Public Invited to View the Night Skies at CMU's Historic Morrison Observatory

Related Media

Photo of Morrison Observatory

FAYETTE, MO (02/23/2011)(readMedia)-- Central Missouri residents are invited to view the universe at any of several guided sessions during March and April at the historic Morrison Observatory operated by Central Methodist University in Fayette. All sessions are free and open to the general public.

The Morrison Observatory will be open from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the following Thursdays: March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 and April 7, 14 and 21.

Central Methodist University Professor of Physics Larry Peery, along with members of the Central Missouri Astronomical Association and CMU students, will conduct the viewing sessions, provide tours and comment on historical highlights of the facility. Hands-on science activities also will be provided in the Observatory classroom. Visitors will be able to use the telescopes for viewing, weather permitting.

The planet Saturn rises shortly about an hour after sunset in March and will be low in the eastern sky during March and April. The best views will be late in the evening. The moon will be visible in the evening sky on March 10, 17 and April 7 and 14. Visitors will also be able to view selected star clusters, double stars and nebula. The Orion nebula is a region where stars are forming and is particularly impressive through a telescope.

The observatory is located on Park Road in Fayette across from the Fayette City Park and swimming pool. It can be reached by taking Besgrove Street west from the intersection of Highways 5 and 240 in Fayette. Go approximately two blocks to Park Road and turn left, and the observatory is on the right a short distance from the turn. For additional information about the observatory, viewing sessions or directions, contact Dr. Larry Peery, director of the observatory, by (preferably) e-mail at lpeery@centralmethodist.edu or by phone at 660-248-6371.

The Morrison Observatory, which is celebrating its 136th anniversary this year, features a 12-inch Clark refractor and a 10-inch reflecting telescope. The observatory was originally located in Glasgow but was acquired by Central Methodist in 1927 and moved to its current location in Fayette in 1935.

Founded in 1854, Central Methodist is the only United Methodist Church-related university in Missouri and welcomes qualified men and women of all faiths and from diverse backgrounds. Its wooded, historic campus hosts a faculty of teachers, mentors, and scholars dedicated to providing extraordinary attention to the individual learner. With offerings ranging from high-school dual credit to graduate studies and a total enrollment in excess of 5,100, its liberal arts and pre-professional programs are centered on a character core that has twice brought Central Methodist national recognition for its leadership in character education. In recent years the University has attracted significant challenge grants regionally from the Mabee Foundation and nationally from the Kresge Foundation to help build a $15 million Student and Community Center on the academic quadrangle and to fund $5 million in major upgrades to its athletic facilities, and to compete a $5.4 million renovation of a historic campus building.

-- 30 --