The Pattonville Observatory and Planetarium Public Viewing Session

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:

Friday, September 22, 2023

8-10 pm

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

Information hotline: 314-213-8034

   The Moon is in a waxing crescent phase, so it will be a fabulous object to view during this session.  Along the terminator (the boundary between light and dark) of the Moon, mountains and craters have extended shadows and make great targets for some high power viewing.

   Saturn will be well placed in the sky and should provide terrific views.  Jupiter will rise halfway through the session and all four of Jupiter’s Galilean moons will all be visible.  Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, will also be visible. Uranus and Neptune have joined the group and will be visible in the East, with Uranus rising a little after Jupiter 

   Late summer is an excellent time to view many Messier objects in the Sagittarius and Scorpius regions.  Open clusters M8, M7 and M6 will be visible and globular clusters M22 and M4 will be visible.  This might be the last time for the season to take a look at these spectacular objects!

   We will take a look at the Wild Duck Cluster or M11 in Scutum . The globular cluster M13 in Hercules will be visible, as is one of the brightest globular clusters called M15.  The famous Double Cluster will also be available.  We will be able to see our nearest neighbor galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy, if the skies are dark enough.  Also overhead is the summer asterism of the Summer triangle which comprises the brighter stars Vega, Deneb and Altair (of Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila respectively). 

   September skies are full of interesting stars to look at through the telescope.  We will test your eyesight with Alcor/Mizar in Ursa Major.  We will also look at the most beautiful double star Albireo in Cygnus, the double-double star system in Lyra, and Antares in Scorpius.

   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 planetarium program will be presented instead.