Where Have We Been?

We apologize for the absence of open viewing evenings now that we are finally getting a few clear nights - we just haven't had any volunteers available. We are presently doing some volunteer training; hopefully there will be some public viewing opportunities later in the summer.

Tues Feb 1 - confirming opening 7 & 8 pm tonight

The forecast is still for clear, so this is just to confirm that the Observatory will be open for two viewings tonight: 7:00 and 8:00 pm.
- KH

Feb 1 2011 - Open Tonight 7 and 8 pm

Finally! The Clear Sky Clock is promising clear sky this evening, and the NOAA forecast says "mostly clear"!

I plan to open the Observatory this evening with viewings at 7:00 and 8:00 pm.

No moon tonight, so if the forecasters have it right, it should be a good night for things like the Orion Nebula and the Beehive Cluster. We'll try to catch Jupiter as well, but it is getting pretty far down in the western sky

It will be COLD - dress warmly. Bring binoculars if you have them.

(I am seeing some ominous cloudiness over in the west, so I will try to post once more around 5:00 to confirm.)

Is this your first visit with us? Be sure to read through the information on our home page.

KH

Wed 20 Oct 2010 - open 7-9 pm

From the forecast, this may be our last clear night for a while.
The Observatory will be open for 2 viewings tonight:
7:00 pm
8:00 pm

Lots of moonlight, so we'll probably concentrate on the Moon & Jupiter.
We should be in the Orionid meteor shower, so keep an eye out for shooting stars

Wed Oct. 13 - open tonight

Forecast is for a fairly clear night - the Observatory will be open for 2 viewings:
7:30 pm
8:30 pm
We'll have Jupiter, a nice first-quarter Moon, and see what else we can find - and we'll try again for Comet 103P-Hartley, it's getting a little brighter all the time,so maybe we'll have better luck!

Bring binoculars if you have them!

Sat. 10/2/10 - open tonight 8-10

Forecast is "partly cloudy" - but there's a lot of clear sky up there now.
The observatory will be open for viewing sessions at 8:00 and 9:00.
(Possibly a 10:00 session if the clouds haven't taken over the sky by then.)

We should get fine views of Jupiter, and it should be a pretty good evening for some of the deep-sky objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy and the Hercules Cluster.

We haven't yet been able to find Comet 103P-Hartley - but we'll keep trying; it should be brightening daily until mid-October.

Thursday 9/30/2010 - open tonight 8:00-9:30 pm

This time of year a clear dark sky in the hand is worth two in the forecast... and there's that comet up there (103P Hartley) that I couldn't find last time but might be an easier target now. So,

The Observatory will be open from 8:00-9:30 pm tonight. (If more than 8 visitors show up, we will split that into 2 sessions.)

Should be a good night for Andromeda, perhaps the Lagoon or Swan Nebula, Jupiter, and, with any luck, the comet.