There may be many Eastern students that are unaware that the Physics Department on campus has an observatory. That might have to do with the fact that the observatory is located rather far down the gravel road that runs past the athletic fields off 4th St., one of the more isolated and less trafficked areas of campus. This is the desire as, the location is away from light pollution that would adversely affect the observatory’s ability to view the night sky.

On Friday night, the public, EIU students and Charleston residents alike, had the opportunity to visit the observatory in what would have been a grand view of space. Unfortunately, the cloud cover Friday evening made it very difficult to see stars with the large telescope contained in the observatory or the naked eye.

Although the sky was cloudy, visitors were able to see the inside of the observatory as well as take a look at the large sixteen-inch telescope that sits atop a large concrete pillar and below a movable dome.

Dr. Jim Conwell of the Physics Department guided visitors around the observatory, informing them about the capabilities of the telescopes, and the equipment inside the building. The observatory actually contains three telescopes, including the large one primarily for night viewing and a smaller one for solar viewing.

The solar telescope is used to safely view the sun. A special filter used with the telescope cuts the light put out by the sun by 100,000 times.

“Without the filter, your eyes would literally combust looking at the sun” Dr. Conwell said.

The telescope can be directed from a control room in the observatory, where a computer can guide it and take photos.

The control room also keeps observers warm during the winter months, which are actually better for stellar observation.

Junior Donovan Johnson, bio major and EIU football player, was one of the students that came out to the observatory Friday evening.

“I’ve always wanted to check the observatory out. I’ve always liked astronomy and it’s interesting to see a telescope like this” said Johnson.

Also present was Bob Glazier, a science teacher from St. Joseph Ogden High School, who was demonstrating for visitors a device called a Sky Scout. The Sky Scout works almost like a camera in that one can point and shoot it at a star in the sky. The device will then identify that star. The device contains over 100,000 stellar objects that it can identify and locate. “This is a pretty amazing device” said Glazier.

Although about twenty people showed up in hopes of being able to view the night sky through the telescope, they were disappointed in the overcast sky Friday evening had to offer. However, many remained for Dr. Conwell’s tour of the facility. Some people also expressed the desire to return on a clearer night.

The observatory is usually open to the public for viewing on the last Friday night of every month. This schedule varies during the winter. The observatory will be open again the last Friday of this month with hopefully clearer skies.