Delta Dome

The Delta Dome is Delta College's newly constructed on-campus observatory. We are excited to share this incredible resource with our students and the broader community. The Delta Dome serves as a hub for astrophotography, astronomical research and education.
 

 

The Delta Dome houses a CDK700 telescope with a 28-inch mirror installed by PlaneWave Instruments of Adrian, MI. The telescope provides the Great Lakes Bay Region with stellar views of galaxies, nebulae and other deep space objects. This observatory project came to fruition after years of planning and funding from Delta College. Additional grant dollars from the Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association (MESTA) and the Great Lakes Star Gaze Committee (GLSG) allowed for the purchase of a high-quality imaging camera.

During observation nights, attendees will have the chance to view celestial bodies through the telescope, with guidance from faculty. Regularly scheduled public observation events align with new Moon phases and ideal weather conditions.

The Delta Dome is located on the west side of the Delta College Main Campus just behind the Athletic Field House (concessions). For information on upcoming public Delta Dome events, call 989-686-9232.

About the Dome

Winter 2025 mural project

Guided by the vision of their clients—the Delta College astronomy faculty—and under the direction of Associate Professor of Art, Andrew Rieder, art students Marielle Wilson, Morgan King and Rick Taylor collaborated to create a cohesive mural that spans the interior walls of the Delta Dome Observatory.

The project is a win-win for students and the community as the students strengthen their portfolios through hands-on teamwork and client collaboration, while the mural enhances the observatory experience for future visitors, including astronomy students, faculty, and enthusiasts.

If you’d like to propose a future community mural project, contact Andrew Rieder at andrewrieder@delta.edu.

Fall 2024 First Light

Messier 13, aka the Great Hercules Globular Cluster became the Delta Dome's "First Light" image Thursday, September 12.

"First Light is significant because it is the first photons of light from space the telescope mirror gathers," says Professor Dehne. "We decided on M13 because it is a visually impressive, bright deep space object. M13 is a globular cluster of stars 25,000 light years away, has a diameter of 145 light years and is made up of 300,000 to half a million stars. A 'chandelier' if you will of the Milky Way galaxy."
 

Summer 2024 construction

Not too long ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away, the West Campus Master Plan was formulated to include the Observatory Hill. This plan was approved by President Emerita Dr. Jean Goodnow and the board of trustees and shared publicly in the fall of 2017. But, like many other projects, the observatory was put on hold while the college navigated the many challenges of the pandemic in 2020. For many people involved in this project, Delta's observatory has ben seven years in the making, but for Kevin Dehne, associate professor of physics, it has been a lifelong dream.

"I've been trying to make this happen for over 20 years," says Professor Dehne. "This is something that will be very beneficial to Delta students, faculty, staff and our local communities. It's very exciting to be a part of and to be able to bring something so incredible to the region. It's a dream come true."

When the project finally began moving forward again, Professor Dehne and Aurelian Balan, professor of physics, took the lead. Many changes to the original plan had to be made including the location from the hill to the west side of the Athletic Field House. "There are a lot of considerations when building an observatory. In addition to having access to plumbing, electricity and Wi-Fi, we had to take into consideration an issue that many people don’t think about in their day-to-day lives," says Professor Balan. "That’s the growing issue of light pollution. We have all these wonderful lights illuminating the parking lots on campus, but they can really hinder the quality of the images and the overall experience of observing the night sky."