Where:

Frosty Drew Observatory

When:

Fri, Sep 3, 2021 6:30 pm - 11:30 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, Sky Theatre, and telescopes to the skies and offer free stargazing and astronomy to anybody interested in observing with us.

Tonight’s forecasts are calling for mostly clear to clear sky conditions with cooler temps. The 6% waning crescent Moon will not rise until 3:13 am, leaving the sky super dark for fabulous viewing opportunities. The music festival will certainly bring a different type of atmosphere to the park, with a lot of ambient light, loud music, and rowdy visitors. Though this may sound inopportune, the Rhythm and Roots festival really is a blast, and makes for one of our most interesting nights of the summer. Tonight is also the last night of our Summer Stargazing Nights for 2021. Starting next week, we will move to our regular Stargazing Nights schedule, which will see the discontinuation of our solar viewing program until summer 2022. Though we will still have just as many telescopes set up every Friday night as we move through the end of summer and into autumn.

Tonight we will open the Observatory, and Observatory Courtyard, at 6:30 pm. In the Observatory Courtyard we will have our solar telescopes set up on the Sun. After a relatively quiet period on the solar photosphere this summer, a nice sunspot has moved into view, AR 2863, which should put on a good show for anybody that stops in. Have you seen a sunspot in a telescope? Well this afternoon is your chance. Once the Sun sets, we will direct our telescopes towards Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Albireo, Mizar, and other bright objects. As twilight wanes, we will showcase nebulae, star clusters, and a host of deep sky objects visible on the darkest nights. The Sky Theatre and Science Center will remain closed tonight due to the music festival. We will close up at 10:30 pm.

Overall, tonight looks fantastic! It will be dryer, cooler, way more comfortable, and clear. Add in that we do not have the Moon, and the park will ring with tunes, and it will be a night for the rocker in you. If the increase in ambient light, noise, and bustle is not what you want to experience, then tonight will certainly be the night to skip. Additionally, the event will bring a rather rowdy visitor base to the park. Depending on you, this may not be the most family friendly environment. We have not had any serious altercations happen during the event, and the night certainly is a team favorite, but please keep that in mind when planning your visit. Otherwise, stop in, rock out to live Americana and BlueGrass tunes, and check out the rings of Saturn, the Galilean Moons of Jupiter, or get lost in a sky full of stars at Frosty Drew Observatory tonight.

Please note that there will be traffic control checkpoints for the music festival along Park Lane inside Ninigret Park. When approaching these checkpoints, kindly notify the parking staff that you are visiting Frosty Drew Observatory and are not attending the music festival, and they will let you pass. DO NOT pay for parking and DO NOT follow the advice of parking staff that state we are closed tonight. WE ARE OPEN! Also, navigate slowly as there will be a lot of people on the roadways.

Take a moment to catch up on a few celestial happenings this week in: A Celebration of Space - September 3, 2021

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

This weekend will also bring the fabulous Rhythm and Roots music festival to Ninigret Park (home to Frosty Drew Observatory). The event, though loaded with amazing Americana and Blue Grass tunes, will also bring substantial artificial light, loud music, and hundreds of people to the park. We love this weekend because of all the fabulous people, bands, and bustle it brings to the park.

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.

COVID-19 NOTICE: ==============

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.

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.

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.