The North Fork is full of activities for connoisseurs of good wine, food and culture. There are ample spots to knock back pints of craft beer and cocktails, pick fresh produce and explore the shores and seaside culture. But look further — and into the darkness — and you’ll also find a community of science enthusiasts exploring the night sky.
At Custer Institute and Observatory (1115 Main Bayview Road, Southold), nerding out is always in. While it may seem intimidating to chat with someone who has a Ph.D. in astrophysics, curiosity and questions are greeted enthusiastically at Custer. The volunteers aren’t afraid to admit they don’t have all the answers to the mysteries of the cosmos, but know this: If they don’t know, it’s likely that no one does. However, they do revel in history, and some even keep a close eye on objects hurtling toward Earth.
BACK IN TIME
Custer Institute and Observatory was established in 1927, the same year the first transatlantic telephone call was made via radio from New York City to London. It was then that amateur astronomers and scientists Charles W. Elmer and Richard Perkin and a few other fellow “nerds” started an astronomy club, meeting at Elmer’s house in Cedar Beach, Southold. They called themselves the Custer Institute in honor of Elmer’s wife, May’s, maiden name, thanks to her gracious hosting of their informal gatherings at the Southold home.
Elmer and Perkin formed Perkin-Elmer Optical Company in 1938 in Manhattan, which went on to build the mirror for the Hubble Space Telescope, still in use today, an accomplishment that Alan Cousins, the vice president of Custer Institute, describes as “a nice feather in Charles Elmer’s cap.”
Science turned out to be a big draw in what was (and still is) primarily a farming region, and the institute blossomed on land purchased by the group in 1937 to eventually include the three-story tower and dome built 10 years later.
Notable local and national luminaries affiliated with Custer over the years include Jeff Lichtman, founder of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers; David Rothman, who you’ve definitely seen in photos alongside Albert Einstein wearing women’s sandals he got from the now-defunct Rothman’s Department Store in Southold; American telescope builder Henry Fitz; past editor of Astronomy Magazine Richard Berry; and author Dava Sobel, who had an asteroid named after her in 1994, thanks to her literary work in physics.
Throughout the years telescope builders ground and tested their own glass optics in Custer’s basement when building their telescopes — work now done by precision machines. (The grinder is still there, albeit a bit dusty.) And upstairs, star-gazers came from near and far for decade upon decade.
Fast forward all the way to 2006, when Custer’s observatory was crowned with a brand new 22-foot galvanized steel dome that lets viewers see planets, comets and space objects through its 10-inch Zerochromat refracting telescope — the largest of its type in the United States.
LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!
Every Saturday night, weather permitting, the not-for-profit Custer, which is staffed only by volunteers, opens its doors to the public and powers up the telescopes and computers, focusing on whatever happens to be in good view at the time. If a green comet is traversing the night sky, they’ll focus on that. If Saturn is positioned properly, guests can put one eye — but no hands, to not fumble the precision positioning — up to the scope and see it and its famous rings. Cousins says the objects are chosen with an untrained eye in mind.
“We’ll pick an object, for example the Hercules star cluster,” he says. “Looking through the eyepiece they’ll be able to see what it is and have a meaningful experience.”
Custer takes sky viewing a step further by aligning a camera-equipped telescope to its big refractor up in the dome. The live image is displayed on a television hung in the waiting room, offering inclusivity to those who can’t physically climb the slim staircase to the dome or crouch to use the eyepiece. If you’re bespectacled, it can be tricky. Cousins says some objects are also just so faint they are easier to see — for everyone — on the camera instead of using the eyepiece.
“In the wintertime the Orion nebula is a bright enough and near enough nebula where it looks fine in the eyepiece and is actually visible with binoculars,” Cousins says. “Of course, through the camera, it looks phenomenal.”
Another can’t-miss sight to see is a 22-pound meteorite fragment from Campo del Cielo in Argentina, now housed on the grounds of Custer. On display in the Charles Elmer room, it hit Earth approximately 45,000 years ago, back when the Neanderthals were disappearing and Homo sapiens were settling Eurasia. Pieces of it are available for purchase, so guests can take a piece of the notably heavy history home with them.
A COMMUNITY OF STARGAZERS
Custer is run by volunteers, from folks who live down the street from the observatory to Brookhaven National Lab scientists who dabble in astronomy.
One of the latter, Steve Bellavia, works with the North Fork Dark Sky Coalition, a group of local people and organizations encouraging area parks, schools and businesses to turn off their lights when closed. Light pollution clouds the stars from view and can also affect migrating birds and insects. Growing up, he remembers seeing the Milky Way at night in Brooklyn — something that’s no longer possible — a sight he’s looking to preserve for North Forkers.
“The [town building] codes are in place, we don’t have to have any new laws made,” Bellavia says. “We just need enforcement. We’re making progress.”
Bellavia’s amateur astronomy work at Custer could also have a greater impact. He and his team of student interns — interested parties head to the Custer website! — use a telescope on-site to monitor asteroids, collect data and send it along to the Minor Planet Center at Harvard.
“It’s one of the few endeavors where the amateurs contribute a lot to the professionals,” Bellavia says. “All kinds of amazing data come out of this stuff.”
Bellavia isn’t the only amateur astronomer Custer has welcomed. Also on the property is a smaller dome at the Amateur Observer’s Society of New York’s Susan F. Rose Observatory. At close to 60 years old, the group of amateur astronomers based in Nassau County uses its telescope primarily for community outreach.
AOS President Jason Cousins — no relation to Alan Cousins — hopes to expand their dome soon to make it Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant and to include everyone in star gazing.
“It’s an opportunity to be with like-minded people,” he says. Working in construction, he’s not a scientist like Bellavia, however they connect, often late at night to ask, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“Every day something is taking place,” he says of the wonders of the night sky. “Because you’re focusing on seasons and events, you slow the clock down,” making amateur astronomy part of a happy life.
But there are also moments to simply take in the majesty of what’s skyward. Artist, amateur astronomer and lifetime Custer member Randall DiGiuseppe of Patchogue hosts seasonal guided night sky tours on the lawn. Bring a chair or blanket — or both if it’s chilly — and watch as he uses a laser pointer to literally point out constellations, galaxies, star clusters and such. He’ll lecture the entire time or is happy to answer questions called out from the audience. It’s dark so everyone can see the sky and therefore a good time for questions from shy stargazers.
At Custer, the depth of your science-curious questioning and discovery can go, as Cousins says, as far as you want to take it.
“If you want to do it just as a hobby, that’s good too,” Bellavia agrees. “You don’t have to do any research; you can just sit in a chair and enjoy it.”
Nerding out with the Peconic Amateur Radio Club
Dr. Richard S. Trowbridge has been leading the Peconic Amateur Radio Club as president for the last 15 months. He has been taking it to new levels by shoring up the official aspects such as bookkeeping and nonprofit status and bringing membership numbers up to 55 and counting.
Last April, he struck a deal with Custer Institute and Observatory, and the property became the permanent home of the club. The deal provides a consistent and conducive place for the club to hold meetings, open houses and continue to offer vital communication in Southold Town and the surrounding communities during emergencies and disasters — a service it has provided for the last 30 years.
“I think we’re in alignment that we’re all interested in science,” he says, “so at the time, they welcomed us with open arms.”
In addition to the new space, Trowbridge has brought back ham radio field days with club picnics and social events such as potluck dinners and monthly Saturday breakfasts in Riverhead, at the request of its members.
Open houses are hosted at Custer every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Visit w2amc.org for more information.
