Where:

Frosty Drew Observatory

When:

Fri, Jul 23, 2021 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Cost:

$5 Suggested Donation per person 5 years and older

Welcome to the Frosty Drew Observatory Summer Stargazing Nights! Every Friday night (weather permitting) we open our Observatory, Science Center, Sky Theatre, and telescopes to the sky and offer free stargazing and astronomy to anybody interested in observing with us.

Tonight's forecasts are calling for partly cloudy sky conditions clearing out later this afternoon with clear conditions setting in overnight. Certainly a nice change from the cloudy Fridays of late. Considering that the July Full Moon occurs at 10:37 pm tonight, the bright Moon will be visible even through haze and thinner cloud cover. This all makes for a potentially great night to be out under the Moon.

We’ll open the Observatory, Observatory Courtyard, and Science Center at 8:30 pm tonight. In the Observatory, the primary telescope will focus on Venus during twilight. Once Venus sets, a colorful view of the binary star – Albireo will fill the gap while we wait for Saturn to clear the southeast treeline. After which, views of Saturn’s rings and moons will rock the primary telescope. Jupiter will be the next target of interest for the Observatory telescope in the last 30 minutes of the night. Courtyard telescopes will focus on the Full Moon, binary stars, and the planets. We will close up at 10:30 pm.

Overall, tonight has the makings of a good night. The Full Moon will be extensively bright and will outshine everything aside from the planets and binary stars. Now that we are moving into Saturn’s and Jupiter’s viewing season, we have a nice fall back on nights with the bright Moon. If you’re looking for views of the Milky Way, thousands of stars, and that stunning super dark starscape over Frosty Drew, then tonight is the night to skip. But if the Moon has a special place in your heart, then tonight is the night to kick off your love affair as the Moon will be out for the entire night. So shake off the clouds of July 2021 with a beautiful night out under the Full Moon at Frosty Drew Observatory tonight.

Be sure to subscribe to the (Frosty Drew Observatory mailing list, follow us on Twitter (@FrostyDrewOBSY) or on Facebook to receive status updates about our Summer Stargazing Nights program and more.

With the dynamic and rapidly changing pandemic landscape, site visit requirements will be changing very quickly. At this time, tickets are not required to attend this event, but visitors will have to register their name and phone number upon arrival. Note that we will NOT send anything to your phone number. This is used exclusively for contact tracing matters. We are limiting a maximum of 250 visitors concurrently at our event. If this limit is reached, you will have to either wait in your car or take a night stroll around Ninigret Park until availability opens up. Reading our SARS-CoV-2 Public Statement will get you the most recent information about this matter.

If you are looking for that awesome astronomy thing to do or just want a night out to experience the cosmos under the darkest skies in Rhode Island, then this is your chance.

Take a moment to catch up on some amazing things happening this week in:
A Celebration of Space - July 23, 2021

Check out our page on Visiting Frosty Drew Observatory to learn more about what to expect at the Observatory and better help you prepare for your visit.

Please note that we do not allow any white lights on our campus from dusk - dawn. This is to ensure an equally awesome view of the night sky for all and to allow for the use of light sensitive astronomical equipment. Learn more about why we have this requirement in The Red Light District

To allow for visitors to freely explore all of the amazing experiences at Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center without having to wait in long lines, we have integrated a pass-based group access process that applies to only the large telescope inside the observatory dome. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with this process as part of your planning steps.

Please note that due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the detail of this event may change. Please check in regularly, both here and on our SARS-CoV-2 page, to stay up to date.