HJ Yun

At the corner of Ryan Field and Pickard Rugby Field stands the Benjamin Hill-Lam ’13 Observatory, which hosted its first open night for the Bowdoin community last Thursday. Having undergone renovations, refurbishment and restoration work for the past three years, the Hill-Lam Observatory opened its doors to the public for a night of out-of-this-world views and shooting stars.

Assistant Professor of Physics Fe McBride shared her enthusiasm leading up to the first open house night at the observatory.

“I really want people to be able to observe through the telescope,” McBride said. “And I hope to give a short introduction to the observatory itself, as well as talk a little bit about the planets, just to get people a better idea of where we are in the solar system.”

The observatory’s renovation and reopening was a culmination of hard work and collaboration between McBride and the late Paul Howell, a former physics lab instructor who passed away unexpectedly in September.

“[Howell] worked on the observatory with me because he had great expertise. He co-founded the Southern Maine Astronomers Club, and he was helping me out … [His passing] has been a shock, and has sort of delayed our opportunities. But now we’re finally able to open the doors to the public and have an observing event where anyone can come in,” McBride said.

Because unpredictable weather can affect visibility, open nights are offered on short notice. Still, the inaugural open house was sold out on CampusGroups. At the public open nights, visitors have the chance to enjoy the renovated observatory, telescope platform and classroom building.

Throughout the event, telescope assistants were present to help set up the telescopes and explain to visitors the various constellations and other fun facts about outer space.

Visitors were able to view Saturn and M-13, a cluster of millions of stars, through both the smaller and larger telescopes. Somewhat surprisingly, unlike the images from NASA, Saturn was barely visible through the telescope, due to light pollution in the area and the limited strength of the telescope.

McBride wants visitors to understand the importance of preserving the dark sky in a world filled with increasing light pollution.

“I hope [visitors] take away a fascination and appreciation of the night sky, as well as being convinced that it’s worth it to preserve,” McBride said. “We’re struggling more and more in our lives with everything that’s going on, and there’s light pollution everywhere. So it’s very difficult to convince people sometimes that a dark sky initiative is really worth it to keep to really preserve this as a resource.”

McBride indicated that more open nights will soon be on the way, which she said will align with the physics department’s mission to make astronomy accessible to a wider audience. Since for most, a telescope isn’t an accessible tool, McBride seeks to tear down barriers for both the Bowdoin and Brunswick communities by allowing the public to come experience the observatory.

Ally Hunt ’30 attended the first open night and enjoyed the views the observatory offered.

“I saw it on CampusGroups, and I thought it would be really cool. And I also have an obsession with [the movie] La La Land, and they go to an observatory. So I wanted to check that out,” Hunt said. “We were able to look at Saturn and a cluster of stars.”

McBride encourages community members to look out for future open nights at the observatory, and to take the time to appreciate the night sky.

“Step outside and take a moment and really take it in, appreciate it,” McBride said. “A lot of people then realize, ‘Wow, I can’t actually name any constellations or know anything about what’s going up there.’”