Community Observatory

  What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? With the full Moon falling on Saturday Night and some cloud cover predicted, this may not be the best weekend for your first trip to the Community Observatory. White light is the enemy of good nighttime seeing. Even a short glimpse of white light can suppress your night vision for twenty minutes. That is why we try to limit the light at the observatory to red or green. The one brilliant white light that we can’t control is the Moon. The number of stars that can be seen on a full moon night is a fraction of the ones you can see when there is no moon. Nevertheless, there will still be things to see. Both Saturn and Neptune will be visible in our scopes. Neptune is a dim blueish speck in even our biggest scopes. We often joke that we could pick almost any star and tell the public that it is Neptune. We don’t do that, however. We try to center the blue dot in our scope and make it easy for you to find. It isn...

  What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? Join us on Saturday night for our public 20 th 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? T...

  What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? This weekend should be ideal for visiting the observatory, with clear, cloudless skies expected. The New Moon occurs on Thursday, September 10th, leaving only a thin crescent that will set early Friday and Saturday. The Sun is setting shortly after 7 PM so it will be very dark by the time we open at 9 PM. We are in the shoulder season between Summer and Autumn. That means that the Milky Way with its marvelous nebulae and clusters will still be overhead and the fall constellations are rising in the East. Those Fall objects that are coming into view again include the Andromeda Galaxy, the Pegasus Globular Cluster, and the Double Cluster in Perseus. My personal favorite star is Capella which is rising in the Northeast during our public viewings this season. It appears to be a star about the same temperature and color as our Sun. But the similarities end there. It is actually four stars with two large yellow giant ...

  What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? We have a favorable Moon that doesn’t rise until midnight and weather that mostly seems to be cooperating. Clouds have been obscuring much of our night sky this week but the forecast is for scattered clouds on both Friday and Saturday nights. We are rapidly approaching Fall and many of our favorite targets are rotating into view. Among our favorite fall targets are: ·        The Andromeda Galaxy – the closest full sized galaxy to the Milky Way at only 2.5 million light years. It is also the only object outside our galaxy thet is visible to the naked eye. ·        M15, the Pegasus Globular Cluster is a bright ball of 100,000 stars. ·        The Double Cluster is in the Perseus Constellation is two dense open clusters visible in the same field of view. ·        The beautiful star C...

The water supply at the Observatory has been restored! We are hoping to be open from 8–10PM on Thursday, August 27 for the lunar eclipse, but unfortunately, Mother Nature may have other plans. As of right now, the weather forecast is not looking very promising, with even our most optimistic forecast calling for around 78% cloud cover for Thursday night. The lunar eclipse will already be underway when the Moon rises, with maximum coverage of approximately 96% occurring around 9:13 PM. The good news is that you don’t need to be at the Observatory or have any special equipment to enjoy the eclipse! As long as the Moon is visible from your location, you’ll be able to watch the event with your own eyes. If you do choose to join us at the Community Observatory, our docents will have telescopes aimed at the Moon, giving you an up-close look at the eclipse and all of its incredible lunar detail. August 28 & 29, 2026 (9:00–11:00 PM) Summer is winding down, but the evening sky at the Placerv...

What Can You expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? The moon doesn’t set until about midnight on Friday & Saturday, so it will be available to view! Unfortunately, we recently entered somewhat of a “planetary drought” during our public hours. Venus is now setting at around 9:30pm & will be very low on the horizon by the time we open. Saturn doesn’t rise until after 9:45pm & *might* be above the trees before we close, but unfortunately we do not want to make any promises about that since it’s going to be very close.  It is still Milky Way season which brings a spectacular variety of star clusters and nebulae into view! The magnificent Andromeda Galaxy is also beginning to make its return to the northeastern sky. For some of the best views of these incredible deep-sky objects, be sure to stop by our East Scope inside the observatory. Join us from 9 PM until 11PM on Friday or Saturday. Be sure to check www.communityobservatory.com after 3PM on the day you...

  What can you expect to see at the Community Observatory this weekend? We had our largest crowd ever at the observatory on August 12 th for the Perseid Meteor Shower. Our WAG (Wild A$$  Guess) is that there were 2,500 people. Everyone got to see meteors AND the planet Saturn. What is amazing was that most of our visitors refused to get frustrated with the long lines and crowded conditions. I went back today to pick up any trash and there was virtually none.  We have wonderful visitors! So, what if you missed Wednesday night? Will you still be able to see meteors this weekend? The answer is a definite maybe. The thin crescent moon won't be an issue. The Perseid Meteor shower does have a long active window lasting from July 14 th until August 24th. That being said, the number per hour that you are likely to see drops off significantly after the peak. Our next big shower will be the Geminids which peak on Sunday, December 13 th . There will be a favorable moon that night ...

    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...