The modern equipment of the Hopkins Observatory is situated atop the Thompson Physics and Astronomy Laboratory, and includes a 24-inch Cassegrain telescope (manufactured by DFM Engineering, Inc.) equipped with a 3056 x 3056 pixel CCD detector. A 14-inch Celestron telescope on a Losmandy mount and a 10-inch Meade telescope are also located on the Science Center roof, each in separate domes. Additional instruments include several 8-inch Meade and Celestron telescopes, a 6-inch Meade apochromatic refractor, a 5-inch solar telescope, a heliostat, a solar spectrograph, and several portable telescopes. Dr. Steven Souza is the Observatory Supervisor.

Faculty and students of Williams College’s astronomy department do their research with the most modern equipment in the field, using some of the best telescopes in the world and in space.

Prof. Jay Pasachoff observes the solar corona at total solar eclipses.  The most recent expedition, joint with Dr. Bryce Babcock and two Williams College students, was to Siberia for the August 1, 2008, total solar eclipse.  They brought electronic cameras purchased for Williams College on a joint grant with MIT. See http://www.williams.edu/astronomy/eclipse/

Prof. Pasachoff, Dr. Babcock, and Dr. Steven Souza travel the world to observe occultations of stars by Pluto and other objects in the outer solar system. See http://www.williams.edu/Astronomy/research/occultations/

Prof. Karen Kwitter studies planetary nebulae, the ejected outer layers of old stars, observing their spectra with ground-based telescopes such as the 3.5-meter ARC reflector in New Mexico, and with the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. See http://www.williams.edu/Astronomy/research/PN/nebulae/

Prof. Pasachoff works with colleagues at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics on x-ray studies with the Chandra X-ray Observatory in space.

Williams College undergraduate students participate in all these research projects.