What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend?

 The excitement for the next month is all about COMETS. With a 6:23 PM sunset and an 18% Moon that does not rise until after 2:00 AM we should have dark enough skies to start seeing them by our 7:30 PM opening. Expect it to be clear and cold with nighttime temperatures in the 50’s.

 We currently have two relatively bright comets that will likely be visible soon after we open. Both will be near the horizon so you need to come early if you expect to see them. Neither will be naked-eye visible but they should be visible in binoculars and in our telescopes. Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is below the bright star Arcturus and it will set around 10:30 but will likely be too low to see from the observatory well before that. Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) will be below the tail of the Big Dipper and will set around 9 PM, Both comets are getting higher in the sky each night and prime viewing will be later next week.  We will have a crew at the Community Observatory next Tuesday through Thursday for those of you who want to see these comets at their prime. Bring your binoculars if you have them. We will have several pairs to loan if you don’t.

 There is a lot of false information on social media about comets right now. There are posts about a comet that will “come closer than the Moon and be brighter than the stars.”  There are fantastic posts about a comet that is actually an alien spacecraft coming to invade Earth. PLEASE don’t reward these hucksters by interacting with these posts. I’d suggest you click on the three dots next to the poster’s name and choose the “Block” option.

 There is also a meteor shower that falls next week. The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The  particles that streak across the sky are debris from Halley’s Comet. This shower has produced as many as 20-40 meteors per hour from very dark sites in the past. Expect many fewer from sites that are less dark.

 We continue to have a great view of Saturn right now. Its rings are currently “edge-on” and appear as a line across the middle of the planet. Mercury is low on the western horizon and may be visible for a few minutes after the Sun sets. Neptune is also visible but is unimpressive. Jupiter rises around Midnight.

 We continue to enjoy the Autum sky with great views of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Double Cluster, the Pegasus Globular Cluster, and the Pleiades. You will enjoy some great views of these and other deep sky objects on our two big telescopes inside the observatory building.

 We are on our Winter hours now. We meet from 7:30-9:30 PM. Please, as always, check our calendar on communityobservatory.com for last-minute closures before you come.  Come prepared to pay $2 to the college for parking.