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Share+"It's a wonderful thing when the community comes out and uses the facility they helped to build."
JERRY DOBEK
NMC Astronomy instructor
Public Viewing
To commemorate 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, NMC's Rogers Observatory has tripled its public viewing nights, scheduling one each week during the entire year. The International Year of Astronomy marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first astronomical observation through a telescope in 1609. By scheduling the weekly viewings, the observatory is aiming to achieve international objectives such as exposing more people to astronomy.
Students from the NMC Astronomy Club and the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society will alternate hosting the public viewing nights at the observatory. Programming will be different each week. Souvenirs like a "star finder" – map of the sky – will also be available.
The schedule is as follows:
- October: 3, 9, 17, 23, 31, all 8-10 p.m.
- November: 6, 14, 20, 28, all 8-10 p.m.
- December: 4, 12, 18, 26, all 8-10 p.m.
The Rogers Observatory is several miles south of NMC's main campus, at 1753 Birmley Road. (O on Campus Map)