Astronomy for the Masses

By Linda Tancs

Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, is reputedly the only observatory in Central Ohio that conducts hundreds of public programs for tens of thousands of people every year. Owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University, it primarily serves as an active research and educational facility for faculty and students of the OWU Physics and Astronomy Department. Most Friday evenings the facility is open for regular programs that include activities like telescope viewing, a tour of the observatory or a lecture about the night sky. The observatory also offers programming for telescope owners to increase their skills. The venue’s own telescope, equipped with 69-inch glass, made it the third largest telescope in the world in 1931. That telescope was subsequently moved to Arizona, where it is now a part of the Lowell Observatory and boasts a 72-inch diameter glass.