Saturday, October 25, 2025, 5:00pm
Foss Hill Observatory
64 Foss Hill Lane, Rome, Maine 04963
Weather forecasts over the past few days have shifted from, “maybe good enough on Saturday night,” to, “virtually certainly cloudy.” But, all is not lost! We’re shifting to a quiet open house tonight, with a grander grand opening on a clear night soon. We do not anticipate any observing tonight due to the clouds, but are pleased to show the observatory and its many capabilities.
The observatory will open at 5:00pm, so that it can be seen in daylight. Arrival somewhat later is okay if it suits your schedule, but please do not arrive too late. We’ll demonstrate the roll-off roof and describe the purpose of each of the telescopes inside.
CMAS has long had a larger collection of telescopes than we could use at any one location, so we’ve moved a bunch of the best to Foss Hill. On permanent piers and immediately ready upon opening the roof are a Celestron C-11 telescope for visual use and a 4-inch refractor for astrophotography. Also available is a 16” Dobsonian housing the same mirror previously used in the dome at Brower Observatory, so the views are assured to be just as good. (Brower now has Colin’s recently refigured twin to this mirror, and so remains as well-equipped as ever.) Best of all, the control room at the back of the observatory is insulated, with plans to heat it for warming in the winter!
Be sure to get your driving directions from the special link above, to avoid being taken to the wrong location. Upon arrival, you may either park in the paved driveway and walk behind the house to the observatory in the middle of the large field; or, just to the right of the driveway, follow the gravel access road to the observatory itself.
