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UNH Observatory Fall 2009
Public Sessions


Rich Woolf (staff - far left) with observers at a public session in March of 2006.

Public observing sessions are held on the first and third Saturday of every month.

The following sessions will extend from 8-10 pm :

Saturday September 5th 2009
Saturday September 19th 2009
Saturday October 3rd 2009
Saturday October 17 th 2009
Saturday November 7th 2009
Saturday November 21st 2009
Saturday December 5th 2009
Saturday December 19 th 2009


Click Here for more infortmation on some of the objects that we may have viewed tonight...






All sessions will be at the UNH Observatory and will extend either from 8-10 pm or from 9-11 pm . The observatory is NOT heated (it has a big window in the top of it) so please dress in many layers since you will be standing outside in the middle of the night in a windy field. You'll often catch me wearing a hat in the late spring and early fall since at least 30% of body heat is lost through our noggins! Some other items that you may find useful are bug spray in the summer time and some binoculars if you have them.

These observing sessions are FREE and open to the public (which includes students). However, be advised that we are unable to control the weather at the moment. So if you hear thunder or see snow falling in Durham, there's a good chance there's not going to be a session that night.

These events are great for children, especially first graders and older. Special arrangements can be made for groups to have private viewing sessions at no charge. If you have a group of 8 or more (or a smaller group that really wants a private session), please inquire! During the school year (September through mid- May), Monday through Thursday nights are unavailable as the observatory will be in use by our undergraduate astronomy class

The University of New Hampshire Physic Department's Observatory is located on the outskirts of campus heading towards Woodman Horticultural Farm. If you're on Main St (from the East) or Concord St (from the West) turn onto Mast Rd Ext. Take your first left onto Spinney Lane and fork right at the Spinney Lane/O'Kane Rd intersection to remain on Spinney Lane. Turn into the construction lot on your right and head towards the storage trailers in the Northwestern corner and you'll see the observatory! There is also a page on this site with better directions to the observatory.



For more information email:
unh (dot) observer (at) unh (dot) edu
Or call us at: 603.862.3996

Last updated November 9th 2009

~RSW