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In these times of ever increasing costs and budget cuts, the UM Observatory finds itself in a precarious position. Although used extensively by the introductory astronomy classes, the budget for the Observatory comes out of a nebulous (pun intended!) department fund. This year, we've been able to get additional funding from the Space Grant Consortium to cover some of our special programs. But we'd like to do more. So we're hoping that our regular public visitors might consider helping out by becoming a 'Friend of the UM Observatory.'
Observatory Wishlist
in no particular order!
- new mount for the 7" refractor
- hi-speed internet connection (~$10K)
- updated/upgraded/refurbished AV equipment
- Astronomy Park
- building renovations
- pull out old unused wiring
- repair termite damage/wood rot
- new parking lights (part of landscaping maybe?)
- lots of dehumidifiers
- eyepiece sets, variable polarizers, diagnols for each Ultima scope and for the 7", 14", and 20"
UPDATE Sept '03: New eyepieces, etc were purchased for the Ultimas, 7", 14" with money collected from our 'garage sale' of books, misc. old equipment destined for the trash bin, and cash donations at our Open Houses and other observing events!!! THANK YOU to everyone who contributed in some way!!
- landscaping
- chair lift (ie, something portable to lift wheelchairs up to the telescope eyepiece)
Thank you to...
- the numerous anonymous donors who have been supporting our 'garage sale' of books
- Richard Dunlop -- donation of complete set of Astronomy magazines
- George Fleming -- donation of a large collection of S&T roughly spanning 1961-1988)
- Harry Newman -- donation of a large collection of Astronomy magazines and a slide printer machine
The University of Maryland Observatory is supported in part by:
Last Updated: Thursday November 05, 2009 by Elizabeth Warner
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