The Cornell Astronomical Society & Fuertes Observatory

Name: The Cornell Astronomical Society & Fuertes Observatory
Address: Fuertes Observatory, Ithaca, NY, 14853, US
Telephone: +16072553557
Price range: Not applicable

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The Cornell Astronomical Society & Fuertes Observatory

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Open on Fridays 8 PM - midnight, run by CAS, a registered student organization of Cornell University.

Primarily run by undergraduates at Cornell University, the Cornell Astronomical Society serves the community by providing guided tours of the night sky and Fuertes Observatory, as well as hosting lectures and other astronomy outreach events. Located on Cornell's North Campus, the charmingly antiquated observatory offers visitors a chance to gaze through a circa 1922 large refracting telescope while learning about astronomy from our knowledgeable guides.

09/21/2026

THIS FRIDAY - interested in the search for intelligent life beyond Earth? Please join us in welcoming Dr. Jacob Turner as our second speaker this semester!

The question of whether we alone in the universe is perhaps the most fundamentally unifying point of debate for civilizations throughout the history of humanity. This talk will discuss the history and current efforts in this field, and thoroughly examines the Drake Equation, which allows astronomers to estimate the number intelligent civilizations with which we could achieve contact.

Join in person or via Zoom! (link in our bio or on our website)

All lectures are free and open to the public, we hope to see you there!

09/10/2026

TOMORROW!

This lecture will be in Rockefeller Hall Room 201 as well as live streamed on Zoom! Details and Zoom link can be found in the CampusGroups link in our bio, as well as on our website!

We hope to see you there!

08/31/2026

Join us on Friday, September 11 at 7 PM for a special public talk by Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Principal Investigator of NASA’s Psyche mission, as we explore the first-ever mission to a metal world.

Currently in flight as you read this, the Psyche spacecraft is on its way to (16) Psyche, an immensely ancient, largely metal asteroid. Dr. Elkins-Tanton will discuss what is known and hypothesized about the asteroid, the mission built to study it, and what will be measured and discovered when the spacecraft arrives in 2029.

This event is free and open to the public! Registration can be found through the QR above or the link in our bio.

We hope to see you there!

08/25/2026

Hello astronomers, and welcome to the start of what will be another incredible year!

Our first G-Body meeting of the semester is this Friday, 7 PM at Fuertes Observatory. New members, returning members, and anyone interested in learning about the Cornell Astronomical Society are all welcome!

Make sure to stick around for our open house, which is (as always) from 8 PM to midnight

Clear skies, and see you Friday! 🔭

06/09/2026

A super congratulations to my fellow now-graduated CAS Seniors! Despite enduring seemingly endless cloudy Fridays, we’ve all made it! 🎓 And of course, a huge thank you to all the CAS members and visitors alike we met along the way that will keep Fuertes thriving for another 100 years to come✨

Wishing my fellow graduates clear skies and as many rants, shants, and telescope gears as we wish during our next adventures. 🔭

Your President,
Ella 🌌✨

05/19/2026

About a month ago, CAS members brought one of our telescopes down to Libe Slope for some solar observing (with a solar filter, of course!) We even caught some glimpses of Jupiter after the sun set. Huge thank you to everybody who stopped by and took a look!☀️

“Scopes on the Slope” is something we hope to continue next year! Keep an eye on our story for announcements so you know when to find us!

04/14/2026

This Friday is our FINAL lecture of the semester! Interested in the search for alien life and what it actually takes to find another Earth? Join us as Aiden Zelakiewicz explores NASA’s efforts to hunt for Earth 2.0.

📍 7 PM in Appel 303
Join in person or via Zoom! (link in our bio or at cornellastrosociety.org/lecture-series)

All lectures are free and open to the public!

04/04/2026

Yuri's Night is one week out!

Join us as we celebrate humanity's first journey into space, and all the advancements that came after!

Free food and refreshments will be provided along with custom stickers, and the evening will feature a special lecture on some of the newest space exploration efforts.

Register now - CampusGroups link can be found in our bio. Don't miss out! 🚀

03/30/2026

YURI’S NIGHT CELEBRATION - April 10

Register now: CampusGroups link can be found in our bio!

Join us as we celebrate humanity’s first journey to space at our Yuri’s Night celebration. The evening will feature a special lecture on laser sailing and Cornell’s Alpha CubeSat mission by Joshua Umansky-Castro.

Free food, refreshments, and stickers will be provided. We hope to see you there!

All lectures are free and open to the public

Art credit: Abigail Bohl

03/25/2026

Thank you to everyone who entered our Yuri’s Night sticker design contest, and a big congratulations to our winning artist Winnie Chen!

Winnie’s design (first photo) will be made into a sticker to be handed out for free at our Yuri’s Night lecture on Friday April 10th at 7:00pm. (Register at the link in our bio!) We hope to see you there!

Address

Fuertes Observatory
Ithaca, NY
14853

Opening Hours

8pm - 12am

Telephone

+16072553557

Website

http://www.cornellastrosociety.org/

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