Telescope Will Provide Close-up Views of the Moon, Planets, Stars and Galaxies
Image by Edwin L. Aguirre
From left, Physics Assoc. Prof. Silas Laycock and Kennedy College of Sciences Dean Noureddine Melikechi go over the observatory plans with Facilities Senior Project Manager for Construction Thomas Weber.
09/11/2019
By Edwin L. Aguirre
Students will get a chance to embark on a visual tour of our solar system and beyond when a new astronomical observatory opens on South Campus this fall.
The facility, which is scheduled to be completed by mid-November, will feature a Celestron 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a heavy-duty computerized mount. It will provide high-resolution views of the craters and lava plains on the moon, the satellites of Jupiter and its cloud belts and the rings of Saturn, as well as star clusters, galaxies and nebulae light-years away.
鈥淭his will help students interested in physics, as well as non-science majors and the public, in learning more about the secrets that the sky keeps in its vast stretch,鈥� says Prof. Noureddine Melikechi, dean of the Kennedy College of Sciences.
The telescope will be housed in a 7-foot-high cylindrical building topped with a shiny metal dome manufactured by Ash-Dome, a leading supplier of domes used in professional and private observatories worldwide. The motorized dome measures 16陆 feet in diameter and weighs about 3,200 pounds.
Image by Edwin L. Aguirre
The photo shows the excavation site for the foundation of the Schueller Observatory, which is located on one corner of Riverview Field on South Campus along Pawtucket St., near the Lowell Humane Society animal shelter.
Physics majors and students taking introductory astronomy classes will be able to use the telescope to conduct observations, lab exercises and capstone projects, while graduate students can use it to do research in the areas of imaging, spectroscopy, photometry and astrometry, Laycock says.
鈥淭hey can use the telescope to gain hands-on experience before they go out and work in professional observatories,鈥� he says.
There are also plans to hold free public viewing on South Campus once a month. 鈥淭he observatory can accommodate about a half dozen people at a time, and it is wheelchair-accessible,鈥� notes Laycock, who leads the department鈥檚 astronomy outreach programs, including the Astronomy Roadshow for schoolchildren in Les Cayes, Haiti.
鈥淲e plan to invite schools, libraries and clubs in Lowell and neighboring communities to join our stargazing sessions. Physics students will be on hand to give talks and answer questions,鈥� he says.
Image by Ash Manufacturing Company
The facility will be named Schueller Observatory, in memory of Richard L. Schueller 鈥�86, an avid amateur astronomer who used to observe with the Celestron telescope from his backyard observatory in Chelmsford.
After earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in physics from the then-University of Lowell in 1986, Schueller went on to become a successful research scientist, consultant and inventor, with six U.S. patents to his credit and seven more currently in the approval process. Schueller succumbed to brain cancer in 2015. According to his obituary, he was a 鈥渄edicated member of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society, [and was] instrumental in the organization's Educational Outreach program, especially for the placement and support of hundreds of telescopes in public libraries throughout New England.鈥�
Schueller鈥檚 widow, Susan, whom he first met at ULowell in 1983, donated the Celestron telescope and mount to the university. Construction of the observatory building is being funded by the Physics Department, the Kennedy College of Sciences and 51视频.
鈥淚 thank the Schuellers for the generous donation and the university leadership for their support of this effort,鈥� says Melikechi.