UPDATE: 8:30 PM — CLOSED. We give up! 😕Although some clearing is expected later, skies will not be adequate to our Public Night needs. The observatory will not be open.
UPDATE: 3 PM — Again we struggle with cloudy skies! Predictions for tonight’s sky range from partly- to mostly-cloudy with seeing conditions rated as fair to poor. If we do open for tonight’s scheduled Public Night, we will doubtless offer only a limited program, perhaps only the Moon and Mars; dimmer objects won’t be seen. Please check back this evening or follow our Twitter feed for further updates. https://twitter.com/StephensObs
Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will be open for public observing Saturday, September 22, from 9:00 to 11:00 PM. Organizers are hoping for clear skies in order to provide visitors with views of the Moon, Red Planet Mars, the Andromeda Galaxy, and a star cluster using the Observatory’s vintage telescope. Weather forecasts (September 20) call for partly-cloudy skies and we will hope for clear air between those clouds; our last public viewing endured mostly-clear skies marred by moonlit smoke from California wildfires high in the atmosphere!
Sadly, a comet, originally expected to be visible, has moved below our horizon and will not be on our agenda.
Cloudy skies at the scheduled 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 