Students can stargaze again at UMass-Dartmouth

For the past few years, students in astronomy courses at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth have been able to see stars and planets only by pictures shown in class. While the school's observatory was closed for repairs, celestial showings for students and the public were put on hold.

But next Saturday, the observatory will reopen for a public viewing with a new dome and other touch-ups. The re-opening event will be the first official showing under a new partnership between the university and the non-profit amateur club the Astronomical Society of Southern New England.

"Part of the joy of astronomy is sharing it with people," said professor Alan Hirshfeld, who has taught astronomy at UMass Dartmouth for almost 30 years and has overseen observatory operations since its beginning. "With this facility, we wanted it to be a community thing."

Hirshfeld and members of the astronomical society - there are 75 overall - hope to again hold monthly public viewings, as it did before the renovations. Society members will bring their own telescopes for people to use and will help guide beginners.