Custer Observatory
Encyclopedia
Custer Observatory is an astronomical
observatory
owned and operated by Custer Institute.
Located in Southold
, New York
(USA), facing Peconic Bay and Shelter Island, Custer's location boasts some of the darkest skies on Long Island.
Long Island's oldest public observatory, Custer Institute was founded in 1927 by Charles Wesley Elmer
(co-founder of the Perkin-Elmer Optical Company
), along with a group of fellow amateur-astronomers. The name was adopted to honor the hospitality of Mrs. Elmer, the Grand Niece of General George Armstrong Custer.
In 1942, the Custer Institute was incorporated as a non-profit educational corporation in the State of New York.
In 1938, the group purchased the land the institute presently occupies and initial construction was completed in the spring of 1939. The 100-seat lecture hall was added in 1945. In 1947, through donations by Charles Elmer and Mr. Polk, the 3-story tower/library and observatory dome were built.
In 1954, Charles Elmer died; that same year, the Institute added the shed, which houses three sliding roof observatories.
Over the years, Custer has acquired a large collection of telescopes of all sizes and descriptions. Most recently, this includes a 25-inch (f/5) Newtonian reflector, which is now the premier telescope in the newly-rebuilt dome.(Article not found) This telescope will soon come to represent a one-of-a-kind optical system; the result of the latest optics research and innovation conducted at the Custer Institute.
, Sky & Telescope
, Astronomy, and Scientific American
magazines dating back numerous decades. Membership to the Custer Institute grants access to their library.
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
owned and operated by Custer Institute.
Located in Southold
Southold, New York
Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 20,599 at the 2000 census...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(USA), facing Peconic Bay and Shelter Island, Custer's location boasts some of the darkest skies on Long Island.
Long Island's oldest public observatory, Custer Institute was founded in 1927 by Charles Wesley Elmer
Charles Elmer
Charles Wesley Elmer was an American amateur astronomer and court reporter who co-founded the Perkin-Elmer optical company in 1937....
(co-founder of the Perkin-Elmer Optical Company
PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer, Inc. is an American multinational technology corporation, focused in the business areas of human and environmental health, including environmental analysis, food and consumer product safety, medical imaging, drug discovery, diagnostics, biotechnology, industrial applications, and life...
), along with a group of fellow amateur-astronomers. The name was adopted to honor the hospitality of Mrs. Elmer, the Grand Niece of General George Armstrong Custer.
In 1942, the Custer Institute was incorporated as a non-profit educational corporation in the State of New York.
In 1938, the group purchased the land the institute presently occupies and initial construction was completed in the spring of 1939. The 100-seat lecture hall was added in 1945. In 1947, through donations by Charles Elmer and Mr. Polk, the 3-story tower/library and observatory dome were built.
In 1954, Charles Elmer died; that same year, the Institute added the shed, which houses three sliding roof observatories.
Over the years, Custer has acquired a large collection of telescopes of all sizes and descriptions. Most recently, this includes a 25-inch (f/5) Newtonian reflector, which is now the premier telescope in the newly-rebuilt dome.(Article not found) This telescope will soon come to represent a one-of-a-kind optical system; the result of the latest optics research and innovation conducted at the Custer Institute.
Search for extrasolar planets
Recently, the Custer Institute and Observatory began a new research project to search for new extra-solar planets using data collected by amateur astronomers, with sophisticated mathematical algorithms to remove variations in sensitivity, noise level, and other important variables. Very promising preliminary results have already been obtained, but more volunteers are needed, with CCD cameras attached to 8-inch (or better) telescopes, located anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. (The task is to allow their equipment to take multi-hour, high-quality images of specified areas of the sky).The Custer Library
On the first floor of the dome tower building is located the Custer Library. It contains a wealth of Astronomy and Science books dating from the 19th century to the present. It also houses the Institute's videotape collection and 35mm astronomical slide collection. It contains National GeographicNational Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescope is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:*current events in astronomy and space exploration;*events in the amateur astronomy community;...
, Astronomy, and Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
magazines dating back numerous decades. Membership to the Custer Institute grants access to their library.
The Custer Museum
On the second floor of the dome tower is located the Custer Museum. Among the items in the collection, open to viewing by the visiting public, can be found:- Henry Fitz, early Custer member and famous telescope mirror maker's Grinding Table. (Similar to the one on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.)
- James Short's circa 1750 Gregorian telescopeGregorian telescopeThe Gregorian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope designed by Scottish mathematician and astronomer James Gregory in the 17th century, and first built in 1673 by Robert Hooke...
variation designed to read the separation of binary starBinary starA binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...
s. One of only three known to exist. - Various other 18th and 19th centuries vintage spectrometers and sextants, along with other astronomical devices.
