Brevard Community College Planetarium & Observatory - Cocoa, FL
N 28° 23.096 W 080° 45.710
17R E 523333 N 3139867
The Brevard Community College (BCC) Planetarium & Observatory is located in Cocoa, Florida, USA.
Waymark Code: WM2TTE
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 12/21/2007
Views: 135
There is a lot to see and do at the BCC Planetarium & Observatory. They've got a large-format movie theater that plays science films to the public and to school groups. There are exhibit halls featuring hands-on science and historical artifacts from human spaceflight. They've got the premier planetarium in East-Central Florida. And most importantly, they've got a rooftop observatory featuring a very large telescope that is free and open to the public every weekend. A classroom seating 35 students and a portable "starlab" planetarium round out the varied spaces in the building.
The BCC Observatory is home to the largest public telescope in Florida, which is open every week. Members of the Brevard Astronomical Society operate the telescope, and serve as guides to your own personal tour of the night sky. Planets, fuzzy nebula, double stars, star clusters and galaxies are some of the things you may see on any given night.
The telescope is 24 inches in diameter, and uses a 134 pound glass mirror to collect light from distant objects. That light is then reflected back from a second mirror, which effectively "folds" an eighteen-foot light path into a compact seven-foot-long tube. An eyepiece at the back of the telescope then magnifies the image. Normally, they use magnification from about 150 power to over 400 power.
Strapped to the side of the main telescope is a six-inch diameter refracting telescope that uses a lens to gather ligth. At the rear of this fine instrument is a small video camera, which sends a picture to a television monitor near the control desk. They also have recorded images using this telescope to show to visitors when the sky is not cooperating.
The telescopes are controlled by a set of two computers. One runs "Starry Night," commercial software that presents a simulation of the night sky. Telescope operators can click on any object, and instruct the computers to aim the telscope at that object. These commands go to another computer that runs special software to drive the motors that make the telescope move. These same motors keep the telescope pointed at the same place in the sky as our Earth turns.
Observatory Purpose: Research
Optical / Infrared Telescopes?: No
Radio Telescopes?: No
Solar Telescopes?: No
Open to the Public?: Yes
Is this a Club Observatory?: No
Public Viewing Allowed?: Yes
Active Observatory?: Active
Number of Telescopes or Antennas: 2
Site URL: [Web Link]
Year Dedicated or Opened: 1976
Altitude (meters): Not Listed
|
Visit Instructions:Note the time of day of your visit, and your own photo of your favorite part of the observatory. This might be the view from the observatory, picture of your favorite building or favorite exhibit. (Be mindful of flash photography rules!)
If you participated in an observing session, let everyone know what you saw!