Oberlin College Observatory and Planetarium

Oberlin College Observatory and Planetarium Oberlin College Observatory and Planetarium The Oberlin College Observatory is located atop Peters Hall at the center of Oberlin College campus.

Peters Hall was built in the 1880's and the dome was installed in 1929 along with a Gaertner 6 inch f:15 refractor telescope. We currently have a 14" Meade LX 200 in the dome, and are also capable of deploying a number of telescopes on piers on the observing deck on the south side of the dome. The observatory is actively used for introductory astronomy classes, for individual student projects, by the Oberlin Astronomy Club, and for public viewing sessions.

No, this is not part of the recent release of information about UFO's (UAP's?), but I'm sure that some folks might think...
05/18/2026

No, this is not part of the recent release of information about UFO's (UAP's?), but I'm sure that some folks might think that it's a flying saucer. It is actually M104, the "Sombrero" galaxy which I imaged last night using the Seestar. It's about 28 million light years away and is a nearly edge-on spiral galaxy with a noticeable dust lane. Now, there may be intelligent life there, but I can't prove it.

Nice observing session last night. Thanks to Max Lang for the image of the observatory deck. The other two are of the re...
05/16/2026

Nice observing session last night. Thanks to Max Lang for the image of the observatory deck. The other two are of the relatively nearby galaxies, M81 and M82, and also the cluster of galaxies in Leo which include M95, M96, and M105, along with other dimmer galaxies. We will be open next Saturday (5/23) from 9:30 to 11:30 PM and next Sunday (5/24) from 9:30 to 11:30 PM for Commencement Weekend. Everyone is welcome.

We will be open for public observing tonight (5/15) from 9 to 11 PM.
05/15/2026

We will be open for public observing tonight (5/15) from 9 to 11 PM.

We will be open for public observing tonight, 4/17, from 9 to 11 PM.
04/17/2026

We will be open for public observing tonight, 4/17, from 9 to 11 PM.

The Owl Nebula (M97), a planetary nebula, photographed using our Seestar from the observing deck on Wednesday night. Int...
04/09/2026

The Owl Nebula (M97), a planetary nebula, photographed using our Seestar from the observing deck on Wednesday night. Interestingly, we saw three actual owls fly over the deck a few minutes before this.

Thirty years ago I took this image of comet Hyakutake on color slide film. The roof of our house is at lower right. This...
03/27/2026

Thirty years ago I took this image of comet Hyakutake on color slide film. The roof of our house is at lower right. This was the best comet I had seen up to that time. The Big Dipper is at left, and the Little Dipper just above the head of the comet, with Polaris appearing very near the comet.

03/24/2026

Meteor caught at 4:34 AM today from the Oberlin camera. It's nothing compared to the March 17th event.

We will be open for public observing tonight from 8 to 10 PM. If you get there at 8PM, you'll be able to see Venus and t...
03/20/2026

We will be open for public observing tonight from 8 to 10 PM. If you get there at 8PM, you'll be able to see Venus and the thin waxing crescent Moon. The photo is from August of 2022, but tonight's arrangement will be similar.

Happy Equinox!But remember, if the Earth's axis wasn't tilted, every day would be the equinox.
03/20/2026

Happy Equinox!
But remember, if the Earth's axis wasn't tilted, every day would be the equinox.

Hope you find one if you head over to Medina county.https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1c1UvHX3Mt/
03/19/2026

Hope you find one if you head over to Medina county.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1c1UvHX3Mt/

We might have our FIRST piece of Ohio asteroid confirmed!

Take a look. What do you think?

Roberto Vargas, a meteorite hunter has shared images of a meteorite he found near Cleveland yesterday. This photo shows the space rock exactly as it was found. There may be additional, larger space rocks on the ground in the area. NASA says is possible pieces up to 22 pounds may have survived the break up in our atmosphere. Before the explosion high in the sky this asteroid was rough the size of a small car!

Meteorites are extremely rare to find in Ohio with the ODNR saying only 14 have been confirmed in history. The last was in 36 years ago in 1990!

📸: Roberto Vargas

Address

50 N Professor Street
Oberlin, OH
44074

Telephone

+14407758636

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