It's not every day a large new telescope opens for business, and a new observatory run by the University of Utah has just taken its first picture of the cosmos.

The "first light" image, as it's called, is an edge-on view of the spiral galaxy NGC 891.

The Willard L. Eccles Observatory's 32-inch reflecting telescope took its first pictures the night of Oct. 15. The first photo was released last week and the initial observations will be celebrated at a Nov. 11 symposium and reception on the Salt Lake City campus.

The $860,000 observatory is sits 9,600 feet atop Frisco Peak, near Milford, Utah. An additional grant is being sought to allow remote observations to be done at the observatory, which is about 250 miles from campus.

Some tweaking is planned for the next few months, and scientific observations should begin in earnest next spring, said Wayne Springer, an associate professor of physics and astronomy who leads the project.

"We will certainly utilize the facility for education of students and for public outreach opportunities," including star parties in Salt Lake City that will use the telescope by remote control," Springer said.