Observatory and extensively refurbished using funding from NASA. In 1993 this new instrument came online as the LONEOS system to detect near-Earth asteroids. However, at the time Perkins Observatory received no compensation for use of this instrument. At Ohio Wesleyan University, unfortunately, interest in Perkins Observatory also waned. Little concern was shown toward maintaining the historic property. An endowment fund of approximately $90,000 left by Hiram Perkins in his will (intended to fund observatory operations and the Director's salary) disappeared somewhere into the OWU's general endowment fund. Worst of all, most of the land surrounding the observatory was sold to developers. Of a sizable initial plot, by 1990 only remained. (A golf course was built on the sold off property, which later also swallowed up the Big Ear radio telescope.) Rebirth and reinvention In the 1990s, Tom Burns, a member of the Columbus Astronomical Society and professor of English at the Ohio Wesleyan University, became Director of Perkins Observatory. He greatly expanded the Observatory's public programs and visibility in the central Ohio area. A collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship was also established with the Columbus Astronomical Society. (In exchange for monthly meeting space and observatory access the CAS provides volunteer assistance with the many public programs.) Major repairs to the observatory dome were undertaken, thanks to the profits made from the sale of eclipse viewing glasses for the 1994 solar eclipse. Unused office and storage space was converted into exhibit rooms, a children's play area and a small gift shop. In September 1999 the original telescope mirror was retrieved from COSI (where it had been sitting in a closet for over a decade) and placed on display. In 1998 the Ohio State University formally ended its relationship with Ohio Wesleyan University and Perkins Observatory. OSU withdrew from the 1935 agreement so it could apply its financial resources to purchasing time on the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham. The telescope was sold outright to Lowell Observatory by Ohio Wesleyan. (The proceeds of this sale went into the Perkins Observatory Endowment Fund.) Staff members who were technically Ohio State University employees started receiving their paychecks from OWU. Current use Currently, regular observing programs are held almost every Friday and Saturday night throughout the year. Programs are held on other evenings and during the day by special appointment. A monthly lecture series detailing various current topics in astronomy is ongoing. Occasional special