(Kurt Holmes, 1994)

Facility

The University of Rochester's C.E.K. Mees Observatory, devoted to research, teaching, and public instruction, is located 40 miles south of Rochester in the Bristol Hills (77^o24'31.56" W, 42^o42'01.0" N) at an elevation of 701 m (2260 ft). The Observatory houses a 61-cm Boller and Chivens Cassegrain reflector, dedicated May 8, 1965. In March 2000 the telescope was upgraded to computer control by DFM Engineering. The Mees site enjoys very dark skies, with the best weather being encountered in the summer months.

The Rochester Institute of Technology's Center for Imaging Science is an active partner in the Observatory. RIT has provided the facility's camera/imaging spectrograph, at the heart of which is a state-of-the-art 512x512 CCD and a voltage-tunable narrowband LCD filter. RIT is also investigating active-optical approaches to image improvement at the Observatory.

The Observatory is named after C. E. Kenneth Mees (1882-1960), longtime director of research at Eastman Kodak, in honor of his pioneering work in the development of sensitive photographic emulsions for use in astronomy. Its site on Gannett Hill includes the birthplace, and later the summer estate, of Frank E. Gannett (1876-1957), founder of the Gannett Newspapers. After Mr. Gannett's passing the estate was donated to the University of Rochester by his wife Caroline, for use as an observatory site. The Gannett family summer house now provides office space and sleeping quarters for the observers. The summit area adjacent to the estate, on which the telescope building sits, was ceded to UR by Ontario County.

The Observatory, the Gannett House, and the beautiful grounds surrounding them, are maintained by site superintendent Kurt Holmes, as they were by Kurt's father, Gene Holmes.

Research

Though most of the astrophysical research conducted by the faculty and graduate students of UR and RIT involves large telescopes on high mountain sites or in space, the Mees Observatory is still used for astronomical research at visible wavelengths. Recent projects have included investigation of the Initial Mass Function of young stellar clusters (using photometry and imaging spectroscopy) and looking for planets transiting nearby stars. The Annual Report of the Observatory can be viewed or downloaded here.

Teaching

The Observatory is used heavily in the introductory (freshman and sophomore) undergraduate astronomy classes at UR. Each student in AST 111, AST 171Q, AST 142 and AST 172Q spends at least two nights per semester using the telescope and CCD camera/spectrograph as part of the laboratory components of these courses. For the latest gallery of images taken by the students in these classes, click here. Undergraduate students also have the option have using Mees observations as part of their senior thesis.

Tours

The University of Rochester offers free tours of the Mees Observatory on Friday and Saturday nights during the months of June, July, and August. The tours consist of an informational slide presentation about general astronomical topics, followed by the viewing of a few astronomical objects through the telescope. Though the tours are free, reservations are required, and can be made either by calling the University of Rochester during normal business hours at (585) 275-4385, or by signing up online here.

Director

Prof. William J. Forrest Department of Physics & Astronomy Bausch & Lomb 419 University of Rochester Rochester, NY 14627-0171 (585) 275-4343 forrest@pas.rochester.edu

Superintendent

Kurt Holmes
374-2433
281-9224
kurtholmes@facilities.rochester.edu

Address

C. E. K. Mees Observatory
6604 South Gannett Hill Road
Naples, NY 14512

For a road map and driving directions to the Mees Observatory from the Rochester area, go here.

Gannett House

The Gannett House, next to the Mees Observatory, may be rented out to University personnel for retreats and conferences. For further details, go here.

Other Local Places to Learn About Astronomy

Rochester Museum & Science Center Strasenburgh Planetarium
657 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
24-Hour Information: (585) 271-1880
Box Office: (585) 271-4320
http://www.rmsc.org/planet.html

Astronomy Section of the Rochester Academy of Science
PO Box 20292
Rochester, NY 14602
http://www.ggw.org/asras/

Interesting Astronomy and Astrophysics Links - Go here.

Learning the Constellations

We recommend the book:

A Walk through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends
Milton D. Heifetz & Wil Tirion
ISBN 0521625130