Astronomy class visits observatory

I hosted the Hiram College Fall Semester Astronomy class at Stephens Memorial Observatory this morning at 9:00. They were given a brief history of the Observatory and telescope and we observed the Sun. The sky was mostly clear and temperature was around 70 degrees. Using the Cooley Telescope's relatively new Baader film filter, we observed, when seeing was good, granulation and a small sunspot group surrounded by faculae. The 12 students seemed to enjoy the visit and were encouraged to attend public nights. We'll also be hosting some student-only observing sessions.