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Breyo Observatory

Breyo Observatory

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.

Launch The Breyo Observatory

Public Lecture and Observing on Friday 3/24/2023 and 4/28/2023!

Our next public observing session will be Friday 3/24/2023.  We will have a public lecture on the Moon by Dudley astronomer Dr. Mindy Townsend followed by observing through the telescope.  You need to register, so please reserve your spot on eventbrite. 

Our final public observing of the semester will be April 28th, with public lecture at 8 pm by Prof Nora Boyd on "Philosophy of Astrophysics: Stars, Simulations, and the Struggle to Determine What is Out There".  You need to register for observing, so reserve your spot on eventbrite!

 

 

Students observe Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Astrophysics majors Kristina Gatto and Ethan Jones led a remote observing session for the ASTR101 students.  They captured a nice color image of Comet C/2022 E3 using the Kepler FLI CMOS camera.  (Red=i, Green=r, Blue=g). The comet hasn't been this close to Earth in 50,000 years!

Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction, Friday Dec 18 at 5:30 pm

Live stream on Friday December 18 at 5:30 pm.  We will project a live image of Jupiter and Saturn.

New 0.7-m Telescope on the roof of Roger Bacon

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. 

Observing Tools

News

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Noah Franz, Kristina Gatto, and Ethan Jones at first Astronomy Club observing event for Fall 2022.

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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.

Fireworks display on Reunion Weekend 2022.
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Asteroid OR2 Imaged by George Hassel on 4/28/2020. Images are taken through the V filter, and each exposure is 5 seconds.

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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.

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James Agostino (`19), Kim Conger (`19), and Rose Finn at the Observatorio Astrofisico in the Canary Islands. February 2019.

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Sandy Spicer (`19) and Daniel Allspach (`21) at Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson, AZ. February 2019.

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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.

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First image captured with the new telescope! Dumbbell Nebula, August 9, 2019.

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Live feed of the Breyo Observatory, courtesy of Angelo Santabarbara.

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Timelapse made by physics major Aurelien Hong.

Timelapse of Observatory Construction