Astronomy
A Window to the cosmos
Honoring Richard S. Perkin, the Perkin Observatory serves as a hub for astronomy and astrophysics education and a window to the cosmos for Dublin School and the surrounding region. Our primary instrument, installed in 2020, is a computer-controlled half-meter Corrected Dall-Kirkham astrograph equipped with research-grade imaging equipment.
The observatory hosts the Dublin School Astronomy Club, astronomy and astrophysics courses, and frequent public viewing nights and outreach events. The observatory also coordinates with other academic departments at Dublin to provide rare access to hands-on interdisciplinary astronomical studies at both introductory and professional levels. In addition to visual observation, students learn to use professional telescope control and image processing software to plan and execute astrophotography projects or to collect, analyze, and share scientific data.
The Perkin Observatory is available year-round, day and night, to host outreach and educational events. Activities can include visual observing through our nighttime and solar telescopes, astrophotography, scientific imaging, and astronomy/astrophysics presentations. If your school or group would be interested in scheduling a field trip or event, please contact Matthew Saveliev, the Director of the Perkin Observatory, at msaveliev@dublinschool.org.
Student Astrophotography
The Monkey Head Nebula - NGC 2174
NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula, was a really cool image to process. When I say process I mean to make it look pretty. It is an image completely made out of narrow band exposures, meaning it's a false color image. The nebula doesn't actually look like that. I took creative liberty to make the colors and the nebula look that way. I used a super powerful and cool process called SHO-AIP.
Eila ‘22
The Pelican Nebula - IC 5070
This image is of the Pelican Nebula. It was taken with a wide field telescope with a color camera. It looks kind of like a pelican, hence the name. IThe nebula is 1,800 light years across. It is part of the Cygnus constellation and is separated from the North American Nebula by a dark molecular cloud. The Pelican Nebula is an active star-forming nebula. The younger stars are heating up the cold gas nearby which is creating an outward-moving ionization front. This is why it glows so bright.
Alina ‘23
Silver Sliver Galaxy
Silver Sliver Galaxy, image created by Alex '20
Jellyfish Nebula - IC 443
The Jellyfish Nebula image created by Lindsey '21
The Dumbbell Nebula
The Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula (so named before we knew what they were) that lies about 1360 light years away from Earth. It represents the destruction of a solar system much like our own. Planetary Nebula occur when stars similar to our own sun run out hydrogen fuel in their cores and after swelling up into a giant phase, expel their outer material into space. The “corpse” of the star’s core persists as a white dwarf which can be easily seen in this image in the center of the nebula.
Dan ‘21
Swan Nebula
Swan Nebula, image created by Lindsey '21
Maia & Part of The Pleiades
This is Maia, one of the brightest stars in the Pleiades open star cluster. It is in the Taurus constellation. These stars are large, hot, and young, which is apparent in their bluish glow. The stars in this cluster formed around 100 million years ago. At 400 light years away, it is one of the closest star clusters to us.
Lucy '22
Orion Nebula
This astro-image was created by the dynamic advisor duo of Sarah Doenmez, Associate Head of School for Academics, and Patrick '20.
The Bubble Nebula - NGC 7635
This is an image of the Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7635. This image was taken on the new telescope and monochrome camera and used red, blue, and green filters to create the color. The whole process of making this image took about 8 hours to create the finished product. NGC 7635 is around 11,090 light years away from Earth and about 7 light years in diameter.
Lucy ‘22
Upcoming Events
We occasionally host public and private group events virtually via Zoom where we will stream real-time images from our telescopes using specialized cameras and software. Attendees can participate in discussion and Q&A. Please e-mail msaveliev@dublinschool.org to be placed on our mailing list for these events.
Perkin Observatory
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