Observatory
Welcome
Calvin boasts access to two fully-equipped observatories, one on Calvin's campus and a robotically-operated telescope in Rehoboth, New Mexico. The central mission of the Calvin University Observatory is educational, and the telescopes are used by students at all levels from first year non-science majors to fourth year physics majors.
With our telescopes, we can see fascinating objects in space and capture them in photographs. See a sample of our photos in the adjacent gallery.
Announcements
April 2019: Calvin physics and astronomy student Michaela Blain was awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarship. This continues a long record of Calvin astronomy students winning this prestigious scholarship (Chris Beaumont 2006 [honorable mention], Melissa Haegert 2008, Luke Leisman 2009). Additionally two other Calvin physics major have been awarded honorable mention (Jacob Lampen 2013, Jackson Ross 2018).
March Highlights
Along with the usual winter constellations, the highlight this March is four planets:
1) Dominating the evening sky is Jupiter, the largest planet, which shows its four large moons and colorful atmospheric belts through the telescope;
2) Nearby is Uranus, the first planet discovered with a telescope;
3) In the East is Mars, just past its opposition and so the closest and brightest it will be all year;
4) Dominating the western sky is Venus, which shows its crescent shape in the telescope.
SPECIAL NOTE: There will be a total lunar eclipse on the night of March 13/14. Partial eclipse begins at 1:09 EDT am and totality runs from 2:26-3:31 am EDT. This is not during observatory open hours, but will be easily seen from any backyard in Grand Rapids, weather permitting.