- The Custer Rock Collection including geodeGeodeGeodes are geological secondary sedimentary structures which occur in sedimentary and certain volcanic rocks. Geodes are essentially spherical masses of mineral matter that were deposited sygenetically within the rock formations they are found in. Geodes have a Chalcedony shell containing...
s and numerous Fossilized Rocks. - The Custer Meteorite Collection, which includes a ShergottiteMars meteoriteA martian meteorite is a rock that formed on the planet Mars, was ejected from Mars by the impact of an asteroid or comet, and landed on the Earth. Of over 53000 meteorites that have been found on Earth, 99 are martian...
from Mars. - Numerous astronomical, sunspotSunspotSunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....
, and auroraAurora (astronomy)An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
pictures taken by past and present members. - A broken 1750s roadside Mile Marker, recovered by Custer members that was originally ordered by Ben Franklin when he was the head of the Colonial Mail system.(Today, most of the other markers, still undamaged, mark the distance along the Main Road between Orient Point and the Old Riverhead Court House.)
- The Custer Civil War Bullet Collection.
- A piece of a tree that was originally planted at Bronx College by Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
(who often summered in Southold).
Telescopes
Custer has a large collection of telescopes of all sizes and description. Among them are:- ObsessionObsession TelescopesObsession Telescopes is an American telescope and optics manufacturer that specializes in Dobsonian telescopes. It was started in 1989 by David Kriege and is based in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.-Products:...
25" Newtonian reflector (on loan from Suffolk Community College). - MeadeMeadeMeade Instruments Corporation is a multinational company headquartered in Irvine, California, that manufactures, imports, and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, CCD cameras and telescope accessories for the consumer market. It is the world's largest manufacturer of...
16" LX200GPS-SMT (currently away for maintenance). - CelestronCelestronCelestron is a company that manufactures and imports telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories for their products.-Origins and History:...
CGE-1400 14" Go-To Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with German equatorial mount. This telescope currently serves as the observatory's research instrument and is outfitted for remote operation and viewing. - MeadeMeadeMeade Instruments Corporation is a multinational company headquartered in Irvine, California, that manufactures, imports, and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, CCD cameras and telescope accessories for the consumer market. It is the world's largest manufacturer of...
14" LX200GPS-SMT. - 10" Astro binoculars, designed and built by one of the observatory members, Rico Verticchio, and on loan to Custer.
- 6" Alvan ClarkAlvan ClarkAlvan Clark , born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. He was a portrait painter and engraver , and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making...
Refractor circa 1900 with a Northwestern University equatorial mount circa 1895. - 12½" Newtonian reflectorNewtonian telescopeThe Newtonian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton , using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. Newton’s first reflecting telescope was completed in 1668 and is the earliest known functional reflecting telescope...
- 12" Springfield designed by Russell PorterRussell W. PorterRussell Williams Porter was an American artist, engineer, amateur astronomer and explorer. He was a pioneer in the field of “cutaway illustration" and is sometimes referred to as the "founder" or one of the "founders" of amateur telescope making."-Biography:Russell W...
. - 12½" Newtonian.
- 13" Newtonian DobsonianDobsonian telescopeA Dobsonian telescope is an alt-azimuth mounted newtonian telescope design popularized by the amateur astronomer John Dobson starting in the 1960s. Dobson's telescopes featured a simplified mechanical design that was easy to manufacture from readily available components to create a large, portable,...
. - 8" Schmidt NewtonianSchmidt-Newton telescopeA Schmidt–Newton telescope is a catadioptric telescope that combines elements from both the Schmidt camera and the Newtonian reflector. In this telescope design a spherical primary mirror is combined with a Schmidt corrector plate, making system that has less spherical aberration than a reflecting...
. - 8" Classic CassegrainCassegrain reflectorThe Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas....
. - 7" f/20 refractor.
- 5" Alvan ClarkAlvan ClarkAlvan Clark , born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, the descendant of a Cape Cod whaling family of English ancestry, was an American astronomer and telescope maker. He was a portrait painter and engraver , and at the age of 40 became involved in telescope making...
Student Model refractor. - 4" Unitron. [This telescope has been missing for several years.]
- 7x21 Ross Camera, f/7 with a 3" lens, accepting 8x10 and 4x5 inch plate film.
- 10½" Newtonian reflector.
Public access
Generally the Custer Institute is open every Saturday evening, from dusk until midnight. Custer Observatory welcomes the general public to guided tours of the heavens—weather permitting. The Custer Institute also allows its lecture hall to be used for lectures, in-service courses for educators, concerts, theatrical performances, and other events.External links
- Custer Institute Clear Sky Clock Forecasts of observing conditions.