| SUNY Oneonta College Observatory | |||||||||||
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| Organization | State University of New York at Oneonta | ||||||||||
| Location | Oneonta, New York (USA) | ||||||||||
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The SUNY Oneonta College Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Oneonta, New York. The observatory is home to the largest optical telescope in New York: a 1 meter (40 inch) Newtonian reflector. It is also believed to be the largest telescope regularly open to the public east of the Mississippi. The telescope was constructed by JMI Telescopes of Lakewood, Colorado.
The JMI website quotes the cost of the telescope at $159,000.[1] The JMI design is more cost-effective than other telescopes because of its dobsonian mount and optical system. SUNY Oneonta acquired the telescope in 2006 for less than $150,000.[2] After construction of a new dedicated observatory building, the telescope had a "first light" ceremony on May 30, 2009.[2]
The observatory is located off the main campus of SUNY Oneonta at the Oneonta College Camp, and contains several domes. There is a 16-inch Schmidt-Cassagrain telescope and a computer controlled 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, each housed under separate domes. Also present is a research-grade CCD imaging system, an 8-inch Schmidt camera, photoelectric photometers, an image intensifier, and a darkroom with film hypersensitization facilities.[3] The college hosts regular public viewing sessions, generally on designated Fridays twice a month during the fall and spring terms.[2]