Please join IU South Bend faculty and student hosts for all-ages educational programming designed as preparation for the April 8th, 2024, solar eclipse (link to NASA’s eclipse site). These events are free, open to the public, and all are welcome! These are intended to be fun yet educational and structured so that attendees have… Read more »
Meet the Stars
Meet the “Stars” Event
Details: The IUSB Observatory will be open, weather permitting, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15. Two of the best object for visual observing, Saturn and Jupiter, are in the evening sky these days, and we’ll be slewing the telescope back and forth between them, with maybe a short detour to Uranus, during this event…. Read more »
2023 Adams’ Night at the Observatory
Physics faculty members Jerry Hinnefeld and Henry Scott hosted the Adams High School Science Department Chair, Matthew McQueen, and students from two of his Fall 2023 astronomy classes, for a special Meet the Stars event at the IUSB Observatory on Monday, October 16th. There were over twenty people in the Adams group, including some parents… Read more »
Prof. Davis Interviewed by ABC57 Regarding August Fireball Over Kentucky
Professor Davis was interviewed by ABC57’s Gordy Young about meteors and, more specifically, the fireball that was observed on August 2nd in Kentucky. Here’s a direct link to the clip: https://abc57.com/news
“New” Telescope Acquired by Department
The department received a generous donation of an 11″ Scmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT), manufactured by Celestron, from a community member last week. It’s an older model, but it has a motorized drive, and the primary mirror is in excellent shape. This won’t replace the 16″ telescope in our rooftop observatory, but we’re excited about new possibilities… Read more »
Prof. Davis Interviewed by ABC57 Regarding Recent James Webb Telescope Findings
Prof. Brian Davis was interviewed on July 9th by Emmet Twomey for ABC57 regarding recent discoveries by the James Webb Telescope; here’s a direct link to the interview hosted by abc57.com.
Successful Meet the Stars Event on April 19th
Several Physics Club members along with Prof. Hinnefeld hosted a fun MTS event on Wednesday, April 12th. Club member/ finance major / photography buff Nick Muraya used a 1980s-era Polaroid Sun 600 LMS to get a great group photo.
MTS Event: Wednesday, April 12th (Venus, Mars, and Stars!)
CURRENT STATUS: Conditions for the 12th are looking good! Details: The IUSB Observatory will be open, weather permitting, from 8:30-10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12th. Venus will still be high enough to view with the telescope at 8:30. Then we’ll have a look at Mars, and then a variety of star clusters and maybe a… Read more »
Green Comet
I braved the cold Tuesday night (11F when I finished at 10 pm) to get a few photos of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from the IUSB Observatory, using our color CCD camera and the 90 mm aperture refractor. The field of view is too small to see the tail — about a quarter of a… Read more »
Orion Nebula
I had hoped to capture an image of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) during the brief break in the clouds on Jan. 23, but it was too low in the sky — barely 10 deg above the horizon. Instead, I took a few photos of the Orion Nebula. The photo below was taken with our Atik… Read more »