The Kohl Observatory

Located near Jamestown, New York, the observatory is close to the shores of Lake Chautauqua. The 18' 6" Ash dome is controlled by the telescope's computer, automatically keeping the slit aligned with the instrument. The 20" Cassegrain telescope is from DFM Engineering in Colorado. The DFM drive is accurate enough to allow exposures of 7 to 8 minutes without guiding.

The 20" DFM Cassegrain telescope is completely computer controlled. A Photometrics Star 1 CCD camera is used for imaging faint deep sky objects, while a CCD TV camera allows real-time viewing of the brighter objects, such as the Moon and planets. A 5-inch Takahashi refractor equipped with a full-aperture energy rejection filter and a University model 0.6-angstrom hydrogen-alpha filter is mounted on the 20", enabling study of our Sun. Future plans call for the addition of real-time video to the solar telescope.

The control room can accommodate 25-30 students and their teachers at a time. Many local grade schools, high schools, colleges, and amateur astronomy groups from the western New York area visit the observatory throughout the year.