Observatory
About the Observatory
The Observatory will be open on October 2 from 7-9pm (Kids' Night) and October 16 from 8:30pm - 10:30pm. If it is clear, we will take out telescopes and look at some beautiful astronomical objects. We also give a tour of the facility, which includes the one-tenth scale model of the Hale Telescope at Mt. Palomar and images that we have taken with the telescopes on campus.
The Observatory will be open the first and third Fridays of the month for the Fall/Winter: September 4 and 18, October 2 and 16, November 6 and 20, December 4 and 18. All dates are tentative! Please check back here to see if our open dates have changed before coming up to see us, or you can call the observatory phone number below to hear our monthly hours. No prior reservations are required, but if you have a group of greater than 10 people that you would like to bring to the observatory, call 607-962-9494 and leave a message with a phone number so we can return your call.
Parking for the Observatory is available in the Digital Dome parking lot. Parking at the Observatory is reserved for our visitors who require accessible parking. Please note that most of our time is spent outside, if the weather is clear. So please dress for the weather!
Everything at the Observatory is free and open to the public!
If you are interested in attending a Digital Dome Show, please check out their link here.
EVENTS
Kids' Night
October 2, 2026
7pm-9pm
Join us for a fun night at the Eileen Collins Observatory at CCC! We’ll have astronomical crafts, observing through our telescopes, tours of our 20” telescope, and many other fun things to do. The Digital Dome Theater will also be giving short shows that evening. Fun for kids of all ages! Free and open to the public! All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
TELESCOPES
We have many types and sizes of telescopes here at our Observatory. Our two largest telescopes are both reflectors — the 20" and the 16". Our 20" telescope is the one-tenth scale model of the Hale Telescope at Mount Palomar in California.
We have 14", 12", 10", 8", and 6" reflectors that were built by members of the Elmira-Corning Astronomical Society. We have 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain reflectors in addition to 4" refractors and a solar telescope.
Questions?
Deborah Dann, Director of the Observatory