The Principia Astronomical Observatory is an observatory located on the campus of Principia College

Principia College

Principia College is a four-year private co-educational liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. The campus sits on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River between Alton and Grafton, located about thirty miles north of St. Louis. In 1934, Principia College graduated its first class as a full...

, in Elsah, Illinois

Elsah, Illinois

Elsah is a village in Jersey County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. census, the village had a total population of 673. Cyrus Bunting is the the village's current acting mayor.Elsah is a part of the Metro-East region and the St...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The observatory was installed on June 18, 1998. It features a 16 inch mirror and is of a Ritchey-Chretien design. The objective focal length of the telescope is 4000 mm. The control software is by the Telescope Control System written by Dave Harvey of Comsoft Software (of Tucson, AZ). The mirror was ground and certified by Don Loomis, former chief optician at Kitt Peak National Laboratories. The telescope was manufactured by Optomechanics Research.

External links

• Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions covering Principia Astronomical Observatory.
• Official website of the Principia Astronomical Observatory
• Principia Observatory Flickr Page