The Michael L. Britton Memorial Observatory, on top of the conical metal structure adjacent to Tome Hall, consists of a 24-inch Ritchey-Chrétien telescope equipped with an SBIG STXL-6303E 3072x2048 charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The CCD utilizes an autoguiding filter wheel that houses a standard set of UBVRI filters. This equipment is used for imaging and multicolor photometry of variable stars and asteroids. The telescope supports student-faculty research and gathers synoptic observations that can provide data for student projects.
Students who take the Observational Techniques course learn how to use the telescope and then make observations of eclipsing binary stars, delta Scuti-type stars or transiting exoplanets.
The image shown below is of NGC 6611, also known as the Eagle Nebula. This image was produced by a student using the Britton Telescope and the CCD plus the B, V and R filters.
