Public Stargazing

Public Stargazing

Where:
Frosty Drew Observatory
When:
Friday June 5, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.
Cost:
$1 Suggested Donation per Person

Tonight's forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with patchy fog over night. The 90% waning gibbous Moon will rise 10:52 p.m. and would have significantly brighten the skies making deep sky observation after 10:30 p.m. difficult. The combination of clouds, fog, and the bright Moon are not making for ideal observing conditions. We have been hammered for the past few weeks with fog at Frosty Drew Observatory, one of the disadvantages of having an observatory on the beach.

We plan to open the Observatory and Sky Theatre tonight at 6:00 p.m. In the Observatory and Sky Theatre we will be showing live views of the Sun showcasing sunspots AR2352, AR2360, and recently emerged AR2361, which is quite active. This all happens if clouds do not obscure our views. Otherwise, we will be showing a slide show of astrophotos shot at Frosty Drew Observatory with a commentary on general astronomy in the Sky Theatre. At 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. the Nature Center will be open with naturalists on site to present the brighter side of Frosty Drew. At sunset, we will attempt a view of Venus, which is showing a beautiful 50% phase, and a view of Jupiter showing all four Galilean Moons. Saturn will be in view of our telescopes after 9:00 p.m. We plan to stay on site until either clouds or fog chase us out or 11:30 p.m. arrives.

Overall, tonight's forecast is looking a bit grim, though tomorrow night looks to be significantly better and we are open on Saturdays until August 29! We will begin tonight's session on standby and chase views as they become available. Be sure to check in with us on Twitter (@FrostyDrewOBSY) or Facebook before setting out. We will post updates on conditions at the Observatory and a “Closing up” message when we decide to pack it in. We'll gladly take the clouds now in favor of clear skies next weekend when the new Moon and the Meridian Project come to Frosty Drew Observatory!

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Weekly Happenings
Scott MacNeill

This past week, the International Space Station (ISS) has moved back into the evening skies over New England and largely the entire USA. Continuing until June 21st (Summer Solstice), multiple daily visible passes of the ISS will mesmerize evening sky watchers nationwide. Visit Frosty Drew Observatory for daily pass predictions applicable for Southern New England. Outside of the Southern New England area? Check out NASA's Spot The Station for pass times over your location. Read up on Viewing the ISS, then step outside and catch a crazy inspiration view of Earth's only continuously inhabited human residence in space. Woot!

On July 14, 2015 the NASA New Horizons mission will fly past dwarf planet Pluto at a close distance of about 7,800 miles. For reference, the Moon is, on average, 230,000 miles distant from Earth. During the fly-by, the New Horizons spacecraft will collect images, atmospheric readings, magnetic field measurements, and more. Over the next year streams of data will come back to Earth from New Horizons on the findings. As we ramp up to the historical moment when New Horizons passes Pluto, NASA is promoting "Pluto Time", which is a specific time during dawn and dusk each day on Earth where the amount of sunlight entering Earth's atmosphere is equal to what daytime would look like on Pluto. Since Pluto is over 3.5 billion miles away from the nearest star, sunlight is much weaker than we are used to at only 94 million miles from the Sun here on Earth. Visit NASAs Pluto Time page to figure out when Pluto time happens at your location. Take a pic of yourself (without wasting any paper on a message! Hey, use a dry erase white board or old fashion chalk slate), post to social media with the tag #PlutoTime and have a geek moment. Then visit the New Horizons page and get up to speed on this awesome mission!