Grand Opening For Andrews University Observatory Next Week

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Andrews University plans to celebrate the completion of its new observatory with a grand opening next week. The observatory was originally built in 1957, and the physics department’s Kelly Youngberg tells WSJM News they’ve rebuilt it to make the dome bigger and automate the shutters, among other things. Andrews makes the observatory available to the public about 30 nights per year.

“Andrews University is a private institution, but we do regularly open it to the public, and as far as I know, it’s the only one like that in the county,” Youngberg said.

How often the observatory is open to the public depends on the weather. The entire community is invited to attend the grand opening of the rebuilt facility next Friday at 7 p.m. There, they’ll hear from some speakers on the observatory’s history and do some stargazing, weather permitting.