The Hirsch Observatory is an astronomical observatory

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...

 (RPI) in Troy

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. It is located on the roof of the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center (seen below) and is used by members of the Rensselaer Astrophysical Society as well as astronomy students in laboratory exercises. It is frequently opened to the community for public viewing sessions. The observatory's main dome contains a 16" Cassegrain Reflector, with a CCD camera and fully computerized controls. The observatory also owns a variety of smaller scopes and a SBIG Spectrograph. The spectrograph has been used to catalog bright solar spectrum as part of an effort to create an online digital database for astrophysical research. The current director of the observatory is Professor Heidi Newberg

Heidi Jo Newberg

Heidi Jo Newberg is an American astrophysicist known for her work in understanding the structure of our Milky Way galaxy...

.

History

The Hirsch observatory finished construction in 1942. It was built to house a 12" equatorial reflector designed and constructed at RPI. The telescope appeared on the cover of the October 1942 issue of Sky & Telescope

Sky & Telescope

Sky & Telescope is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:*current events in astronomy and space exploration;*events in the amateur astronomy community;...

 magazine. Today the instrument is still operational and is stored on display in the lobby of the observatory. In 1980 the General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 company donated the Boller and Chivens

Boller and Chivens

Boller and Chivens was an American manufacturer of high-quality telescopes and spectrographs founded about 1946 by Harry B. Boller and Clyde C. Chivens . Headquartered in South Pasadena, California, the company was acquired in 1965 by Perkin-Elmer...

 16" Cassegrain telescope

Cassegrain reflector

The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas....

. The observatory was expanded and rededicated to celebrate the event. Then, in 1983 the observatory (reduced in size and scope) was moved to the roof of the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center to make room for construction of the Low Center for Industrial Innovation. The observatory was renamed the Hirsch Observatory, in honor of David Hirsch, Class of 1965 and Rensselaer Trustee, who donated money for the renovation. During 2006 there was a $70,000 refurbishment, in which the control system and electronics were revamped and the telescope optics collimated

Collimated light

Collimated light is light whose rays are parallel, and therefore will spread slowly as it propagates. The word is related to "collinear" and implies light that does not disperse with distance , or that will disperse minimally...

. The institute considered replacing the telescope with a new one, but decided not to, because the older scope is very robust and is much heavier and stable than newer scopes.

See also

• List of astronomical observatories
• :Category:Astronomical observatories in New York

External links

• Observatory Website
• Rensselaer Astrophysical Society
• Hirsch Observatory Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions.