Lonny Buinis Observatory
The Lonny Buinis Observatory houses a 16-inch Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a Mathis MI-750 mount, one of the most capable instruments at the Jenny Jump site.
The observatory was dedicated in April 2016 in honor of Lonny Buinis, recognizing over 22 years of volunteer service to UACNJ. A founding member of UACNJ since 1994 and a longtime member of Amateur Astronomers Inc. since 1968, Lonny has been a fixture at our Saturday evening programs for decades. He is perhaps best known to our audiences for his long-running monthly presentation "What's Up in the Sky?" which he has delivered on the first Saturday of each month since 2004, giving visitors an engaging tour of that month's highlights in the night sky.
Beyond his work at UACNJ, Lonny is an accomplished space artist and animator who has been a member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists since 2006. He specializes in astronomical visualization including interactive virtual reality and 3D animation of planets and space environments, and has collaborated with scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and other institutions. He also taught at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC), where he brought the same passion for astronomy to a new generation of students.
If you've attended a Saturday evening program at Jenny Jump, there's a good chance Lonny is the one who showed you what's up in the sky.
The observatory was dedicated in April 2016 in honor of Lonny Buinis, recognizing over 22 years of volunteer service to UACNJ. A founding member of UACNJ since 1994 and a longtime member of Amateur Astronomers Inc. since 1968, Lonny has been a fixture at our Saturday evening programs for decades. He is perhaps best known to our audiences for his long-running monthly presentation "What's Up in the Sky?" which he has delivered on the first Saturday of each month since 2004, giving visitors an engaging tour of that month's highlights in the night sky.
Beyond his work at UACNJ, Lonny is an accomplished space artist and animator who has been a member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists since 2006. He specializes in astronomical visualization including interactive virtual reality and 3D animation of planets and space environments, and has collaborated with scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and other institutions. He also taught at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC), where he brought the same passion for astronomy to a new generation of students.
If you've attended a Saturday evening program at Jenny Jump, there's a good chance Lonny is the one who showed you what's up in the sky.
