Night Skies Become the Star at Bergen Observatories
PARAMUS, N.J. – While the search for drones captivated Bergen County residents in recent months, Bergen Community College’s two observatories offer members of the public an opportunity to look beyond the skies above and, instead, into deep space.
Weekly, the College sponsors complimentary public viewing nights led by astronomy professors in its observatories located in Paramus and Lyndhurst to explore planets, stars and nebulae through large scientific telescopes. Attendees can participate in the viewings on Wednesday evenings beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the William D. McDowell Observatory (Richard W. DeKorte Park, 2 De Korte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst) and on Friday evenings beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Emil Buehler Trust Observatory (College Main Campus, Technology Education Center, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus). The observatories remain open for viewing nights unless rain or clouds obstruct the telescope’s view.
Bergen faculty have led public viewings in Paramus since the observatory’s 2003 opening; the College assumed the Lyndhurst observatory’s operations in 2015 under an agreement with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. For more information, email faculty organizer Sean McLearie at smclearie@bergen.edu.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
Photo Caption: The high-powered Meade telescope at the Emil Buehler Trust Observatory at Bergen Community College’s main campus in Paramus.