Summer Stargazing Nights - CLOSED

Summer Stargazing Nights - CLOSED

Where:
Frosty Drew Observatory
When:
Fri, Jul 3, 2020 - CLOSED
Cost:
$5 Suggested Donation per person 5 years and older

UPDATE July 3, 2020 09:24 ########
Tonight's forecast for clouds and rain will keep the Frosty Drew campus closed. Instead, we will offer a live streamed event tonight, featuring our astronomers and recent celestial images we have captured as well as a commentary on current astronomical happenings. We will open the Frosty Drew Observatory next on Friday, July 10, 2020.
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We have been receiving an excessive number of phone calls and emails about where to acquire tickets for our events. This information is listed below! Kindly read the entire page before calling or writing in. The information is posted thoroughly so our team members do not have to respond to questions for redundant information. We will not respond to calls or emails with inquiries about how to acquire tickets! Thank you for your understanding.

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 is Stargazing Night at Frosty Drew Observatory and forecasts are calling for overcast conditions with showers and fog. This will sadly, keep our telescopes closed tonight. The nearly full Moon would have been with us all night tonight, blazing a 97% waxing gibbous phase, and would have washed out the sky significantly with copious moonlight. Overnight tomorrow will bring the Full Thunder Moon, which fits nicely into the past two weeks of thunderstorms, as well as the rumble of distant fireworks. We will return to our Stargazing Nights event schedule on Friday, July 10, 2020.

Additionally, Rhode Island entered Phase III of the state’s reopening plan this past week. This will allow us to permit a much higher number of visitors to our Stargazing Nights events on site. Last Friday’s event sold out in under 50 minutes. After polling visitors that night it became apparent that getting tickets for the event required diligent monitoring of our events page. Starting (what would have been tonight) next Friday, July 10th, we will increase the number of tickets available from 45 to 120 for the night. As the month continues we will progressively increase the number of available tickets to a max of 240 per night. Though many on site activities will continue to operate in their current modified state, having more visitors out will allow you a better chance of getting out under the stars with us, and that makes us so happy!

Important information about tickets:

- A maximum of 120 tickets will be available for each night depending on telescope availability.
- A ticket is required for each person in your party / group.
- Tickets will not be available on site. This means you need to arrive with your ticket.
- Tickets will be checked at the Observatory main gate, either electronically or physically.
- The name on the ticket must match the name of the ticket holder.
- If you do not have a ticket, you will not be granted admission.
- Tickets are non-refundable.
- This event is weather dependent and cancellations will be posted on the day of the event.

We ask for a donation of $5 per person over the age of 5 years. The ticket acquisition process will accept any donation amount that you are willing to give, and we thank you for doing so!

When visiting, please be aware of signage and social distancing markers as well as flow indicators. If you are experiencing any symptoms of any contagion, stay home and postpone your visit, even if that means forfeiture of your ticket. Visitors who are visibly displaying symptoms of a contagion will not be granted admission. This is just how it is for now, so take your allergy pill before departing for Frosty Drew Observatory!

Before visiting we always recommend reading 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. Though in particular you should read our Equipment Usage TOS because this will be in full force and inability to follow will result in the visitor or party being required to leave. Please familiarize yourself with our visiting info. I could prevent a potentially embarrassing moment.

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.

If this event is cancelled due to inclement weather or other reasons, we will host a live streamed event showcasing images of the cosmos that our astronomers have captured earlier in the week. A link to the live broadcast will be added to this page on the day of the event. Regardless, you can catch up on our live streams, science and astronomy videos, and more on the Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center YouTube

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.

Catch up on all the amazing things happening in space this week, including the Full Thunder Moon, a penubral lunar eclipse, and increased capacity at our Celebrate the Milky Way events and others in: A Celebration of Space - July 3, 2020

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 as well as to allow for the use of light sensitive astronomical equipment. Learn more about why we have this requirement in The Red Light District