| Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium | |
|---|---|
 Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium in 2012 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Open |
| Type | Observatory |
| Address | 4600 Sunset Avenue |
| Town or city | Indianapolis, IN |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 39°50′29″N86°10′17″W / 39.84139°N 86.17139°W |
| Groundbreaking | 1953 |
| Completed | October, 1954 |
| Opened | November 5, 1954 |
| Cost | $325,000 |
| Owner | Butler University |
| Height | 50ft |
| Website | |
| www | |
Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium is a part of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 1888, the university built its first observatory when the campus was located on the east side of Indianapolis. The observatory housed a 6-inch (150 mm) telescope that was purchased from the estate of Robert McKim of Madison, Indiana that year. The lens for the telescope was manufactured by Alvan Clark & Sons in 1883 and was originally part of McKim's personal observatory located near his home in Madison.
When the campus moved to the north side of Indianapolis in 1928, the old observatory on the Irvington campus was torn down. The telescope was reconditioned in the 1930s and remounted on the new campus, but sat unused until 1945.
In 1953, benefactor James Irving Holcomb and his wife gave $325,000 for the construction of an observatory as the centennial gift to the university. In October 1954, a 38-inch (970 mm) reflecting telescope was installed by J. W. Fecker, Inc. The telescope was, and still is, the largest in the state of Indiana. The observatory was built on a hill on the north end of the Butler University campus.
The observatory's wooden dome was replaced with its current aluminum dome in the early 1980s. The telescope itself was first refurbished over several years beginning in 1995 by AB Engineering of Fort Wayne, Indiana at a cost of approximately $120,000.
Since then two major upgrades to the observatory have taken place. First, in 2015, the telescope underwent a $425,000 upgrade by Astronomical Consultants and Equipment to greatly improve its optics, operation, and research ability. This upgrade changed the optics of the telescope from an F16 to an F6.3. This change in focal ratio in combination with a new FLI CCD camera increased the effective imaging area of the telescope by a factor of 10, giving the imager a field of view of 18 arcminutes. The telescope can be used remotely by observers from anywhere in the world, alleviating the need to be on campus when conducting research. Research conducted using the Holcomb telescope includes asteroids, eclipsing variable stars, exoplanets, and long period variables in globular star clusters.
Second, In early 2018 the planetarium had its old analog Spitz AP3 star projector replaced with a digital fulldome digital projector. A new Digitarium Kappa projector was installed with more than 4 million pixels onto the dome of the planetarium which gives visitors a fully immersive 3D experience in addition to nicely rendering the night sky. Even more recently, in late 2022, the Kappa projector was replaced with a Digitarium Lamda projector. This new laser-phosphor illumination system provides bright, rich colors and 225% more pixels on the dome than the Kappa. It can show the sky as it was millions of years into the past and future. The new Kappa projector also allows for flight to the Moon and planets, and through and out of the Milky Way galaxy.
Further upgrades include the installation of interactive touch screens in the lobby that allow visitors to explorer the solar system and other information concerning the observatory and space science. Opposite the planetarium and across the lobby, the 50-seat classroom was gutted and renovated during the summer of 2022. The classroom is full mediated and used for both Butler University course instruction, outreach, and special events. The classroom looks out into the Holcomb Gardens and is typically used 35 hours per week. The observatory is now better than ever and the combination of these upgrades provides students, faculty, and visitors with a unique astronomical learning experience that is hard to find elsewhere.
Although the equipment has been upgraded, the observatory building retains its 1950s charm. The lobby has a terrazzo floor with inset zodiac symbols, a star burst chandelier, and tall frosted windows. The telescope retains its classic 1950s look, and riding piggyback on the main telescope is Butler University's first telescope dating back to the 1880s.
The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan, the Adler Planetarium was the first planetarium in the United States. It is part of Chicago's Museum Campus, which includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and The Field Museum. The Planetarium's mission is to inspire exploration and understanding of the universe.
Boyden Observatory is an astronomical research observatory and science education centre located in Maselspoort, 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of the city of Bloemfontein in Free State, South Africa. The observatory is managed by the Physics Department of the University of the Free State (UFS). The Friends of Boyden assist the observatory as a public support group, organising open evenings and protecting its public interest. Boyden also makes use of members of ASSA Bloemfontein Centre, the amateur astronomy club of the city, for presenters and telescope assistants.
Space Place at Carter Observatory is an observatory in Wellington, New Zealand, located at the top of the Wellington Botanic Garden.
The Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, named for astronaut Roger B. Chaffee, was constructed in the early 1960s as part of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. The facility initially featured a 30-foot (9.1 m) plaster dome and a Goto Optics mechanical star projector. Among the planetarium's first shows was "Star of Wonder", an astronomical attempt at an explanation of the Star of Bethlehem. The show received positive reviews in the Grand Rapids area and remained in the Chaffee's catalogue for several years.
UNA Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of North Alabama. It is located in Florence, Alabama (USA). It has 2 telescopes, a Celestron 0.35 m Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. The UNA Planetarium is a 65-seat planetarium with a Spitz A3P projector and East Cost Control Systems controller.
