Observatory

Our on-campus observatory offers the campus community and beyond hands-on learning opportunities and access to the celestial wonders.

Welcome to Our Observatory

At most schools, students majoring in astronomy and astrophysics have to leave campus to observe the night sky. But not at Widener.

Our Main Campus in Chester is home to an observatory for viewing the planets, stars, nebulae, clusters, galaxies, and more. Through our 16-inch computerized Meade Cassegrain reflecting telescope and several, smaller, 12-inch telescopes, you will gain hands-on experiences and get up-close-and-personal with all-things interstellar.

Our observatory is also a wonderful community resource. It's used by area school children and community groups, and is open to the public for stargazing sessions during the academic year.

Public Stargazing

Friends of the Widener Observatory:

To reduce the risks from the COVID-19 Delta variant, our Fall 2021 Stargazing Schedule will be a hybrid mix of virtual and in-person sessions. There will be NO weekly Public Stargazing Sessions on Mondays (although we will consider special group sessions by request). We will offer the monthly Friday sessions in-person, as we did pre-COVID, but attendees must register in advance online. Also, a maximum of 12 persons will be allowed to register per session, and visitors will be expected to follow all university policies related to the pandemic such as masking, distancing, and other required measures. With these restrictions and fewer sessions, we hope to reduce the chances of transmission of COVID-19.

To accommodate those who are not able to attend one of the Friday in-person sessions, we will also provide once-a-month virtual stargazing sessions on selected Mondays and Wednesdays. No advance registration is required and there is of course no limit on attendance.

The observatory can be reserved for private group telescope viewing sessions. We consider requests for elementary and high school classes, Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, and other organizations. These sessions are generally held on Monday nights, separate from the public session. The maximum number (adults and children) we can accommodate is 25.

Contact Monica Connell at vmconnell@widener.edu for more details.

Monday Viewing Sessions: If the weather conditions are poor (due to clouds or rain), the Monday Twilight Sessions will not be held.

Friday Viewing Sessions: If the weather conditions are poor (due to clouds or rain), visitors are still welcome to view the facilities and see a planetarium show. However, if the weather conditions are severe or hazardous (thunderstorms, snow, ice storms), the entire Friday Evening Session will automatically be cancelled.

When weather conditions are uncertain, a decision will be made before 4 p.m., as to whether a session will be cancelled.