomical sources, making them hard to see."\nHowever, this effect does not stop people in the community from enjoying the observatory. \nBrian Brondel, a graduate student in the Department of Astronomy and volunteer coordinator at the observatory, acts as a liaison between the department and the public. \n"Guests at the open house cover the entire spectrum," Brondel said. "We've had distinguished astronomers, families with small children, professors, university officials, hobbyist astronomers, oddball new-agers, basement scientists, you name it."\nBrondel said the observatory is always under supervision by two members of the department, partly for safety, but also for questions and entertaining the visitors while the telescope is being used. \n"It's essential that we have at least one person to work the telescope," Brondel said. "The telescope isn't hard to use by any means, but it isn't something you could just walk up to and understand. The telescope is a century old and almost as good as new today. I think it might be indestructible, but I'm not interested in being proven wrong."\nThe observatory will be open for public use every Wednesday evening until November. The observatory is on campus near Fourth Street and Indiana Avenue. Hours are listed at www.astro.indiana.edu/kirk_sch.shtml.