Over the past few years, George Mason University has been in the midst of an extensive renovation that has not only changed its physical foundations, but has enhanced its alluring qualities. One of these enhancements reaches to the galaxy and beyond in the form of an observatory located in the brand new Research 1 building located behind Enterprise Hall.

Hosted by Mason’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, observing sessions, which will be open to all Mason students, faculty and the interested public, will begin on Sept. 10 and continue through November. The sessions will include the use of a 12 inch computer controlled Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that was partially obtained through generous donations from Mason faculty. Dr. Joe Weingartner and Dr. Harold Geller of the physics department will be leading the 1.5 hour sessions.

“During the observing sessions we have now, we will allow people to observe directly through the eyepiece of either our 12" diameter reflector or our old 6" diameter refractor,” said Dr. Geller.

The “old” telescope was built by Mason students in 1975 for the very first observatory on Mason’s campus. This observatory was located where the Field House is presently, although at the time it was a pig shed. When the pig shed was torn down to make way for the Field House, the observatory was rebuilt in the athletic fields. Unfortunately, the observatory was a constant victim to vandalism, causing it to be torn down within two years.

Now, with a brand new observatory and telescope, the physics and astronomy departments are looking to expand as much as possible. Part of this expansion includes an even newer, bigger telescope to debut in 2008. After it is installed, Mason will officially have the largest telescope of regional universities, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia. “The new telescope will have a mirror that is 32 inches in diameter,” said Dr. Geller. “The larger diameter mirror and accompanying CCD (digital camera) should allow us to take pictures of galaxies far from our own Milky Way galaxy.”

So what can a visiting observer expect to see on a typical observing session? “You can see the banded structure of Jupiter, as well as its four brightest moons,” said Dr. Weingartner. “Saturn's rings are always fun. Other possibilities include clusters of stars and other galaxies.”

The observatory will not only be limited to use by the Mason community. There will be public night observing sessions opened to people outside of Mason, school observing and planetarium sessions, summer science camps and mentorship of local high school students.

“We want to bring together students from different schools with a common interest in physics and astronomy,” says Dr. Weingartner. “Hopefully we'll have a lot of fun and learn a lot of science.”

For more information on the observatory and upcoming sessions, click here.