Collins Observatory

at

Salem State College

Lat: 42.52N, Lon: 70.9W

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Observatory Status:
Observatory status was last updated on 5/24/2010 at 2:34 PM.

Status of Public Observing:

The observatory is now closed for the summer. We plan to reopen on Monday, September 13, 2010.

Please contact nsaac.org for any star party requests involving the observatory.

Please check back on this site for any changes or updates.

Collins Observatory is normally open on CLEAR, or MOSTLY CLEAR Mondays from 7-10 PM. We're open during the school year from September to May, and are closed on school holidays and when the school is on vacation.

The observatory now houses a Meade 12-inch LX-200 ACF telescope, which does fairly well in the light polluted skies over Salem.

Please call the observatory at 978-542-6452, if you're coming from a distance, as the weather is a bit unstable this close to the ocean.

Notes:
What's up tonight?

Venus is now easily to observe in the western sky just after sunset.

Mars is a still fading as it moves away from the Earth. It's easily seen in binoculars, but takes high power and a telescope to make out any detail now.

Saturn is now the gem in the evening sky and looks stunning. You can see its moons even with a small telescope.

The constellation Leo is still fairly well placed in the evening now for some nice views of galaxies.

The summer constellations are coming into view, and should offer some nice views in binoculars and telescopes..