Public Events » Open House Schedule

Our Open House events are held on Friday nights at the Tombaugh Observatory on the NMSU campus (click here for a map showing the location of the observatory). They occur roughly once per month, near the time of the first-quarter Moon from September through May, and often during the summer as well. Each evening program begins with a short presentation, followed by guided observing through telescopes. You may call 646.4438 for more information about the program for a specific month. Children are particularly encouraged to attend!

If the weather looks cloudy or stormy on the afternoon of an Open House Event, please call 646.6278 to confirm that the observatory will be open that evening. We cannot operate the telescopes under conditions of heavy clouds, high humidity, or rain.

Tombaugh Observatory Open House Schedule, 2009 - 2010:

Friday, November 20, 2009

7:00 pm

Faculty: Nancy Chanover

Students: Malynda Chizek, Mark Gleed, and Chas Miller

Friday, January 22, 2010

8:00 pm

Faculty: Bernie McNamara

Students: Randy Carlson, Paul Strycker, and Cat Wu

Friday, February 19, 2010

8:00 pm

Faculty: Nicole Vogt

Students: Kyle Degrave, Michael Kirk, Teresa Ross, and Leland Wehland

Friday, March 19, 2010

8:00 pm

Faculty: Chris Churchill

Students: MJ Clark, Jacqueline McCleary, and Nick Ule

Friday, April 23, 2010

9:00 pm

Faculty: Anatoly Klypin

Students: Liz Klimek, James Stockton, and Sebastian Trujillo

Friday, May 21, 2010

9:00 pm

Faculty: Jon Holtzman

Students: Bobby Edmonds, Adam McKay, and Nikki Nielsen

Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered planet Pluto in 1930 (left) and was a founder of the astronomy department, and the NMSU on-campus observatory named after him (right), with NASA images (middle) of Pluto and its companion moon, Charon.