Astronomical observatory

The service tower attached to the iconic floating egg atop the Institute's Koffler accelerator (the "spaceship" in the photo, left) has recently been graced with a charming, shiny silver skullcap - an observatory dome. Formally known as the Martin Kraar Observatory, it houses two telescopes, and it figured in two of our recent press items. We spoke with observatory director Ilan Manulis of the Davidson Institute of Science Education: WSW: Tell us about the telescopes. IM: The larger one is a 41 cm. (16 in.) telescope. Due to special optical properties, it has the power of a much longer…