 Friends of the Observatory (FOTO) is the support group and amateur astronomy club affiliated with the Cincinnati Observatory Center. FOTO provides staffing for many of the observatory's programs. Membership is included when joining the Cincinnati Observatory Center.
FOTO meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM at the Observatory Center. Map to the Cincinnati Observatory Center. A normal meeting consists of fifteen to twenty minutes of organizational business followed an astronomical presentation. Past subjects have included: Bad Astronomy in Hollywood Films, Meteorites, The Gas Giants, How to Make a Sun Dial, Longitude, How to Read a HR Diagram, etc. The presentations are given by amateur and professional astronomers as well as experts in peripheral fields. Subjects are always announced in the monthly newsletters. By 9:30 PM, weather permitting, members can open the O.M. Mitchel Observatory at the center for celestial viewing. Members are also free to set up any of the portable telescopes on the lawn adjacent to the Observatory buildings.  Many benefits are available to FOTO members, including:
- Monthly meetings.
- Monthly newsletter
- Special classes by the Observatory staff.
- FOTOKids - Youth astronomy club for kids 8-14. (Family level membership and above)
- Special observational sessions at the Observatory.
- Trips to local Dark Sky Sites (Stonelick Lake Map)
- Loaner telescopes.
- Field trips.
- Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) club
- Astrophotography Workshops
FOTO Officers: Basil Rowe, President, Tiffany Groen, Vice-President, Michelle Gainey, Secretary, JoAnne Pederson, Treasurer, Scott Gainey, COC Representative. How to Read the Clocks
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