What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend?
We had two excellent Public Viewings last weekend and this weekend could be even better. The only issue last weekend was humidity. We ended up shutting down early on Friday as the humidity approached 90%. The prediction is for dryer this weekend with only 40-50% humidity. Combine that with clear and moonless skies and this weekend could be epic.
Jupiter and Saturn continue to be “fan favorites” and both will be well positioned for viewing. Jupiter is just past “opposition” which means that we are between it and the Sun. It is closest and brightest right now. Saturn is only about two-thirds as bright as it was during its opposition in September. Even so, it is still high in the sky and the rings and several moons are easily visible.
You may have noticed that we have several types of telescopes that we use. At its simplest, the two types can be divided into refractors and reflectors. The refractors are long and relatively thin. These are the traditional scopes where the light passes through several lenses that project the image into your eye. They give excellent high magnification views of the planets and the Moon. We have two excellent refractors that we put out on our tarmac. You can expect to get excellent views of Jupiter and Saturn this weekend through them.
Reflectors are often called “light buckets.” They use mirrors to focus the light into the eyepiece. Their larger aperture means that they are often the best for looking at dimmer deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies. Our two scopes inside the building are reflectors. We also field two or three of them on the tarmac. You can expect to see great views of objects like the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades Star Cluster in these.
Exciting news, we have begun to actively use our Grehek Lockhart Imaging Observatory (GLIO). We have a new team that is in the process of in charge of getting it up and running. The image today an image from the GLIO of the Orion Nebula taken last week.
Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies and bring warm clothes- The temperature may be as low as 39° F. We will be open from 7:30 until 9:30 both Friday and Saturday.

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