Astronomy

Yes, you heard us right - we have star parties! Star parties are events where we gather on the roof of Boyer Hall to stargaze and socialize. Peer through the large 11-inch telescope in the observatory and the advanced smart telescope outside on the roof and see planets, moon, galaxies, and nebulae like never before.

Direction to Boyer Hall roof: take the elevator to the 3rd floor and take the nearest staircase to the roof.

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Currently in use:

• Celestron Edge HD 11 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
• Celestron CGX-L Computerized German Equatorial Mount
• ZWO ASI 294MC Pro Cooled Astronomy Camera
• ZWO ASI 482MC Planetary Astronomy Camera
• A suite of high-quality Televue eyepieces
• Unistellar EVSCOPE 2

• Old Astronomy Courses at Arcadia
  • In 1869, a single semester astronomy course was required for seniors.
  • In 1898, 3 semesters of astronomy were required across the 4-year program in physical science.
• Dr. Stephen Huber - physics professor at AU, built the Observatory in 1987, established active student research in astronomy.
• Frontiers in Astronomy Course (PH224) - offered year-round, fall, spring and summer.
• Observatory Comeback in 2021 - open to the public again!
• Astronomy Club
  • Sky High used to be called the Arcadia Astronomical Society.
  • Club was reactivated in Fall 2022 and grew to over 30 members.
• ITC Grants provided funding for new Observatory equipment.
• GFS Class "Land, Sea and Stars of Hawaii" will run in Spring 2024. Stay tuned for amazing images from Mauna Kea.
• New course in spring 2024. Observational Astronomy (PH235).

ASTRO stands for Arcadia Student Transformed Remote Observatory.

Our students have been working on the Capstone project to automate the Dome and Telescope image capturing to the point that people would be able to view the live, real-time video stream!