Where:

Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center

When:

Fri, May 16, 2025 - CLOSED

Cost:

Tickets may be required to attend. Please read below.

Welcome to the Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center's 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 overcast conditions with fog. Considering that the Frosty Drew campus is already saturated from yesterday’s surprise 2+ inches of rain, the idea of stargazing just sounds dreadfully sticky, even with the presence of the 86% waning gibbous Moon. In line with most of spring 2025’s events, we are keeping the Observatory and Science Center closed tonight. Being that tonight is the last regular Stargazing Nights event of the spring it has been a terrible season for stargazing in Southern New England.

Next Friday, May 23, 2025, we kick off our Summer Stargazing Nights events. These events bring back our larger scale summer events that include solar viewing in the afternoon, additional Courtyard telescopes, presentations and speakers in the Sky Theatre, the Lunar Lounge on nights with the Moon, and Story Time Under the Willow. 2025 will also see the return of the old 16” Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope that used to be the primary Observatory dome telescope. We will be showing views of the cosmos in the old telescope in its new location on our North Lawn. Hopefully the Friday night cloud bomb will depart soon so we can get back into celebrating the night. Check out our page for next Friday’s event.

Be sure to subscribe to the Frost Drew Observatory mailing list and follow us on Instagram to receive status updates about our Stargazing Nights program and more.

Preparing for Your Visit:

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.

How to Dress for Winter Conditions: The Frosty Drew Observatory is not climate controlled, and the temperature inside the dome need to match the outside air temperature for a stable telescopic view. Frosty Drew Astronomy Team members dress in layers during the winter and for a very good reason. You should consider doing the same. Please read Dressing for All-Night Winter Stargazing to familiarize yourself with adequate dressing measures.

Please note that we do not allow any white lights on our campus or in Ninigret Park from dusk - dawn, with the exception of low beam headlights while in motion. 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.