Tonight's weather doesn't look very good for viewing, so the telescope at Frosty Drew will most likely not be opening tonight. However, across the street, in the Sky Theatre, if you haven't had an opportunity to see the NASA Moon rock and meteorite disks, this will be your last time, as they must go back home this weekend. They will be on display from 6:00 to 8:30 P.M. Don't miss out on seeing pieces of both our nearest neighbor and stones from space.

Because of the terrible sky conditions tonight, you also won't be able to witness a rather bright Iridium flare; however, if there is a tiny clear area in the north around 7:32 P.M., you might see a flash of Satellite #31 about halfway above the northern horizon.

The Curiosity space craft, the one that we are hoping will be making historic discoveries on Mars, is doing its best to do so. Already it has witnessed one of the martian satellites partially eclipse the Sun, shown us rock formations never before seen, and begun its mission of traveling around and up the center of the crater where it landed, Gale. Also, the RBSP, the satellite that will be monitoring the magnetic field around the Earth, has started to unfurl its antennae, and will be starting to send information from this important part of our neighborhood.

The Frosty Drew Observatory is grateful to the Charlestown Police Department for this kindness with respect to allowing us to borrow the NASA materials.

-Francine Jackson

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Tonights weather forecast is calling for rain, thunderstorms and fog. So the observatory telescopes will remain closed. Even if tonight was a clear night we would have the company of the 98% waxing gibbous Moon overhead casting enough light to make deep sky object observation very difficult and Lunar observation very bright. If you have not had a chance to view the Lunar samples we have on loan from NASA, tonight is a great opportunity as they will be available for viewing in the Sky Theatre from 6:00 - 8:00.

This weekend be sure to take a peak at the Harvest Moon, the first full moon after the Autumn Equinox. The Harvest Moon will take place tomorrow night and there appears to be a small opening in the clouds tomorrow night around from 9-11 p.m. If this sticks, be sure to catch a glimpse of this festively bright Moon.

Frosty Drew Observatory is gearing up for our yearly Spooky Views Halloween event. This year we will host Spooky Views on Friday October 26th at 6:00 p.m. (rain date: Saturday October 27th). Coincidentally on this night the bright star Algol in the constellation Perseus will reach minima (minimum brightness) just after midnight. Algol, also known as The Demon Star, is one of the best known eclipsing binary star systems. An eclipsing binary is a binary star system where one star passes in front of the other during its orbital period causing the intensity of the star light to dim. Be sure to make plans to visit Frosty Drew Observatory in costume or just as yourself for a spooky night of observation and presentations.

International Observe the Moon Night took place at Frosty Drew Observatory and around the world last Saturday night. We had a great time showcasing the Moon and remembering how awesome our rather large satellite is. Be sure to visit the Frosty Drew Observatory Facebook page and post any photos you may have taken of the Moon that night!

-Scott MacNeill