Community Observatory

    What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? August is turning out to be an interesting month for our observatory. We had am event at the observatory last night and the sky was very impacted from the fires in Calaveras County. Even though it was a moonless night, we were probably limited to first and second magnitude stars at times. We can normally see magnitude 6.5. We are hoping for an extinguished fire and clearer skies by this weekend. The weather looks good and there will be no interference from the Moon. We had two very bright meteors that streaked across the sky while we were in the Sky Theater last night. While the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower is next Wednesday, August 12 th , some meteors can be seen several weeks before and after that date. That portends great things for Wednesday August 12 th . The meteors should peak around midnight and we will be open from 10 PM until 1 AM that night. We expect a large crowd so bring lawn ...

  What Can You Expect To See At The Placerville Observatory July 31 & August 1, 2026 (9:00–11:00 PM) If you've been waiting for a classic summer evening under the stars, this weekend should be an excellent opportunity to visit the Placerville Community Observatory. Our volunteer astronomers will be welcoming visitors from 9:00 to 11:00 PM on both Friday and Saturday evenings, weather permitting. Just two days after the Full Buck Moon of July 29, the Moon will be in its waning gibbous phase, still more than 90% illuminated. It will rise during the evening and brighten the sky as the night progresses, limiting views of the faintest deep-sky objects but providing spectacular telescopic views of the Moon itself. Expect to see striking mountain ranges, bright ray systems surrounding young craters, and rugged crater walls highlighted by the changing angle of sunlight. Even with the bright moonlight, there will be plenty to enjoy. Supernova 2026sqf has brightened to Magnitu...

A 85% illuminated bright waxing gibbous Moon will dominate the early evening sky this weekend. While its bright light may wash out some fainter galaxies and nebulae, it will also provide some excellent opportunities to explore the Moon's craters & mountain ranges through our telescopes!  Another exciting object available to view this weekend is Supernova SN 2026sqf. This is the explosion of a massive star that has reached the end of its life. It was discovered on July 8th in a galaxy a hundred million light years away!  We’re about to enter a bit of a planet drought in our evening skies. Venus is sinking lower toward the western horizon as it prepares to disappear from the evening sky. The good news is that Saturn isn’t too far behind & we only have to wait about 2 months to share its wonder with you once again! For those of you planning to join us August 12-13 for Perseids Meteor Shower, since we’ll be open until 1:00 a.m., it might give us our first opportunity of th...

  What can you expect to see this weekend at the Community Observatory? This could be an excellent weekend to visit the observatory. The weather forecast for both Friday and Saturday is favorable and the crescent moon should not be bright enough to disturb our deep sky viewing. We are looking at a 15% illuminated moon for Friday and about 25% for Saturday. Venus continues to be the only evening planet visible now. Since it is catching up with Earth in its orbit, it will be passing roughly between us and the Sun in the next weeks. The side of Venus facing the Sun will be illuminated and we will see the planet going through phases like the Moon does.   It looks like a tiny gibbous moon right now but it is waning and will become a crescent that grows thinner each day. We often share views of celestial objects that are visually stunning. There will be plenty of those visible this weekend as the Summer Milky Way with its bright nebulae and star clusters are overhead. But we...

  What can you expect to see this weekend at the Community Observatory? Its Summer! It is a great time to look at the night sky. This seasons features a rich Milky Way and some amazing nebulae. Combine that with moonless nights, and warm weather and you have a great weekend to visit the Community Observatory. We also have a Solar Saturday scheduled. We call Summer “Milky Way Season” because the Sagittarius Arm of our galaxy is overhead and the center of our galaxy is directly to the South. Some of our favorite nebulae grace our skies. Prepare to be dazzled as we show you live images of the Lagoon, Trifid, Omega, Eagle, Veil, Crescent, and North American Nebula. Our image today is of the Omega Nebula which is also known as the Swan Nebula or Messier 17. It was taken Monday night by docent Randy right here in Placerville. It is a star forming region about 5000 to 6000 light years away. We are still in our summer planetary drought with only Venus gracing the evening sky. Since...

As we celebrate the Fourth of July with dazzling fireworks, remember that the universe has its own spectacular light shows! From colorful nebulae to exploding stars called supernovae, the cosmos has been putting on fireworks displays for billions of years. We will be open both Friday, July 3rd & Saturday, July 4th from 9pm-11pm (weather permitting) to honor the stars, stripes & starlight!  We know that a lot of you will be celebrating on July 4th with your families & many of our docents will be doing the same thing, but we will still be open with a minimal staff Saturday evening. The moon won’t be rising until after we close which will provide us with incredible dark skies both evenings. Venus is still prominent in the night sky & will be available to view, but Mercury & Jupiter are now quite low on the horizon.  This Fourth of July, let's celebrate with some stellar science! Did you know stars come in different colors? A star's color tells astronomers a lo...