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While the unaided eye or binoculars can reveal much of the night sky, a telescope reveals so much more. Seeing Saturn's rings or the moon's craters with your own eyes can be an "oh wow" moment.

The original instrument to occupy the 25-foot diameter dome was the 10.5-inch Bausch refracting telescope (f/15.5) installed in the brand new observatory in 1953. Bausch & Lomb Company gave the ...