July 2024 Public Nights

Wow - the visible star at the center of the planetary nebula is an A-type giant star. It's the companion of the white dwarf which spawned the nebula itself. (Loved the pic so much I had to read about the object a little).

NGC 1514 // Marc Fischer

Our first public event this Fall occurs Sept. 27, 7:30 - 9:00 pm, weather allowing! (Check the day of the event to see if we're on).

A lot will be happening in the eastern sky! The nearly-full Moon, Saturn, the Double Cluster, and the Andromeda Galaxy will be rising in the east. High in the southwestern sky we'll have the Ring Nebula and globular cluster M13. We'll also have the Big Dipper and the double star Mizar, the central star in its handle.

The bright Moon will wash out dimmer, fuzzier objects, but the Moon itself will be lovely!

The 2023 Partial (Annular) Solar Eclipse as seen from Nevada // Brian Fulda

Wed. 11/20 - We're not sure about tonight's weather yet. We'll try to decide by 3:30 pm if we'll open tonight.

NASA Science

What is Dark Energy? Inside our accelerating, expanding Universe - NASA Science

Some 13.8 billion years ago, the universe began with a rapid expansion we call the big bang. After this initial expansion, which lasted a fr

Article of the Day!

"What is Dark Energy? Inside our accelerating, expanding Universe" by Chelsea Gohd

The Hidden Galaxy, IC 342 // Ondřej Pešák

Wed. Nov. 1: Cloudy tonight. The observatory will be closed.

2024 February 4

The Cone Nebula from Hubble Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA - Processing & Licence: Judy Schmidt

Explanation: Stars are forming in the gigantic dust pillar called the Cone Nebula. Cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from newborn stars. The Cone Nebula, a well-known example, lies within the bright galactic star-forming region NGC 2264. The Cone was captured in unprecedented detail in this close-up composite of several observations from the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. While the Cone Nebula, about 2,500 light-years away in Monoceros, is around 7 light-years long, the region pictured here surrounding the cone’s blunted head is a mere 2.5 light-years across. In our neck of the galaxy that distance is just over half way from our Sun to its nearest stellar neighbors in the Alpha Centauri star system. The massive star NGC 2264 IRS, seen by Hubble’s infrared camera in 1997, is the likely source of the wind sculpting the Cone Nebula and lies off the top of the image. The Cone Nebula’s reddish veil is produced by dust and glowing hydrogen gas.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240204.html

Wed. Nov. 15 - We will be closed tonight due to cloud cover.

Yuck:

Wed. Apr. 17: Another cloudy night, so we'll be closed. We'll try again next week.