天文台的历史

In August, 1971 Professor Thomas Cupillari ’60 saw an advertisement in the magazine Sky & Telescope; Dave Garroway, a television personality best known for being the original host of the Today Show was selling the telescope and dome that he purchased from Beloit College in 1967. 在当时的总统哈里·K. 小米勒. 以及玛格丽塔·B的支持. Chamberlin, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, he wrote a letter of inquiry to Mr. Garroway. 接着是一连串的信件和电话. 众多个人和组织, 包括史密森学会, 表示有兴趣购买望远镜和穹顶. The Smithsonian Institution wanted to buy it to reunite the lens and finder telescope with the original Warner and Swasey mount. 最终,先生. Garroway, assured that 重点大学 would make the telescope available to students of all ages and the general public, 拒绝了所有其他的邀请，把他的“孩子”卖给了基斯顿学院. 1971年秋天, the dome and telescope were dismantled and transported to 重点大学 and placed in storage.

穹顶的安装

捐献给1972年年度基金, 包括斯克兰顿地区基金会的资助, and several supportive individuals helped to make possible the installation of the dome and telescope, 以及主楼的建设. A grant from the National Science Foundation financed the purchase of a spectroscope, 施密特照相机, 还有光度计. In the spring of 1973 the observatory was dedicated and public lectures and viewing sessions began in July of that year.

天文台向公众开放

The astronomy observatory at 重点大学 was officially dedicated and opened to the public on Sunday, 5月20日, 1973, 一个下雨的, 多云的一天. There was a brief ceremony that included remarks by President Harry K. 小米勒. 以及60岁的天文台主任托马斯·库皮拉里. 菲利普·里格斯教授, a teacher and mentor to Professor Cupillari when he was a graduate student at Drake University, 做了简短的演讲. Among the guests were representatives of the Scranton Area Foundation that helped fund the founding of the observatory. This dedication initiated the status of the observatory as a facility for both the college and the public. The observing session for that evening was postponed and later held on Tuesday, May 22, 1973.

公共节目开始

Regularly scheduled public programming began in July that year and has been a central part of the mission of the observatory ever since. Students in astronomy and physics courses began using the facility that September, and on occasion students in history and 19th century literature also made visits to the observatory. At the same time a cooperative effort with the Lackawanna Astronomical Society (LAS) was instituted, and a relationship was created that is still going strong after 36 years.

除了讲座和观察会议, 哪个流行得很快, 来自Keystone和其他当地学校的学生, and the members of LAS began engaging in projects involving photography, 光度法, 和天体测量学.

重新奉献为托马斯G. Cupillari ' 60天文台

9月22日, 2000, President Boehm and the Board of Trustees rededicated the facility as the Thomas G. Cupillari ' 60天文台 (TGCO) in honor of the founding and current director. In attendance with the college community was 重点大学 former president, Harry K. 米勒,小.

施密特卡塞格林望远镜已购

In 2002 the 天文台 purchased and installed a ten-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope which was portable and later mounted permanently in the new building once it was completed. Funded by former student Frank 棕色（的） ’68, in memory of his mother, Marian L. 棕色（的）. 她曾是美国海军天文台的图书管理员. 棕色（的） had been a supporter of the observatory at its inception in 1973. The family’s gift in her memory paid for the Meade LX 200 telescope, and there is currently a small plaque mounted on the telescope designating it as the Marian L. 棕色的望远镜.

三期工程开始

第一阶段

Also in 2002 a three-phase project was formulated and presented to President Boehm. 在他的帮助和支持下，一项计划得以实施.

In 2003 a grant from the Margaret Briggs Foundation funded phase one, 该建筑在天文台结构的基础上增加了一个10英尺乘40英尺的建筑, 以及内部空间的全面翻新. The project was completed just in time for the approach of Mars to Earth. Less than 35 million miles away, it was the closest approach ever in recorded history. 在八月的四个晚上, 2008 people visited the observatory to view Mars through our telescopes. With a total 5700 people visiting the observatory that year, 2003 became a banner year.

第二阶段

第二阶段是建造一座带有滚动式屋顶的新建筑, 可容纳两个望远镜, 2005年底开始, 并于2006年初完工.

第三阶段

Purchasing and installing a Ritchey-Chretien type telescope that had a 20 inch diameter mirror, 开始了项目的第三阶段. This type telescope is a variation of the Cassegrain type telescope, 在八月, 2007年与RC光学系统公司签订了一份订单, 旗杆, 亚利桑那州. The telescope that took more thane one year to be fabricated was delivered in September, 2008年10月安装完毕, 2008.

完成

On May 9, 2009, the telescope was dedicated, marking the completion of phase three. 购买这个望远镜, RC 20, was made possible only with the cooperation and support of individuals and organizations from then community such as: the Scranton Area Foundation, 罗伯特·莫法特基金会, Schautz基金会, 以及波士顿基金会的戴夫·加罗威基金.

2011年，天文台又增加了一台完全电脑化的望远镜, 塞莱斯特隆制造的11英寸的卡塞格伦式.

研究项目

In October 2012 the observatory entered into two research initiatives. One is a cooperative effort with The Lowell 天文台 in 旗杆, 亚利桑那州. This work centers on making precise measurements of positions of small, 黑暗, 冰冷的对象, 在海王星的轨道之外.

The second initiative has TGCO becoming part of a large network of all-sky cameras around the country. 该网络由新墨西哥州立大学协调, (NMSU), 在桑迪亚国家实验室的支持下. The all-sky camera monitors the night sky with a 360 degree view and records meteors and fireballs. The images are analyzed with an on-site computer; the images and data are then sent to NMSU where they are further analyzed, 存档并提供给网络的所有成员.

到目前为止，托马斯G. Cupillari ’60 – Astronomical 天文台 has had nearly 90,000 visitors.