🚨🚨🚨 STAR PARTY ALERT!! 🚨🚨🚨
** Saturday, June 28, 2025 - - 9:30pm ~ 12:00am
Hello again, astronomy lovers!
Announcing the next public star party at the Stephen F. Wessling Observatory this coming Sat. June 28, starting at 9:30pm, and hosted by The Newaygo County Dark Sky Astronomers!
Again, like this past Sat, the main viewing highlights will be "Galaxies and Star Clusters".
Unfortunately, we were unable to roll back the roof on the observatory this past Sat night due to the prevailing wind speeds from the recent warm front (if winds are too strong, they can lift a retracted roof of its tracks).
But, we still plan to view several of these early summer DSO's (Deep Space Objects) that evening, including Mars (roughly 30° up, and just E of Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo), and the 3-day crescent Moon, sitting to the W of Regulus!
We'll be opening the doors to the Kropscott Farm Science Building for visitor sign-ins a little before 9:30pm, and observing the night sky till around midnight, as long as people are there, and the skies are clear.
(** NOTE ** - - Please stop by the Science Building *FIRST* to sign in before heading over to the observatory).
Sunset on Sat June 28 is right at 9:30pm, and the Moon will be about 23° up in the W. Other observing highlights will be:
- Scorpius starts to rise in the S sky as the night progresses.
- Many prominent constellations, including Leo, Virgo, and Hercules.
- The Milky Way starts to make its summertime appearance, rising through the night from the E to the S sky.
(FYI - - Venus and Saturn are still morning planets, with Saturn being visible in the evening sky after 9:30pm in early Sept).
- And, always a visitor favorite - "The Constellation Tour" for June, highlighting the early-summer constellations!
As always, we'll be watching the weather for that evening, and will post an update later this week. Currently, the forecast for Fremont on Sat 6/28 is a partly cloudy day with highs in the mid-80's, and a fair evening with temps in the high-60's to low-70's. (Any updates or changes will be noted in the "Comments" section here if observing plans are called off).
*** PLEASE NOTE: Observatory viewing is subject to cancellation due to cloudy skies/rain. However, on occasion, we'll have an inside program if there is inclement weather.
As always, any club members or visitors who have their own equipment (telescopes and/or binoculars) are encouraged to bring their setups. So feel free to bring your observing toys with you to enjoy and share your favorite sky objects with others! 🔭
Admission for the evening is:
Adults - $5.00
17 and younger - $2.00
Kids under five - FREE
(All proceeds go toward the maintenance and improvement of the Wessling Observatory and Kropscott Farm property).
The Dark Sky Astronomers team look forward to viewing the night sky with you on Sat. June 28!
Until then...
Clear Skies! 🔭🌑🪐✨
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