2008 Woodie Awards
Where is the Observatory now? It is in a FAB location
Cate Marquis
Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: Opinions
There was talk about it happening for a year. Before that, there was speculation.
Finally, it happened.
The University moved the Richard D. Schwartz Observatory at UM-St. Louis to a new location: Next to the Fine Arts Building off Florissant Road, by the softball field.
It seemed like a little drama for so long.
First there was talk of whether the Observatory would be moved at all.
Then there was talk of where it would go, and finally there was a long wait for the move to take place.
At one point, the whole move was cancelled, only to be put back in motion shortly afterwards. The on-and-off process created a bit of suspense.
The idea of moving the Observatory was never the idea of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which uses the Observatory and runs the public viewing program known as the Open House.
The move was the result of other plans of the University for the use of campus space. But all the reshuffling certainly left the department running the Observatory's monthly Open House with a lot of uncertainty unanswerable questions.
The department is putting it behind them with a new school year of sky object viewing, with public viewing scheduled for each month.
Usually, UM-St. Louis astronomy students and faculty use the Observatory throughout the school year.
However, once a month, the Physics and Astronomy department host public viewings at the facility, open to all and free of charge.
The program has a loyal following of amateur astronomers, and attendance also varies depending on the weather and what is in the sky at a particular time. Viewing is essentially outdoors, so cold weather has an impact on how many people show up for a night.
The next Observatory Open House is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. Sky objects scheduled to be in view include the planet Jupiter, plus the Ring Nebula, Alberio and the Hercules Cluster.
Every Observatory Open House also includes a viewing of the first quarter moon and additional nebulae and galaxies visible at that time.
Student volunteers from the Astronomy department run the Open House and are on hand to answer questions and talk about astronomy.
If it is cloudy, the Open House is rescheduled for the next night at the same time.
The Open Houses are always scheduled for Saturday nights at the first quarter of the moon for that month, but the time varies with the changing seasons.
The Observatory Open House for October and November are set. On Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., they will be viewing Jupiter and Uranus, plus the Ring Nebula, Alberio and the Andromeda Galaxy.
You can check the schedule of times and see which celestial objects are on view at their website: http://newton.umsl.edu/astro or www.umsl.edu/~physics/pdfs/astro.pdf.
To check for last minute changes, updates and events, you should call their Sky Watch Hotline at 314.516.5706.
Finally, it happened.
The University moved the Richard D. Schwartz Observatory at UM-St. Louis to a new location: Next to the Fine Arts Building off Florissant Road, by the softball field.
It seemed like a little drama for so long.
First there was talk of whether the Observatory would be moved at all.
Then there was talk of where it would go, and finally there was a long wait for the move to take place.
At one point, the whole move was cancelled, only to be put back in motion shortly afterwards. The on-and-off process created a bit of suspense.
The idea of moving the Observatory was never the idea of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which uses the Observatory and runs the public viewing program known as the Open House.
The move was the result of other plans of the University for the use of campus space. But all the reshuffling certainly left the department running the Observatory's monthly Open House with a lot of uncertainty unanswerable questions.
The department is putting it behind them with a new school year of sky object viewing, with public viewing scheduled for each month.
Usually, UM-St. Louis astronomy students and faculty use the Observatory throughout the school year.
However, once a month, the Physics and Astronomy department host public viewings at the facility, open to all and free of charge.
The program has a loyal following of amateur astronomers, and attendance also varies depending on the weather and what is in the sky at a particular time. Viewing is essentially outdoors, so cold weather has an impact on how many people show up for a night.
The next Observatory Open House is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. Sky objects scheduled to be in view include the planet Jupiter, plus the Ring Nebula, Alberio and the Hercules Cluster.
Every Observatory Open House also includes a viewing of the first quarter moon and additional nebulae and galaxies visible at that time.
Student volunteers from the Astronomy department run the Open House and are on hand to answer questions and talk about astronomy.
If it is cloudy, the Open House is rescheduled for the next night at the same time.
The Open Houses are always scheduled for Saturday nights at the first quarter of the moon for that month, but the time varies with the changing seasons.
The Observatory Open House for October and November are set. On Saturday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m., they will be viewing Jupiter and Uranus, plus the Ring Nebula, Alberio and the Andromeda Galaxy.
You can check the schedule of times and see which celestial objects are on view at their website: http://newton.umsl.edu/astro or www.umsl.edu/~physics/pdfs/astro.pdf.
To check for last minute changes, updates and events, you should call their Sky Watch Hotline at 314.516.5706.
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