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RPI's Hirsch Observatory Open To The Public Physics Department 276-6310. The Hirsch Observatory will be open to the public every clear Wednesday evening all summer. The observatory, which is located atop the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center, will open at sunset and remain open for approximately three hours, weather permitting. Members of the physics department and the Rensselaer Astrophysical Society will be on hand to talk about the night sky and answer questions. On May 1, Mars will come closest to Earth, reaching a distance of .57 astronomical units, roughly half the distance from our planet to the sun, Zellner says. Venus will be visible in the evening sky for much of the summer. "We'll get one last look at Jupiter near mid-May, in the pre-dawn hours," says Zellner. "But the telescope won't be open that late. Saturn will reappear in the morning sky starting in June." Several meteor showers will also be visible throughout the summer. The telescope in the Hirsch Observatory was a gift from General Electric in 1964. In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation 
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