The Britton Observatory

The Michael L. Britton Memorial Observatory, on top of the conical metal structure adjacent to the Tome Scientific Building, consists of a 24-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope with an Apogee AP7 512 x 512 charge-coupled device (CCD) camera.  The CCD comes equipped with UBVRI filters and is used for imaging and multi-color photometry of variable stars and asteroids.  The telescope supports student/faculty research and gathers synoptic observations that can provide data for student projects.

Here is an image of the whirlpool galaxy (M51a/NGC 5194) taken by a student using the Britton observatory.