Image courtesy of Edwin Alexani
On the night of Aug 27/28, 2026, the Earth's shadow slowly crept across the Moon's disk. We invited members of the Rochester community to visit the Observatory to enjoy the show. Over 100 people spread out blankets on the lawn and watched the progress of the eclipse from about 10 PM until about 12:30 AM.
We set up the 12-inch telescope in the dome and our Astroscan to point at the Moon, giving viewers a close-up view of our satellite. Imaging Sciences Professor Roger Easton brought his Questar as well, providing another perspective for our visitors. A few tried taking pictures by placing their phones next to the eyepiece, and sometimes -- as in this example by Edwin Alexani -- the results were great!
Image courtesy of Edwin Alexani
In addition to watching the eclipse, visitors could take the "Constellation Challenge." Each of our graduate-student volunteers had chosen a different constellation which is currently visible in the summer sky. Visitors could walk around and talk to the volunteers, learning about the stories behind each constellation and where to look for it in the sky. For each constellation they learned, guests could earn a sticker. Those with a full sheet of stickers would win a pair of (solar) eclipse glasses as a prize!
There were a few clouds on and off early in the evening, but for the most part, we could all see the start of the eclipse clearly. Around 11:25 PM, however, a massive cloudbank swept overhead and hid the Moon from view. Would we manage to see the peak of the event? A few people left during this anxious interval, but those who stuck around were rewarded with big holes through which we saw a small, bright sliver of light along the upper edge of the Moon. We all cheered :-)
Thanks very very much to our excellent RIT Observatory volunteers! In addition to the aforementioned Roger Easton, thanks to
Alex Kiely Woods
Nova Solvason Zoe Rosenberg
Scott Adler Grace Quinn
LJ Sabrowski Fenix Lopez (not pictured)
You can find a story about our event at the website of Channel 10 News: