The Pattonville Observatory and Planetarium
Public Viewing Session

Friday, January 10 Public Viewing has been CANCELLED due to inclement weather!  See you on Jan 23!

195 Fee Fee Road
(next to the gym, door is below the dome)
Below is the info for the next session.
Please join us and bring friends!

Next Session:

Thursday, January 23,  2025

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Website:  https://sites.google.com/psdr3.org/observatory/ 

Information hotline: 314-213-8034

The Moon is in a waning crescent phase  and will NOT be visible the entire session.  As a result, we will be able to see some of the dimmer objects. 

Jupiter, Uranus and Mars  are well placed in the South and will be targets for the evening.  We’ll get a nice look at those three of the four famous Galilean Moons. Io will not be visible because it will slide behind Jupiter before the session begins and won’t come back until well after 9 pm  Saturn, Venus and Neptune will be low in the west and Saturn will set halfway through the session.  Mercury is below the horizon for tonight.

The “Celestial Six-Pack” of winter constellations consisting of Auriga, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurus, Orion and Gemini are in great position and will be with us for the next couple of months. They are marked by the stars Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Caster and Capella as well as Betelgeuse, Rigel and Aldebaran.

Taurus and Auriga are well placed in the East and the Pleiades are visible along with some of the open clusters in Auriga such as M36, M37 and M38.  Orion will be just above the horizon right at the end of our session.  If it’s not too hazy, we might get a look at the great Orion Nebula or M42 as well as M35 in Gemini.  Some of these clusters will be hard to see with the full Moon

M44, the Beehive Cluster, is a large open cluster in Cancer rising in the East. M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest galactic neighbor and the Double Cluster will also be targets. 

Come spend the evening viewing the cosmos with your family, residents and non-residents are welcome!  Students, who are accompanied by their parents, are especially welcome!  Please take note that the dome is not heated or cooled, so pay attention to the weather and dress in a manner that is appropriate for the evening temperature conditions.  .  If it is raining or cloudy, a program will still be presented so come on up!

Next Session:  See the list below!