Also available in reverse-color version.
On the night of Jul 20, 2018, we held an Open House so that members of the Rochester community could visit the Observatory and view the Moon and Planets through our instruments. Some 30 to 40 guests took turns looking at the Moon and Jupiter (using telescopes in the backyard) and Saturn and Mars (using telescopes on the sidewalk). A good time was had by all, at least until the clouds ruined things around 11 PM.
Special thanks to our wonderful volunteers:
Some handy guides for this evening's skygazing follow.
What will you see in the sky at around 10:30 PM?
Also available in
reverse-color version.
The just-past first-quarter Moon will give us a good view of most of the 'maria', or "seas", on the lunar surface.
Figure courtesy of Tracy Davis.
You can also see
an inverted-color version
A closeup view of Mare Imbrium will show the large walled plain Plato and a few isolated peaks.
Figure courtesy of Tracy Davis.
All four of Jupiter's large moons will be visible tonight:
Also in a
reverse-color version
We might see three or four of Saturn's satellites; Titan is by far the brightest.
Also in a
reverse-color version
We can also watch out for two bright artificial satellites circling the Earth. First, the Chinese satellite Tiangong2 will fly overhead around 9:41 PM.
Image created by Tracy Davis using the
Heavens Above site
The International Space Station makes two passes, at 10:24 PM and 12:01 AM.
Image created by Tracy Davis using the
Heavens Above site
Image created by Tracy Davis using the
Heavens Above site
I made a little questionnaire for visitors; perhaps some will be inspired to answer the questions.
Last modified 7/19/2018 by MWR.
