Special viewing at McKim Observatory set for Oct. 4

Besides being open for a viewing of Jupiter and Saturn on Friday evening, McKim Observatory is also the subject of a drawing by local artist Dustin Boothby. During First Friday as well as the event at McKim, Heritage Preservation Society will be taking tax-deductible donations. The person who makes the largest donation will be awarded the drawing.

Courtesy photo

Now that DePauw University is back in session, the McKim Observatory once again has open houses scheduled to which the public is welcome. A special treat is in store for stargazers on Friday, Oct. 4 as Saturn and Jupiter will be available for viewing along with the waxing moon.

Any one of these objects would be stunning to see through the historic Clark telescope, but to have this triumvirate available will be, in the words of DePauw astronomy professor Alex Komives, “mind-blowing.”

The open house is slated for 8 – 10 p.m., and will coincide with First Friday in downtown Greencastle. The Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County (HPS) will be on hand with a booth there to remind attendees of the details of the event, as well as to educate the public about the observatory.

As the sun sets and vendors begin to pack up for the night, the timing will be perfect for spectators to head over to the observatory, a short stroll or drive down Franklin Street to DePauw Avenue on the city’s northeast side.

Even if the evening sky has clouds, there will still be plenty worth viewing inside the landmark structure like the spiral stairs with porthole windows leading to the original 9.53-inch Clark refracting telescope. There is also a Fauth and Company meridian circle transit telescope and a rare Bailey’s astral lantern, a 19th-century mechanism for mapping the movements of celestial bodies.

The facility was built in 1884, thanks largely to the donation of $10,000 by Robert McKim, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. This past spring, the National Park Service added special statewide significance to the building as the first observatory in the state of Indiana.

An additional honor has been bestowed in recent weeks as the Indiana Office of Tourism Development included the McKim Observatory on their list of “9 Indiana Space Attractions.”