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

Join us on Saturday night for our public 20th Anniversary Celebration AND the “International Observe the Moon Night.” There will be fun and informative activities for everyone. We expect to have clear skies and a beautiful waxing moon for both Friday and Saturday night.

The inspiration for the Community Observatory came in 2005 when Rotary International celebrated its 100th anniversary. Each local chapter was challenged to do something awesome for their community. The Cameron Park Rotary Club came up with an auspicious goal, to build an observatory that would be free and open to the public. To make the story short, they did a great job of gathering funds, resources, and volunteer labor. We opened to the public in 2006. We have continually grown and expanded our reach. Come join us to see how far we have come. There will be prizes and gifts!

Did you know that we are a part of NASA’s Night Sky Network? The mission of the Night Sky Network (NSN) is to support astronomy outreach across the United States by connecting amateur astronomy clubs with NASA science, resources, and the public. One of the annual events that NSN promotes is the “International Observe the Moon Night.” It is a global lunar‑observing celebration held once each year, organized by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission team and partners. Its purpose is simple and powerful: bring people together worldwide to look at, learn about, and celebrate the Moon. And we will have a great first-quarter moon. Have you seen the Moon with a quality telescope? We will also have fun activities for the kids.

And, we will have the awesome fall skies to view. The Planet Saturn will rise in the East aswe are opening. It is a magnificent sight in our new 14” “Scopey McScopeface” telescope. In spite of its frivolous crowd-sourced name, it is a very capable optical instrument. Last weekend we were able to see the bands on the planet, the gap between the rings and the planet, and four of its moons in this high quality scope. The Andromeda Galaxy, the Double Cluster, and the Pleiades Star Cluster will all be visible at some point during the event.

We are also still enjoying the Milky Way and the objects of the Summer. The Ptolemy and Pegasus star clusters and the Dumbbell, Eagle, Omega, Trifid, and Lagoon nebulae are still magnificent.

So, you can join us on Friday night for a regular Public Viewing OR you can join us on Saturday for the festivities and activities. We will be open at 9 PM until 11 both nights.


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