Public Astronomy Observations
Observation Schedule Spring 2023
Sunday, January 22, 2023, 6pm - 8pm, Conjunction of Venus and Saturn
Free public astronomy observation at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Physics and Applied Physics Astronomy Observation Deck, located on the roof of the Neckers building. Join SIU Physics and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois for an evening of guided telescopic observations of the night sky. Starting at 6pm, Saturn and Venus will be visible low on the south west horizon. The close conjunction of the planets brings them within half a degree from each other this evening and will result in them being visible in the same field of view through a telescope. Venus and Saturn will only be visible for the first 15 minutes of the observation. Jupiter, Mars as well as deep sky objects such as the Great Orion Nebula and our nearest neighbor galaxy, Andromeda will also be visible.
Children accompanied by adults are welcome. Dress weather appropriate for this outdoor viewing. Please note that the observation deck is not handicap accessible and is only accessible via stairs. Note that while this is an outdoor activity, you may be in close proximity to people throughout the evening. Masks for this event are optional.
All observations are weather dependent. For more information, visit https://physics.siu.edu/events/astronomy.php.
Sunday, February 19, 2023. 6:30pm-8pm.
Free public astronomy observation at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Physics and Applied Physics Astronomy Observation Deck, located on the roof of the Neckers building. Join SIU Physics and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois for an evening of guided telescopic observations of the night sky. Starting at 6:30pm, Venus will be visible low on the south west horizon. Venus will only be visible for the first 15 minutes of the observation. Jupiter, Mars as well as deep sky objects such as the Great Orion Nebula and our nearest neighbor galaxy, Andromeda will also be visible.
Children accompanied by adults are welcome. Dress weather appropriate for this outdoor viewing. Please note that the observation deck is not handicap accessible and is only accessible via stairs. Note that while this is an outdoor activity, you may be in close proximity to people throughout the evening. Masks for this event are optional.
All observations are weather dependent. For more information, visit https://physics.siu.edu/events/astronomy.php.
Sunday, March 26, 2023. 8:30pm-10:30pm.
Free public astronomy observation at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Physics and Applied Physics Astronomy Observation Deck, located on the roof of the Neckers building. Join SIU Physics and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois for an evening of guided telescopic observations of the night sky. Visible this evening: the Moon, Mars as well as deep sky objects such as the Great Orion Nebula. The Moon’s phase will be at 31% this evening, providing excellent viewing of the Moon due to high contrast of shadows cast across the Moon’s features.
Children accompanied by adults are welcome. Dress weather appropriate for this outdoor viewing. Please note that the observation deck is not handicap accessible and is only accessible via stairs. Note that while this is an outdoor activity, you may be in close proximity to people throughout the evening. Masks for this event are optional.
All observations are weather dependent. For more information, visit https://physics.siu.edu/events/astronomy.php.
Wednesday, April 19, 8:30pm – 12am Australian Total Solar Eclipse Watch Party
Free public Australian Total Solar Eclipse watch party at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Physics and Applied Physics, Neckers building Room 440. Join SIU Physics and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois for an evening of live streams from Exmouth, WA, Australia. Australia will see just over a minute of totality for this eclipse.
https://physics.siu.edu/events/astronomy.php.
Saturday, May 6, 2023, 9pm – 10:30pm
Free public astronomy observation at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, School of Physics and Applied Physics Astronomy Observation Deck, located on the roof of the Neckers building. Join SIU Physics and the Astronomical Association of Southern Illinois for an evening of guided telescopic observations of the night sky. Visible this evening: Deep sky objects including M57 (Ring Nebula) and M13 (Globular Cluster)
Children accompanied by adults are welcome. Please note that the observation deck is not handicap accessible and is only accessible via stairs. Note that while this is an outdoor activity, you may be in close proximity to people throughout the evening. Masks for this event are optional.
All observations are weather dependent. For more information, visit https://physics.siu.edu/events/astronomy.php.
Observation Deck and Telescopes
The observation deck is 624 square feet in size. It is built out of 2" thick rubber matting for vibration isolation. The primary telescope is a 14" Meade LX600. This computer guided telescope is used for all observation events as well as the lab portion of PHYS 103 (Astronomy). Several additional scopes are setup for observations as needed including Celestron 8" SCTs, a Coronado SolarMax II, and a Stellarvue SV105 Raptor (105mm refractor).
What Can You See?
The most spectacular viewing is of the Moon and major planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mars. On clear nights, you can easily see the rings of Saturn and detailed striations on Jupiter. Brighter objects such as the Great Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy and several clusters are also visible visually.
Dimmer deep sky objects are typically only visible during evenings with low humidity and not much cloud cover. On select night, deep sky cameras are utilized to display images of objects otherwise not visible though visual observations.
Bringing a Group to aPublic Observation
Groups in excess of 10 visitors should contact rbaer@siu.edu in advance of your visit to insure adequate space for your group.
Previous Event Photos
Mars Opposition Star Party 2018. Star party at the SIU Farms for the Mars Opposition. See photos of the event on Bob Baer's Flickr photo stream.
Eclipse 2017 at SIU Carbondale. Southern Illinois University Carbondale hosted 30,000+ visitors to campus August 18 - 21, 2017 for four days of eclipse theme events capped off by Eclipse Day at Saluki Stadium. If you missed this, you'll want to mark your calendars for the next total solar eclipse to pass through Carbondale on April 8, 2024. Check out the photos at: eclipse.siu.edu