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Center of the Universe Radio Telescope (CURT)Projects:
Public viewing sessions at the Keeble Observatory are normally
held weekly (as weather and viewing conditions allow) during the
academic year. Watch this site for the resumption of public sessions
in September. For details, call the Keeble Information line (804-752-3210)
or contact Prof. George Spagna
(804-752-7344).
The Keeble Observatory is a teaching laboratory of the Physics
Department of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. Its facilities
are used by students in the College's astronomy courses and by advanced
physics students with an interest in astronomy.
The Observatory is a cornerstone instrument in the College's minor
program in astrophysics. The Observatory is also used for student
and faculty research projects. It is located on the College campus,
which is approximately 15 miles north of Richmond, Virginia.
The dome houses a 12" Cassegrain reflector. Supporting laboratories
of the Physics Department, located in the adjacent Copley Science
Center, provide a darkroom and a number of computers. Dedicated
equipment for the Observatory includes CCD cameras, several portable
telescopes, a photoelectric photometer with laptop computers for
control and data acquisition, and a grating spectrograph.
Construction of the Observatory building was initiated to house
a 12 inch Newtonian telescope built and donated in 1960 by Foy N.
Hibbard, a former director of the United States Weather Bureau in
Richmond, Virginia. The dome was completed and the Hibbard telescope
was first used in 1963. The present Cassegrain telescope was purchased
from Tinsley Laboratories with funding assistance from the National
Science Foundation in 1966. In 1988 the telescope drive was completely
replaced during renovations, which also included raising the telescope's
pier and rebuilding the observing platform.
Adjacent to the Observatory is the 3-meter dish of the "Center
of the Universe Radio Telescope (CURT1)." This instrument
is under ongoing testing, with "first light" achieved
in summer 2001. On the roof of the Copley Science Center is the
dipole array for our second radio telescope, dubbed CURT2.
These telescopes are available for student research.
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Dr. William Keeble
Dr. William Houston Keeble, distinguished Professor of Physics
at Randolph-Macon College from 1919 until his retirement in 1952,
was a native of Blount, Tennessee.
He studied at Maryville College and at the University of Tennessee,
where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1903. He did graduate
work at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, where
he worked with 1923 Nobel laureate Dr. Robert A. Millikan. He was
awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Maryville College
in 1945.
Before coming to Randolph-Macon, he was Professor of Physics at
the College of William and Mary from 1907 to 1919. Dr. Keeble was
a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Physical Society, the American
Association of Physics Teachers, the American Astronomical Society,
and was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science.
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Directions to the Observatory:
From Washington and north: Take Interstate 95 south to the
Ashland/Hanover exit (State Route 54). Follow Route 54 west past
the commercial strip and across U.S. Route 1. Turn right onto Calhoun
Street just before the 7-11 store and drive 2 blocks to the corner
of the College campus. Continue on Calhoun Street 1 more block to
the Observatory on the left side, just past the Copley Science Center.
From Richmond and south: Take Interstate 95 north to the
Ashland/Hanover exit (State Route 54), and follow the directions
given above.
From Charlottesville and west: Take Interstate 64 east to
the interchange for Interstate 295. Take 295 toward Washington until
the interchange for Interstate 95 north. Follow the directions given
above.
