Summer Stargazing Nights - At The Frosty Drew Observatory and Science Center

Welcome to the Frosty Drew Summer Stargazing Nights! Every Friday night (weather permitting) we open our Observatory, Science Center, Sky Theatre, and telescopes to the sky and offer stargazing and astronomy to anybody interested in observing with us. Tonight's forecasts are calling for partly cloudy to mostly cloudy sky conditions. Overall it should be a comfortable night with moderate to cool temps, but the sky will certainly have some level of cloud cover. The 80% waxing gibbous Moon will be with us until 1:33 am, and will offer stunning views of some of the best craters. Even with thin cloud cover the Moon will still be visible. We will open the Observatory and Science Center at 6:30 pm. In the Observatory Courtyard we will host our solar viewing program until the Sun drops into the trees. During this time our telescopes will show the solar photosphere in our solar telescopes. We will also have daytime views of Venus available in the large Observatory telescope. Once the Sun sets we will switch over to stargazing mode. The Moon will be the popular item tonight with the Observatory telescope showing highly magnified views of lunar regions. Binary and multiple star systems will be available as well in the Observatory and Courtyard telescopes. The Sky Theatre will show our regular feature of celestial objects photographed at Frosty Drew Observatory, and the Science Center will have exhibits on display. We will close at 11:00 pm. Overall, tonight could play out to be a fantastic night for Lunar observation. Every forecast source is calling for some level of cloud cover, though depending on the source, this could be anything from a few passing clouds to mostly cloudy conditions. Additionally, the bright 80% Moon will significantly out shine most nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. If making the long drive, keep in mind that you could be met with clouds. For those looking for views of the Milky Way, tonight will not be your night as the Moon will be too bright. So set your sights on Frosty Drew and have a comfortable mid-summer night with the Moon.