Siena students and faculty can study the heavens in the College’s Breyo Observatory, which boasts the largest telescope in New York’s Capital Region.
APRIL 2025
CANCELLED: Friday April 11, CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
Rain Date: Sunday April 11. Reserve your spot on eventbrite
MAY 2025Our next event will be Friday May 2, starting at 9:00 pm
Check back soon for sign up information.
The main telescope, which features a 27.5-inch diameter mirror, sits atop Roger Bacon Hall. The rooftop viewing platform also has permanent mounts for five smaller telescopes.
The observatory was funded by a grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation and a generous gift from John J. Breyo ’68 H’02 and his wife, Marilyn Breyo; the observatory was named in their honor. The observatory opened for use in September 2018, and was formally dedicated on November 10.
Siena students (left to right) Taylor Conroy (Astrophysics, `27), Max Giordano (Physics, `25), Collin Hitchcock (Astrophysics, `26) and Keith Pritchett Jr (Astrophysics, `25) attended the Astronomical Society of New York meeting at Cornell University on March 29th. Keith Pritchett, Jr. was co-winner of the undergraduate poster competition!
Image taken by Collin Hitchcock (Astrophysics 2026) with 10 sec exposure on cellphone during the lunar eclipse on March 14, 2025.
Image of the Orion Nebula captured by Collin Hitchcock (Astrophysics, 2026) through the eyepiece using his cellphone.
We had our first in-person event since the start of COVID on Reunion Weekend 2022. Following the fireworks, we hosted eyepiece observing for 4 sessions of 20 people each.
Noah Franz, Kristina Gatto, and Ethan Jones at first Astronomy Club observing event for Fall 2022.
Asteroid OR2 Imaged by George Hassel on 4/28/2020. Images are taken through the V filter, and each exposure is 5 seconds.
Performance of "Silent Sky" on March 7th was a huge success! And the skies cleared for observing. Thanks to Eli Sands, CapSci, the amazing actors, including Siena's own Olivia Bullock, and photographer Sandy Spicer. Special thanks to the Siena physics majors who braved the cold to operate the telescope after the performance.
James Agostino (`19), Kim Conger (`19), and Rose Finn at the Observatorio Astrofisico in the Canary Islands. February 2019.
Sandy Spicer (`19) and Daniel Allspach (`21) at Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson, AZ. February 2019.
Fr. George Coyne, S.J., presents "The Dance of the Fertile Universe: A Meeting of Science and Religious Belief" at the observatory opening and dedication. November 10, 2018.
First image captured with the new telescope! Dumbbell Nebula, August 9, 2019.
