Mount Cuba
Astronomical Observatory
Upcoming Programs
(Click on the events tab to make reservations)
Program is FULL Public Night 8PM October 21, 2024 "Tales of the Night Sky"
Family Night 8PM November 1, 2024
Public Night 8PM November 4, 2024 "Cosmology Series 2"
Children's Program 7PM November 9, 2024 "Meteor Showers
Family Night 8PM November 15, 2024
Please register online or email for reservations. All reservations MUST be made by 1PM the day of the event.
Check out the video of the new telescope installation!
Current Astronomical Events
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Atlas Comet- We are currently not holding special viewing for the comet. How to view the comet. Those hoping to spot the comet should venture outside about an hour after sunset on a clear night and look to the west. The comet should be visible from both the northern and southern hemispheres. You may catch a glimpse before October 26th.
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Mini Moon or Asteroid 2024 PT5- This asteroid is only 33 feet long and 9 times farther away than our moon. It is too far to see with the naked eye. And only very large telescopes can view it.
Harcourt Ace Vernon Lecture
Behind his residence on Halsey Street in Brooklyn in the 1920’s, a young high school science student blew up his back yard while experimenting with chemicals. By the 1940’s, he had graduated from MIT with a degree in chemical engineering. As a research engineer for DuPont, he held a leading role in the Manhattan Project. This man was Harcourt C. “Ace” Vernon, the person for whom the Vernon Lecture Series is named.
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When Sputnik was launched in 1957, he gathered a group of friends on the roof of the DuPont Experimental Station. They photographed the satellite and positioned it with an order of magnitude of greater accuracy than the Smithsonian achieved with their multiple telescopes and instruments. This small group of Sputnik trackers added others and founded the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory, Inc.
Harcourt C. “Ace” Vernon was known for his love of learning at the frontiers of science and his desire to invest knowledge in others.
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The Vernon Lectures were established under the sponsorship of Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory in his name to continue his tradition of exploring the frontier of astronomy and physics by bringing outstanding lecturers to ignite the probing interest of young and old alike
The Fall 2024 Vernon Lecture will be held on Sept 10, 2024. Click the Registration button below for more information.