Links
Next open house: Oct. 21
We are planning to have an open house on Saturday, October 21, weather-permitting.
If we decide the weather is a 'go' then we'll have a talk beforehand.
See the
Open Houses link for more
information on past, current, and future open houses.
Rice University Campus Observatory [RUCO]
About the Observatory
Operated by the
Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Rice University Campus Observatory
(RUCO) features a computerized 16" Meade telescope, and several smaller
telescopes for use primarily in undergraduate courses at Rice.
RUCO is situated on the a terrace on the eastern side of the roof
of the Brockman Hall of Physics on campus. The observatory moved to this location early in 2011 and is
in full operation. During the Academic Year (Sept through May) we typically hold open houses
sometime during the weekend near the first quarter Moon, with a faculty member present
to answer questions on astronomy. RUCO is normally closed during the summer months.
Please refer to our schedule of open houses for dates and times.
Classes which make use of the observatory include
- Astr 101: Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe, an introductory astronomy course for non-majors
- Astr 102: Exploration of the Solar System, an introductory class in planetary science for non-science majors
- Astr 230: Astronomy Lab, the primary course for Astronomy majors and others to learn
to use a research caliber telescope and equipment including spectrometers and
CCD imagers. Students in Astr 230 also learn advanced image processing
techniques which they use to analyze data taken with RUCO and McDonald Observatory telescopes
to do a final research project.
- Upper level courses may also make use of RUCO
throughout the semester. Complete descriptions of the courses can be
found here.
- We also offer special courses for teachers that use the observatory:
ASTR502, ASTR503, and ASTR530.
The observatory is guided by a committee of faculty with Professor
Patrick Hartigan as its chair.
More Information
For more information about astronomy at Rice please refer to
the Physics and Astronomy Department home page.
Additional space-related events of interest to the public can be
found on the Rice Space Institute page.