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THIS STORY APPEARED IN THE ALTON AND MADISON COUNTY POST SECTIONS. A SHORTER VERSION OF THIS STORY APPEARED IN THE ST. CLAIR- MONROE COUNTY POST SECTION.
A new telescope is giving Principia College faculty and visitors a bird's-eye view of the universe.
The custom-made viewing device is a one-ton unit that sits in a rotating observatory 32 feet off the ground on the picturesque Jersey County campus. The largest academic telescope in the St. Louis region, it was installed last summer to replace a 12-inch reflector telescope that is now mounted piggy-back style on the larger instrument.
The new telescope at the Principia Astronomical Observatory has a 16-inch reflector and a 4,000 millimeter lens. Dual motors help move the telescope into positions that are determined by a computer for pinpoint accuracy in locating stars and galaxies far beyond the reach of the naked eye.
David Cornell, chairman of Principia's physics department, said once the Opti-Mechanics telescope was installed, it didn't take long before its benefits became apparent.
"For years, I have tried to find the most famous exploding star in the...