Public Stargazing

Public Stargazing

Where:
Frosty Drew Observatory
When:
Friday June 20, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
Cost:
$1 Suggested Donation per Person

Tonight's forecast is calling for variable conditions with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies. The 31% waning crescent Moon will not rise until 1:32 a.m. leaving skies super dark with stunning views of the Milky Way, star clusters, and vast nebulae. We will open at 6:00 this afternoon with live views of the solar photosphere showcasing any Earth facing sunspots. Once the Sun sets, we will open the observatory telescopes to the night sky while dodging the occasional passing cloud. Our list of awesome will feature Saturn, Mars, star clusters, stellar nurseries, and the death throes of old stars. Warm temps will bring comfortable conditions but it will also bring mosquitoes. Jeans or full length pants, closed-toe shoes, and sleeved shirts (long or short) should be on your list of things to wear. Regardless of the variable forecast, tonight could be an excellent night of stargazing.

For those driving long distances, there is variability in tonight's forecast of clouds. This is leaving us unsure what to expect. We will tweet updates from the observatory to @FrostyDrewOBSY to keep you updated on what is happening on site. Overall we feel tonight will offer OK viewing conditions with a quick onset of clouds after sunset which should clear until after midnight.

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Weekly Happenings
Scott MacNeill

Tomorrow morning at 6:51 EDT the Summer Solstice will occur marking the start of the Summer season in the Northern Hemisphere. On the Summer Solstice, Earth's axial tilt (23.4°) will be at its maximum inclination toward the Sun in the north for the entire year. This not only marks the first day of Summer but also the longest day of the year. Additionally, on the Summer Solstice the Sun will be directly overhead (zenith) to the Tropic of Cancer. At this point, the Ecliptic- which is the apparent path the Sun follows across the sky, will be 23.4° above the celestial equator (Earth's equator projected into the sky). All this geekage aside, the Summer Solstice signals beach days, late sunsets, no school, and a break from the long 2014 New England Winter. Welcome Summer!

Are you the kind of kid that can't resist taking apart... everything? Do you see the world before you as an ever evolving challenge? Do you day dream about human deep space exploration? Or are you a teacher or parent who knows this person? Well NASA and Made in Space will be launching the first of its kind Zero-G 3D printer destined for the International Space Station (ISS). To celebrate this launch, NASA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Foundation are joining forces to create the “Future Engineers” 3D printing challenges. These challenges, directed towards middle - high school student hackers bursting with creativity, will be set with the goal of designing one the first items in history to be manufactured in Space. Starting this summer/fall, students from around the country will have an opportunity to get their hands dirty solving real-world space exploration challenges. With the winning student traveling to NASA’s Payload Operations Center and watching a live feed of their design being printed on the ISS while geeking out with the mission control team. Hey, it's never to early to make your mark on the future of human space exploration. This could be your moment to show everybody what you can do! Visit FutureEngineers to learn more and get involved.

-Scott