The Drury University Observatory resides on the property of Dr. Ojakangas. The physics program had acquired a 14-inch Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope decades ago, with no place to set it up. Through departmental support, we were finally able to give it the permanent location shown above.
The Meade 14-inch LX200 telescope is mounted on a Paramount MX+ robotic telescope mount from SoftWare Bisque and is controlled by a laptop.
Mars 2020 Opposition Party!
Mars is an elusive, mysterious planet. Its mystique partly is due to the fact that it is so hard to image clearly, even with large, Earth-based telescopes. Seeing features on the surface of Mars is difficult due to the fact that it is (1) considerably smaller than the earth, and (2) usually very far away. But every 26 months, the earth swings past its cousin on its faster, inner orbit, offering an opportunity to see Mars much more closely. The point when Mars is abreast of the earth is called opposition. Seeing ANY feature on the surface of Mars is exciting, because Mars is a PLACE, and humans will GO there, most likely within a decade or so. The Society of Physics Students at Drury University gathered for a socially-distanced, masked MARS 2020 event at the DU Observatory in October 9, 2020, when Mars was the closest it will be to the earth until 2035. At only about 38 million miles away, we were able to see details, which students sketched on paper. 
At the right is an image taken with a CCD camera from the Drury Observatory telescope shortly before opposition. By coincidence, the center of the hemisphere seen contains the proposed landing site (red dot) for the SpacEx Starship, which is under rapid development in Boca Chica, Texas.
Below (left) students take turns viewing Mars at its closest point until 2035. Below (right) Drury students observe the passage of catalogued space debris object with binoculars, while waiting to look at Mars.
