I earned my B.S. in Astrophysics from the Astronomy Department at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, in 1970. Kirkwood Observatory is on campus and I used its 12" refractor whenever I could. I have been able to visit Kirkwood on three other occasions. This page shows some photos from the Astronomy Dept and Kirkwood during my time as an undergrad at IU and on those later visits. Click a thumbnail to see a larger version of the photo.

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Undergraduate Years 1966-1970

During my four years as an undergraduate and even the summer after I graduated, I worked in the Astronomy Dept in Swain Hall West on the "Asteroid Program". The "Gaertner Measuring Engine" (seen below) was used to measure asteroid positions on 8x10 photographic plates taken at another IU observatory. For more on the "Asteroid Program", see this article from the "Indiana Alumni Magazine" (used with permission).

Swain Hall West	Gaertner Measuring Engine IU Asteroid Program	Dr. Marvin Burkhead One of my Professors
Kirkwood Observatory	Kirkwood Observatory	12" Refractor Telescope
12" Refractor Telescope		12" Refractor Telescope
Graduation June 1970	Astrophysics Degree	Asteroid Program Office in 1973 Director: Dee Owings

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Visits April and October 2000

I returned to IU for a visit in April 2000. The observatory and telescope were approaching 100 years old, but they were still functional. Some restoration of the facility was needed, but things were basically the same as they were when I graduated in 1970. Many thanks to Dr. Kent Honeycutt of the Astronomy Department for taking me inside Kirkwood Observatory. Dr. Honeycutt was a Professor in the Astronomy Department when I was an undergrad and it was nice to see him again.

I again visited IU in October 2000 and met with Dr. Hollis Johnson, another one of my astronomy professors. We chatted for about an hour; he mentioned that he was teaching a class on the night sky the next evening. I arranged to attend his class, where I was privileged to be his "assistant". The 24 students were eager to learn and were excited by Dr. Johnson's enthusiasm. I also had a great time. And yes, that is my web site URL on the board (in the photo below). Dr. Johnson introduced me to his class and asked me to say a few words. So I gave a plug for "Weasner's Mighty ETX Site".

In 2001, the observatory dome was replaced. I received a memento; see the photo below.

Swain Hall West	Kirkwood Observatory	Kirkwood Observatory
12" Refractor Telescope	12" Refractor Telescope	12" Refractor Telescope
12" Refractor Telescope Nameplate	Dr. Hollis Johnson One of my Professors	Kirkwood Observatory Dome Memento

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Visit June 2007

In June 2007, I had another opportunity to visit IU. Not much had changed since my previous visits.

Astronomy Department	Kirkwood Observatory	Kirkwood Observatory
Kirkwood Observatory		Kirkwood Observatory

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For many reasons, each of the above visits led to my being able to establish my own personal observatory in 2009, called "Cassiopeia Observatory". Click the photo below to see the observatory in 2016.

To learn more about my observatory, visit the Cassiopeia Observatory web site. I post frequent observing reports there, as well astrophotography I have done.

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Visit August 2016

I visited IU again in August 2016, the 50th anniversary of the start of my Freshman year at Indiana University. I have posted some photos of that visit.

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I have visited the WIYN complex at Kitt Peak National Observatory several times at the invitation of Indiana University. My visit reports are available on the Observatory Visits page.

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Comments

Go to the Observatory Visits page.