cincinnati observatory

over the weekend, i gave a public talk at the old observatory in my home town. strike that - i gave TWO public talks in a row at the cincinnati observatory, because the interest in the originally scheduled single talk was so positive (thanks family ;)

established in 1842, the cincinnati observatory remains the oldest working observatory in the entire USA!

the observatory is a cute little old building that sits on top of mt. adams.

former president john quincy adams laid the cornerstone of the original observatory in the 1840s, and the hill has been known as mt. adams ever since (i never knew that!). the current observatory is located on mt. lookout.

it was cold the night of my talks, and a huge freezing rain storm passed through the previous night. i had to scrape 1.5 inches of ice off the windshield of the car before leaving my mom's house.

each blade of grass was frozen inside a layer of ice!

icicles on the water fountains...

here is one of the lovely old refracting telescopes housed at the observatory. it was overcast that night, but i hope folks will go back again to look through the ancient glass.

the talks went well, i thought, and i really enjoyed sharing some of the astronomy knowledge i've gained during my studies and travels, with my family and friends back home. what fun!