FINAL UPDATE: In all, 18 people and one dog took a chance on the changeable skies and paid the observatory a visit. Cloud cover ebbed and flowed, changing Jupiter’s appearance through the telescope. Interestingly, some of the better views of the planet actually occurred when thin clouds dimmed the brilliant planet cutting the glare. Viewers could make out the gas giant’s two major temperate cloud belts and sometimes one or two more! The four Galilean Moons were visible nearly all of the time. Owing to generally poor viewing conditions, the evening was limited to Jupiter only – dimmer objects were not available. The April 22 program will be repeated in May, given clear skies. By the way, before the dog came, a cat arrived with one of our visitors but refused to come inside, so kitty didn’t count!
UPDATE: Saturday, 9:00 PM: Opened when we could see Jupiter through thin clouds but expect the sky will cloud over again before clearing in the wee hours. Check out Twitter feed to the right for updates and closings…
UPDATE, Saturday, 4:00 PM: Forecasts call for partly- to mostly-cloudy conditions tonight. A final go/no-go decision on opening will be made later but, if we do open, we DO NOT expect to be able to see dimmer objects such as star clusters or the comet listed below. More later….
Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will be open for public observing Saturday, April 22, from 9:00 to 11:00 PM. This will be the first scheduled Open Night of the 2017 season. The “star” of the night will be planet Jupiter, brilliant in our southeast sky. We will also seek out the M3 star cluster and, later, the Hercules Cluster and (with some luck) Comet C/2015 V2. Other objects of interest may also be viewed. Of course, all of the night’s observing depends upon clear skies and those have been in short supply this spring!
Cloudy skies at the starting time cancel the event and, in that case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.
The Observatory is located on Wakefield Road (Rt. 82) less than a quarter of a mile west of Route 700 in Hiram. There is no parking at the Observatory. Visitors may park on permissible side streets near the Post Office, a short distance east of the observatory.
Stephens Memorial Observatory 