Robert A. Schommer Astronomical
Observatory
Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey
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Next Public Open Night (weather permitting)
Thursday, 17 July 2025, 09:00 p.m. EDT to 11:00 p.m. EDT
Status (as of 17 July 2025, 05:00 p.m. EDT): It is cloudy with a chance of scattered thunderstorms. Also, there are still flooded roads from the recent heavy rains. In order to ensure the safety of our volunteers and our guests, we will not be open tonight.If you have any questions about the Public Open Nights, please call 732-735-5483 and leave a voice message. Your call will be returned.
For general information, please call 848-445-8973 (08:30 a.m. to 04:30 p.m.).
Schedule of Public Open Nights (weather permitting)
July 2025
second Thursday (July 10th): Arcturus, M5, Antares, M13,
Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, Mercury, Mars, and the Moon (full)
third Thursday (July 17th): Arcturus, M5, Antares, M13,
Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, and Mars
fourth Thursday (July 24th): Arcturus, M5, Antares, M13,
Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, and Mars
August 2025
second Thursday (August 14th): Arcturus, M5, Antares,
M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach,
Mars, and Saturn-Neptune appulse
third Thursday (August 21st): Arcturus, M5, Antares,
M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach,
Mars, and Saturn-Neptune appulse
fourth Thursday (August 28th): Arcturus, M5, Antares,
M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach,
Mars, Saturn-Neptune appulse, and the Moon (waxing crescent)
September 2025
second Thursday (September 11th): Arcturus, M5, Antares,
M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei,
η Persei, Saturn-Neptune appulse, and the Moon (waning gibbous)
third Thursday (September 18th): Arcturus, M5, Antares,
M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei,
η Persei, and Saturn-Neptune appulse (both near opposition)
fourth Thursday (September 25th): Arcturus, M5, Antares,
M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei,
η Persei, and Saturn-Neptune appulse (both near opposition)
October 2025
second Thursday (October 09th): M13, Vega, Deneb,
Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, Moon-Uranus appulse, and the Moon (waning gibbous)
third Thursday (October 16th): M13, Vega, Deneb,
Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, and Uranus
fourth Thursday (October 23rd): M13, Vega, Deneb,
Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, and Uranus
November 2025
second Thursday (November 13th): Vega, Deneb, Albireo,
M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42,
Betelgeuse, Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus, and Jupiter
third Thursday (November 20th): Vega, Deneb, Albireo,
M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42,
Betelgeuse, Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus (near opposition), and Jupiter
fourth Thursday (November 27th): Thanksgiving Day
(We will
not
be open.)
December 2025
second Thursday (December 11th): M31, Almach, NGC 457,
h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus, and Jupiter
third Thursday (December 18th): M31, Almach, NGC 457,
h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus, and Jupiter
fourth Thursday (December 25th): Christmas Day
(We will
not
be open.)
January 2026
second Thursday (January 08th): M31, Almach, NGC 457,
h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus, and Jupiter (near opposition)
third Thursday (January 15th): M31, Almach, NGC 457,
h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius,
Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus, and Jupiter
fourth Thursday (January 22nd): M31, Almach, NGC 457,
h & χ Persei, η Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius,
Moon-Saturn-Neptune appulse, Uranus, Jupiter, and the Moon (waxing crescent)
Public Observing at the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory
Members of the Rutgers University community and the general public are invited to observe the night sky through the 20-inch optical telescope of the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month, weather permitting. The observatory is open for two hours starting at 8:30 p.m. (October through March) or starting about one hour after sunset (April through September, when it is not yet dark at 8:30 p.m.).
Observing will be canceled for that night if the skies are cloudy at the beginning of the observing session. Please check this web-site for the most up-to-date information.
Naked-eye visibility of satellites from the Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory may be found at the Heavens-Above Main Page .
Location
The Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory is located in the dome on the roof of the Serin Physics Laboratories on the corner of Frelinghuysen Road and Allison Road on the Busch Campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Our address is 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ and directions to our building are available. The public can park in lot 53 (between the building and the street) or lot 53A (about one block east on the other side of Frelinghuysen Road), but should obtain an electronic permit beforehand. To obtain the permit, follow this link. Rutgers faculty, staff, and students do not need to obtain an additional permit, but should only park in lots allowed by their existing parking permits (in most cases, this does NOT include lot 53). Enter the doors on the west end of the building (facing Allison Road) and take the stairs (left or right sides of the lobby) or the elevator (left side of the lobby) to the fourth floor.
Scientific
Highlights
Transit of Venus -- June 05, 2012
This image was taken at 08:03 p.m. EDT through a narrow gap in the clouds during the only few minutes that the transit was visible at the Schommer Observatory. The dark band in the lower-left corner of the image is the roof of the Pharmacy Building. The edge of the silhouette of Venus is ragged because of blurring by the Earth's atmosphere -- the Sun was only 3.3 degrees above the horizon. The 20-inch telescope was stopped down to a 4-inch aperture covered with a Baader solar filter. This single-color image was taken through an SBIG STL-11000M camera with a V-band (green) filter and an exposure time of 0.05 sec.
The Triangulum
Galaxy, Messier 33 (M33)
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ALIGN=top>This color image was created by combining three images taken through blue, green, and red (B-, V-, and R-band) images taken with the CCD camera on the 20-inch telescope of the Schommer Observatory.
