Multi-Purpose Observatory for Undergraduate Education

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RIT is establishing an automated observatory on the campus for use in undergraduate instruction of non-science students, Physics majors, and Imaging Science majors. The observatory is equipped for visual, photometric, and CCD imaging use, and it can be operated manually or through real-time computer control from various lecture and laboratory rooms located about campus. It will also be capable of robotic control to maximize its use for projects associated with the upper-division courses where there is a need for an additional student research facility. The specific choice of an automated (versus conventional) facility is a key to the "Herculean" task of bringing telescopic observations of a sufficient variety to large numbers of undergraduates. The robotic capabilities are also in concert with a nationwide effort to enhance science education through astronomy.