Dunwoody Residents Look to the Heavens at Georgia Perimeter College

For Dunwoody residents, access to the moon and the stars -- and almost everything else that appears in the night sky -- is as close as the 15-foot domed observatory on Georgia Perimeter College’s (GPC)
Dunwoody campus.

At first glance, the diminutive building appears to house campus utilities rather than an astronomy lab, but once the outside hatch is opened and visitors step inside they are treated to a unique site – a digital, high-powered telescope capable of viewing planets as far away as Uranus and the recently demoted Pluto; now considered a dwarf planet.

The observatory, opened in fall 2006, was built as part of GPC’s astronomy labs for use by both astronomy and physics students and is a stellar learning tool, according to David Penly, professor of physics and astronomy at GPC, the astronomy lab supervisor, and the
observatory’s operator.

“We use this (observatory) for our astronomy students who are usually sitting indoors at computers running simulations all day. This is real – something they can see with their own eyes,” Penly said.

Access to the observatory is free and open to the public the second Saturday of each month during what Penly calls “open house,” with best viewing time about an hour after sunset. The observatory’s dome is small, allowing for only 15 – 20 people inside at a time.

“Because of the recent media attention we’ve been getting, we’ve had anywhere from 40 to 50 people during our monthly open houses. We have to bring them in shifts,” Penly said. “It’s very informal. On busy nights, we bring out other telescopes and set them up on the viewing pad.”

Penly said people are always interested in seeing satellites.

"You know what’s a fantastic thing is to see? It’s these things called iridium flares. They are these communications satellites that have huge solar panels. They will come into view an hour after sunset, catching the light of the setting sun. It gets brighter and brighter and brighter. They are neat to watch. They only last for about two minutes and then they are gone. There’s lots of opportunity for viewing as there is so much in space now,” he said.

Over the years the observatory has hosted thousands of visitors.

“We have a lot of people from the neighborhood who come out regularly,” said Penly. On any given night with clear visibility, stargazers may view planets within our solar system, star clusters, Ring Nebula (gas in space), satellites, and even the international space station, which Penly says can often be viewed with the naked eye.

Creative uses for this scientific marvel abound. Recently, the observatory was the site of a romantic marriage proposal.

“A fellow called and wanted to show his girlfriend a star that looked like a jewel. I showed him my favorite star and he turned to his girlfriend and said, ‘I have a jewel for you, too, honey.’ He pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked if she would marry him.”

Those interested in visiting GPC’s observatory should email Penly at david.penly@gpc.edu. Appointments are scheduled during the campus’s normal operating hours, weekdays until 11:00 p.m.