Mittelman Observatory is proud to announce the opening of the exhibit “Majarra: Exoplanets & Ethnoastronomy” by Eva Bod ’20. Please visit go/majarra.

This exhibit features original art that explores both the new frontier of exoplanet discovery and ethnoastronomical stories of the sky — examining, visualizing, and contextualizing both modern cutting-edge discoveries of new worlds as well as diverse historical and cultural cosmological views of the Universe.

The art project that serves as the foundation for this exhibit has been two years in the making. Creator Eva Bod ’20 was an artist in residence at the Observatory and graduated with a major in Sociology and Anthropology. Eva pursued numerous interdisciplinary opportunities that bridged the humanities and the sciences while at Middlebury.

The online exhibit can now be enjoyed at the link above. The physical exhibit will be opening soon.

Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!

Mittelman Observatory is happy to announce the next edition of the Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series. This aperiodic series will involve occasional astronomy and astronomy-related talks that will often be broad and interdisciplinary in nature.

The next talk will be given virtually by space physicist Edgar Bering (P’13) on Monday, November 9, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Dr. Bering’s talk is entitled “Balloons on Ice: Studying the Aurora in Antarctica”. He is Professor of Physics and Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Houston.

More talk details can be found at go/astrotalks.

And, please note that registration is required for this free webinar at go/astrotalk.

Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series announcements, as well as aperiodic live virtual stargazing event notices, will routinely happen through the Observatory News mailing list at go/observatorynews.

Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!

Mittelman Observatory is happy to announce the beginning of the Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series. This aperiodic series will involve occasional astronomy and astronomy-related talks that will often be broad and interdisciplinary in nature.

The inaugural talk will be given virtually by planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel on Tuesday, September 8, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Dr. Hammel’s talk is entitled “Exploring the Solar System with the James Webb Space Telescope”. She is Vice President of Science for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

This talk is presented in collaboration with the Southern Vermont Astronomy Group.

More talk details can be found at go/astrotalks.

And, please note that registration is required for this free webinar at go/astrotalk.

Mittelman Astronomy Lecture Series announcements will routinely happen through the Observatory News mailing list at go/observatorynews.

Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!

Mittelman Observatory is proud to announce the opening of the exhibit “Through the Telescope: The Observatories of Middlebury College” by Alexandra Izzard ’20. Please visit go/throughthetelescope.

This exhibit explores the history of observatories, and of astronomy, at Middlebury College from the institution’s very beginning through the present day in the chronological context of both institutional history and scientific discovery.

Key highlights of this exhibit include:

• astronomy has been taught at Middlebury since its inception, being a required third-year course when the College opened its doors in 1800;
• the early Laws of Middlebury College have now been made broadly available and accessible online;
• Old Chapel served as the College’s first astronomical observatory upon its opening in 1836;
• the 1937 observatory that once stood on the knoll north of Pearsons Hall served both the College and community for more than 50 years;
• the modern day Mittelman Observatory atop McCardell Bicentennial Hall draws strongly from the tradition and inspiration of 220 years of history of observatories and astronomy at Middlebury.

The historical research project that serves as the foundation for this exhibit has been two years in the making. Creator Alexandra Izzard ’20 graduated Summa Cum Laude and highest honors with a major in the History of Art and Architecture and a minor in Italian. Alexandra pursued numerous interdisciplinary primary research opportunities that bridged the liberal arts and included the sciences while at Middlebury.

The project’s exhibit also features art by Eva Bod ’20 as well as broad collaboration with the Middlebury College Special Collections team and numerous others.

The online exhibit can now be enjoyed at the link above. The physical exhibit will be opening soon.

Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!

While thoughts this time of year often turn to the community gathering atop McCardell Bicentennial Hall on mild summer evenings under dark Vermont skies for stargazing at the Observatory, this coming summer will necessarily be somewhat different.

Mittelman Observatory has been developing a variety of potential programming that may involve live virtual stargazing, skywatching advice, astronomy dispatches, social media, online student exhibits, student astronomical imagery, and perhaps even an astronomy talk. However, the community situation is obviously quite fluid and subject to prevailing directives.

Please visit go/observatorynews to join our Observatory News e-mail list if you would like to be kept abreast of our evolving summer activity plans.

Mittelman Observatory. Because the sky is always open!

Mittelman Observatory requests your participation! The Observatory is embarking on a project to study awareness, knowledge, perceptions, perspectives, and sensibilities of the local Middlebury community about issues related to dark skies, light pollution, and the environment. Please visit go/darkskysurvey to anonymously participate in our 2019 Middlebury Dark Sky Survey.