Sommers–Bausch Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Colorado, Boulder on its main campus. The building was initially completed in 1953 and named after Elmer E. Sommers and Carl L. Bausch.
The Yale University Observatory, also known as the Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium, is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Yale University, and maintained for student use. It is located in Farnham Memorial Gardens near the corner of Edwards and Prospect Streets, New Haven, Connecticut.
Chabot Space and Science Center, located in Oakland, California, is a center for learning in Earth and space science, which features interactive exhibits, planetariums, a large screen theater, hands-on activities, and three powerful telescopes.
The Manastash Ridge Observatory (MRO) is an astronomical observatory built in 1972 by the University of Washington. It is located in a remote area approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) west of Ellensburg, Washington, at an altitude of 3930', a longitude of 120.7278 degrees West, and a latitude of +46.9528 degrees, and can be reached by dirt roads from Ellensburg or Selah. The observatory features a 0.75 m (30 in) Ritchey-Chrétien telescope built by Boller and Chivens. Currently, the observatory utilizes an Andor thermo-electrically cooled CCD camera in conjunction with the primary telescope. Initially used for professional and graduate research, the observatory is now used mostly by undergraduate students for instruction and research. For a brief time there was talk of stopping funding for MRO as the University of Washington Astronomy Department focus on the Apache Point Observatory, but funding did continue and MRO is still in use.
Mills Observatory is the first purpose-built public astronomical observatory in the UK, located in Dundee, Scotland. Built in 1935, the observatory is classically styled in sandstone and has a distinctive 7 m dome, which houses a Victorian refracting telescope, a small planetarium, and display areas. The dome is one of two made from papier-mâché to survive in the UK, the other being at the Godlee Observatory.
Fuertes Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the North Campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The observatory was designed by L.P. Burnham, Cornell Professor of Architecture and completed in fall of 1917. It was originally used by the Civil Engineering Department as an instructional field office for navigation and surveying. Today, the observatory is primarily used for public outreach, welcoming over two thousand visitors per year with open houses on clear Friday nights.
WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is an open-source set of applications, data and cloud services, originally created by Microsoft Research but now an open source project hosted on GitHub. The .NET Foundation holds the copyright and the project is managed by the American Astronomical Society and has been supported by grants from the Moore Foundation and National Science Foundation. WWT displays astronomical, earth and planetary data allowing visual navigation through the 3-dimensional (3D) Universe. Users are able to navigate the sky by panning and zooming, or explore the 3D universe from the surface of Earth to past the Cosmic microwave background (CMB), viewing both visual imagery and scientific data about that area and the objects in it. Data is curated from hundreds of different data sources, but its open data nature allows users to explore any third party data that conforms to a WWT supported format. With the rich source of multi-spectral all-sky images it is possible to view the sky in many wavelengths of light. The software utilizes Microsoft's Visual Experience Engine technologies to function. WWT can also be used to visualize arbitrary or abstract data sets and time series data.
The Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory, or AMPO, also known as the Eastern Florida State College Planetarium and Observatory, was an astronomical observatory and planetarium at Eastern Florida State College in Cocoa, Florida. The facility consisted of a planetarium, public observatory, large-screen movie theater, exhibit halls, multi-media classroom and an art gallery.
The Von Braun Astronomical Society is a society of amateur and professional astronomers dedicated to education and public outreach on behalf of astronomy based in Huntsville, Alabama, United States.
The Herrett Center for Arts and Science, located on the main campus of the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, United States, is a museum of anthropology, natural history, astronomy, and art. The museum's collections primarily comprise anthropological artifacts and natural history specimens from the Americas, as well as works of local artists. The Center also houses the Faulkner Planetarium, the Centennial Observatory, a museum store, and a 2900 square foot multi-purpose event space.
Abrams Planetarium is the planetarium on the campus of Michigan State University, Michigan, United States.
Jakarta Planetarium and Observatory is a public planetarium and an observatory, part of the Taman Ismail Marzuki Art and Science Complex in Jakarta, Indonesia. The planetarium is the oldest of the three planetaria in Indonesia. The second planetarium is located in Surabaya, East Java. The third planetarium is located in Kutai, East Kalimantan.
Fiske Planetarium is one of the largest planetariums in the United States, educating the public on astronomy and astrophysics since 1975. They offer a diverse range of fulldome films, live talks, laser and liquid sky music shows, as well as public gatherings for astronomical and NASA-related events. It is a constituent of the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The University of Washington Planetarium is an active planetarium located in the Physics/Astronomy Auditorium on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, WA. The dome is 30 feet in diameter and utilizes six digital projectors to create an interactive display using the Worldwide Telescope planetarium software.
Skinakas Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the eponymous peak of Psiloritis, on the island of Crete, Greece. It is equipped with a 1.3 m modified Ritchey–Chrétien telescope and another 1 m Ritchey–Chrétien, a 0.6 m Cassegrain telescope and a 0.3 m Schmidt–Cassegrain. The telescopes are operated by the University of Crete and the Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas.
| Academics |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | ||
| Athletic facilities | ||
| People | ||
| Structures | ||
| Student life | ||
| History | ||
