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, April 12, 2024

8-10 pm

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

Information hotline: 314-213-8034

We certainly hope you got to see the total solar eclipse!  Esp since Missouri will have some of the best chances for clear skies!
Come tell us your eclipse story or show photos!!

The Moon will be in a waxing crescent phase, so it will be a terrific object for viewing tonight.  The area along the terminator is terrific for observing mountains and craters.. 

Jupiter and Uranus are very close to each other tonight in the west.  There is also a comet close by which we might be able to find.  That depends on how bright it gets as it approaches the Sun.  Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn and Neptune will not be visible for this session.

The “Celestial Six-Pack” of winter constellations consisting of Auriga, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurus, Orion and Gemini are now beginning to set in the west. They are marked by the stars that form a giant circle and include Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Caster, Capella, Aldebaran, and Rigel  with  Betelgeuse in the middle. Leo, with it’s bright star Regulus is well positioned in the East.  Arcturus and Spica are rising in the East, along with M13, the great Hercules globular cluster

We will look at the large open cluster The Pleiades or M45, M42 the Great Orion Nebula, and M44, the Beehive Cluster and the Double Cluster. 

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.