Where:

Frosty Drew Observatory

When:

Friday June 28, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

Cost:

Free! Donations Appreciated.

If the skies were clear tonight; Saturn would have been the star planet, but, with the Moon on its way to third quarter phase, it would not be visible during the early hours, allowing some of our deep-sky objects to be viewed. If the clouds do stay away, we have a very bright Iridium flare occurring at 10:57 P.M. about a third of the way above the west-southwestern horizon.

As we are beginning the month of July, we once again remember the first Moon landing, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin set foot on our nearest neighbor in 1969. To remember that very historic time, the URI Planetarium will show the history of space, in the family program "Dawn of the Space Age," Friday, July 12th, at 6:00 and 7:00 P.M. Often claimed to be one of the best programs ever made, this show will begin with Sputnik, then travel onward to the Apollo launches, and hopefully, beyond. Admission, to benefit both the University of Rhode Island and Frosty Drew Memorial funds, is only $5.00. Each show will be followed with "The Skies of Frosty Drew," then, if skies permit, you are all invited to travel to the Observatory for a night of beautiful skies.

Frosty Drew Observatory is privileged to be located in Charlestown, RI, home to the darkest skies in the state. Please help us to keep our skies as dark as possible.

-Francine Jackson

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonight's forecast is calling for fog, clouds, rain, and thunderstorms. This will surely keep the observatory closed. The bright 61% waning gibbous moon will rise at 11:51 tonight which would have given us a small window of deep sky observing awesomeness. Up here in New England we may be under some tough clouds, but out there many great things are happening.

Last night NASA's new solar observatory successfully launched into space. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) will now start its two year mission to understand how heat and energy move through the lower levels of the solar atmosphere. Using high-resolution images, data, and computer models; IRIS will unravel how matter, light, and energy move from the sun's 6,000°k surface to its 1,000,000°k outer atmosphere called the corona. This area has been notoriously hard to study and IRIS will offer a new view into this mysterious solar region.

This past Tuesday (June 25) an international team of scientists studying exoplanets announced the identification of three potentially habitable planets around the star Gliese 667C. This star is the smallest star of a three star system that resides 22 light years away toward the constellation Scorpius. Aside from the three planets capable of supporting alien life, three other planets have also been identified bringing the solar system planetary count to six known planets with the possibility of a seventh. The three habitable worlds are more massive than Earth but less massive than Neptune, and all reside in the region around their parent star where temperatures are capable of sustaining liquid water on planetary surfaces. This is the first time three low-mass planets have been identified in the habitable zone of the same star system therefore significantly increasing the potential number of habitable planets that may exist in our galaxy.

The past few nights we have had a tough time getting a look at the sky. Hopefully the weather of the past three summer seasons does not take shape. Last summer we had only one night of observation at Frosty Drew Observatory for the entire season due to weather. Summer is a great time for observation with warm nights, no school, and the brighter arms of the Milky Way visible overhead. If the New England weather moves back into attack mode and keeps Frosty Drew closed, be sure to make use of other great observing opportunities in the greater Rhode Island area. Seagrave Observatory is open for free to the public every Saturday night (weather permitting) from 9:00 – 11:00 during the summer months. Additionally, starting July 16th, Ladd Observatory at Brown University will be open to the public free of charge from 9:00 – 11:00. Don't let the weather prevent you from getting your astronomy fix on!

-Scott MacNeill