Rice University Campus Observatory
Location || Open House
Information
Weather || Telescope
Schedule/Reservations || Links
About the Observatory
The Rice Campus Observatory (RUCO) is used primarily as a teaching
facility for undergraduate education. Classes which make use of
the observatory include Astr 201: Stars,
Galaxies, and the Universe and Astr 202: Exploration of the
Solar System, both introductory classes for non-science majors; Astr 221: Observing
the Night Sky, a new lab class for students in all academic
programs; and Astr
230: Astronomy Lab, the primary course for Astronomy majors and
others to learn to use a research calibre telescope and equipment
including spectrometers and CCD imagers. Students in Astr 230
also learn advanced image processing techniques such as IRAF which they
use on data taken at the campus observatory to do a final research
project. Complete descriptions of the courses can be found here.
Observatory Location
RUCO is located on the north side of campus, to the west of the North
Parking Lot and on the north side of the intrmural fields. It is
most easily accessible from entrance 13 off of Rice Blvd.
|
The location on campus marked with a red dot. Please
Note: There is a charge to use the visitor parking at Entrance 13,
payable by credit card only. For major events this parking may fill up,
but visitors can then use the Stadium parking lot about a half mile
away. The Campus shuttle bus services the Stadium lot; ask the driver
to direct you to the closest stop to the observatory. Note,
all campus shuttles stop running at 10:40 pm, so keep this in mind when
planning your trip. |
The map is taken from the Rice Univeristy Campus Parking Map,
which is an interactive map you may wish to consult if you are driving
to campus. The only free parking for non-Rice visitors is
available on the west side of the football stadium, quite a distance
from the observatory.
Open Houses
The next open house Friday, June 25, 2004 from 9 - 11 pm CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN
General: Approximately once a month we have public viewing open
houses on a weekend night near first quarter moon. The dates for these
are posted at this website approximately two weeks in advance. During
special astronomical events we may also have special public viewing
sessions. The times for open houses depend on local sunset times, but
generally start about an hour after sunset and go on for 2-3 hours
thereafter. During summer months, when school is not in session, we
might have additional open houses. During mid-November through
mid-February we suspend open houses due to the combination of bad
weather and holidays. Reservations for special nights by groups or for
during scheduled open houses are not practical given our limited staff,
so viewing through the 16 inch telescope is done on a "first-come,
first-served" basis (sign-up sheets during high attendance nights).
School groups interested in seeing an astronomical observatory and
looking through telescopes should contact the George Observatory in
Brazos Bend State Park (281-242-3055), which is a larger facility
dedicated to serving schools in the Houston area, and one which has
weekly public viewing on Saturdays.
Fees: Unless specifically noted as Rice only or private above,
the open houses are available to anyone. Aside from parking described
above, there is no fee to attend the observatory open house.
Notes on Telescopes: The best views of planets, stars clusters
and nebulae are with our computerized 16 inch telescope inside the
dome, but we can only accommodate about 60 people an hour looking
through it and on busy nights a sign-up system is employed. However, in
addition to this telescope, there will be 2-3 (or more) smaller
telescopes set up in the parking lot for viewing. These smaller
telescopes do not require sign in. Our experience has been that the
large telescope is able to see planets and the Moon well through thin
clouds, and if it is clear we get good views from the smaller portable
scopes as well. When the Moon is out, we will get some wonderful
resolution with all the telescopes. If you have small children
(i.e., less than about 7 years old, we recommend that they use the
telescopes set up in the parking lot. The wait to see through these
telescopes is much shorter than for the telescope in the dome, and
small children are rarely able to discern any more detail through the
large telescope. The Moon is probably the ideal target for
children, as it is bright and easy to see.
Weather
Houston is plagued by poor weather much of the time. On the nights of
the observatory open houses, check back here around sunset or later to
make sure it will not be cancelled due to clouds. If it is raining, or
has rained significantly during the afternoon, the observatory will be
closed.
More Information
For more information about astronomy and space science at Rice please
refer to our research
pages and our
course listings Additional space-related events of interest to the
public can be found on the Rice Space
Institute home page.
Telescope Schedule/Reservations
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- January 20-23 (Tu-F; ~8-10PM) Astronomy 202 class (D.
Alexander).
- February 2-5, 9-12, 16-20 (M-F; dusk+) Astronomy 230 lab
(C. Johns-Krull).
- February 24-26 (Tu-Th; dusk-midnight) Astronomy 403 lab (P.
Reiff).
- March 10, 11, 14, and 15 (dusk-midnight) Astronomy 230 lab
(C. Johns-Krull).
- March 19 (F; ~7-9PM) P&A Department graduate student
recruits (R. Dufour).
- April 23,25,26 (F,Sa,Su; dusk+) Dr. David Alexander
(private)
- May 1-2 (Sa-Su; dusk+) SPAC reunion activities.
|
Authorized users can send email to rjd@rice.edu to get put on the
observatory schedule. |
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Department of Physics & Astronomy - MS 61, Rice University, 6100
Main Street, Houston, TX 77005-1892
Office: 713-348-4938 Fax:713-348-4150 physics@rice.edu
people have accessed to this page since April 15, 2004.