The observatory would be open tonight around 7:30pm maybe a little earlier

I have a few errands ti run today and may open up around 7pm.

We should be open from 7pm until about 9pm, but visitors may want to wait until 7:30 giving us some time to set up and insure our scope is aiming and responding well to computer commands.

I plan on having it open for a couple hours. I don't want to be out there to long if nobody shows up.

Weather forecasts predict a hour of clouds around 11pm or so anyway, so that would cut early evening observing short.


Jupiter should be nice tonight as it's in a nice high southern position in the early evenings.

Mercury might be visible from the observatory just after sunset, near and above the high schools chimney, but this from a position near the observatory and I won't have it open near sunset.

You'd probably need binoculars to see mercury after sunset due to the amount of sky glow. About 30 minutes after sunset it would be about ten degrees above the western horizon.

There are plenty of other objects to see tonight. Two favorites and popular targets being M42 and Jupiter.

There are quite a few open clusters that can be easy to see with our telescopes as well.




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