SUNY Oneonta College Observatory

Observatory

Location of SUNY Oneonta Observatory at College Camp

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The SUNY Oneonta Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Oneonta, New York, home to the state's largest optical telescope and one of the largest publicly open east of the Mississippi, a one-meter (40 inch) Newtonian reflector constructed by JMI Telescopes of Lakewood, Colorado.

The JMI website quotes the cost of the telescope at $159,000.^[1] The JMI design is more cost-effective than other telescopes because of its dobsonian mount and optical system. SUNY Oneonta acquired the telescope in 2006 for less than $150,000.^[2] After construction of a new dedicated observatory building, the telescope had a "first light" ceremony on May 30, 2009.^[2]

The observatory is located off the main campus of SUNY Oneonta at the Oneonta College Camp, and contains several instruments. There is a 16-inch Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT) and a 14-inch Celestron CGE1400 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, each housed under separate domes and permanently mounted. Also available for observing are two 8-inch Celestron NexStar SCTs, a 10-inch Orion XT10 dobsonian, an 11-inch Celestron CGE1100, and JMI RB-66 reverse binoculars. For data acquisition, students can use a research-grade SBIG STL-1001E CCD imaging system, a high-resolution SBIG spectrograph, and a photoelectric photometer. The college hosts regular public viewing sessions, generally on designated dates once a month year-round.^[2]

References

^ "JMI On-line Catalog 40" New Technology Telescope". JMI Telescopes. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richardson, Denise (2009-05-27). "On the Bright Side: SUNY Oneonta to unveil state's largest optical telescope". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2009-05-31.