The next open house will be near the "Ides of March" -- Friday, March 14th (with Saturday, the 15th as a bad weather backup. The hours will be from 8:00 pm to 10pm (continuing longer if observing demand is high) CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME. Spring is the best time for many objects, and this year Mars, Saturn, the first quarter moon, the Great Orion Nebula, and the famous Andromeda Galaxy will all be well placed in the sky for observing. Mark your calendar now!!
General Information: Several times during the semester we have public viewing open houses on a weekend night near first quarter moon. The dates for these are posted at this website at least two weeks in advance. Our open houses are hosted by a faculty member in the Physics and Astronomy Department, so bring your astronomical questions with you! When special astronomical events occur we may also have 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 may or may not have additional open houses.
Reservations for special nights by groups 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 free and open to the public. Some Rice lots charge a nominal fee for parking.
Getting the Most Out of Your Visit: 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 strongly recommend that they use only 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 additonal detail through the large telescope. To see through the 16-inch, small children must be lifted up, and because the telescope cannot be touched during observation, it is extremely difficult to place the child's eye at the right distance from the eyepiece, even if the child was accustomed to looking through an eyepiece, which most are not. In contrast, the smaller telescopes offer a more controlled environment closer to the ground, and provide particularly good views of the Moon, which is probably the ideal target for children, as it is bright and easy to see.