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 also have an object to view this weekend that will appear to be visually insignificant. That object is Supernova SN 2026sqf. It was discovered on July 8th in a galaxy a hundred million light years away.

This is a Type II Supernova meaning that it occurs as a giant or supergiant star runs out of fuel to fuse and it collapses. The resulting implosion creates a bright explosion that is often brighter than the rest of the galaxy where it occurs. That explosion sends out light in the form of photons that stream out in all directions. It is estimated that 1057 photons per second can be released. That is a 1 followed by 57 zeros. This explosion occurred when there were dinosaurs on Earth and some of those photons have just now reached us. The image today shows the photons that hit the sensor in the camera on my telescope on Tuesday night. And, while not visually stunning, it is CONCEPTUALLY AWESOME!

Our solar team will be at the Aerospace Museum of California on Saturday from 10 AM until 12:30 PM. Join us there to view the Sun as you (likely) have never seen it before. Our specialized solar scopes allow you to see details like flares, prominences, and filaments.

Our next fund-raising event will be on July 21st. If you eat at Panda Express that day, we will get 28% of the take. Details at this link.  We are also hosting a Wednesday Perseid Meteor Shower viewing on August 12th from 10 PM until around 1 AM. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair and expect to see meteors. Put it on your calendar, this could be a great year for this meteor shower.

The weather should be good this weekend but don’t forget to check Communityobservatory.com after 3 PM on the day of your visit to make sure we are open. Expect to pay $2 to the college to park.

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