by William Parker | Jan 28, 2023 | Observatory, Observatory Events, One-Time
Saturday (Apr. 22) 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
The Lyrids appear in Chinese writing dating back to roughly 690 BCE, making them one of the earliest meteor showers on record. On the night of April 22, the annual shower will reach its peak for 2023. The meteor shower is a result of Earth passing through the tail of the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. When our planet moves through this debris field, the space rocks burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, causing spectacular lights to streak across the night sky.
The Lyrids are one of the weaker annual meteor showers visible from Earth. On peak nights, they usually produce no more than 20 shooting stars per hour. The event is also unpredictable: On rare occasions, spectators are treated to incredible surges of up to 100 meteors per hour. For this reason, the Lyrids are worth checking out for diehard astronomy enthusiasts.
Come out to the Heide Observatory and enjoy a relaxing evening in our anti-gravity chairs as we point out the night-sky objects and watch for meteors.
Tickets and chairs are limited so reserve soon.
This event is weather-dependent and will be canceled or rescheduled by e-mail 24 hours before the scheduled start time in the event of a cloud cover forecast greater than 30%. Reservations can be transferred for any other nightly observatory event.
Dress appropriately for being still in nighttime outdoor weather.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at observatory@hawthornhollow.org
Purchase tickets here, or call 262-552-8196.
by Chad Jocius | Jan 25, 2023 | Observatory, Observatory Events, One-Time
Tonight January 31 6:30 – 8:30 pm
The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could be bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye as it passes the sun and Earth at the end of the first month of 2023. At the start of 2023 Earth will be visited by a newly discovered comet that may just be bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye.
The comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), is currently passing through the inner solar system. It will make its closest approach to the sun, or perihelion, on Jan. 12, and will then whip past Earth making its closest passage of our planet, its perigee, between Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.
If the comet continues to brighten as it currently is, it could be visible in dark skies with the naked eye. This is difficult to predict for comets, but even if C/2022 E3 (ZTF) does fade it should still be visible with binoculars or a telescope for a number of days around its close approach. According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the comet has a period of around 50,000 years. This means that prior to it coming to within around 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) of the sun on Jan. 12 and 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth on Feb. 2, the last time it came so close was during the Upper Paleolithic period on Earth.
Clear skies for tonight Tuesday, January 31 at 6:30 pm Click here for tickets !
by Chad Jocius | Nov 9, 2022 | Observatory, Observatory Events, One-Time
Wednesday, December 14 (8:00 PM – 10:00 PM or 10:15 PM – 12:15 AM)
The Geminid meteor shower is one of the most active and reliable meteor showers of the year! They streak through the sky every minute or two all night. It is unique because the meteors are visible all night long, since the constellation Gemini arises just an hour or two after nightfall. Most meteor showers require you to wait until midnight or pre-dawn for the best viewing. The constellation Gemini is the radiant of the Geminid meteor shower, which means that it is the meteor shower’s point of origin. The Geminid meteors will appear to fall away from the constellation Gemini.
This is the best meteor shower of the year so reserve these limited tickets early!
This event is weather-dependent and will be canceled by e-mail 24 hours before the scheduled start time in the event of a cloud cover forecast greater than 40%.
Dress appropriately for being still in nighttime cold outdoor weather.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at observatory@hawthornhollow.org
Purchase 8:00-10:00pm tickets here, purchase 10:15-12:15am tickets here, or call 262-552-8196.
by William Parker | Nov 8, 2022 | Observatory, Observatory Events, One-Time
**RESCHEDULED to January 7**
Saturday, November 26 6:00 – 9:00 pm
We invite you to enjoy an evening of stargazing and telescope viewing at the Charles and Kathryn Heide Schoolyard Observatory at Hawthorn Hollow Nature Sanctuary and Arboretum in celebration of the installation of our new telescope. Take a trip through our solar system as we discover sizes and distances of our nearest neighbors. Learn about the moon, it’s phases, and why the moon is so important to live on Earth. There will be variety of telescopes on hand with volunteers to guide you in seeing the night’s brightest objects. Visitors are welcome to bring personal binoculars or telescopes.
This is an adult & family outdoor event with no set viewing schedule (arrive or depart when you want), weather permitting (less 30% clouds). Dress appropriately for being still in nighttime outdoor weather.
Questions? Feel free to email: observatory@hawthornhollow.org
by Chad Jocius | Oct 8, 2022 | Observatory, Observatory Events, One-Time
Wednesday, December 7 (7:00 – 9:00 pm)
Because Mars reaches opposition in December 2022, it’s the best month to view it. Mars’s opposition, when it’s opposite the Sun in our sky, means that it’s visible from sundown to sunup. During December, the red planet will also be at its brightest because it’s the closest Mars will be to Earth for the next two years.
Over the evening of December 7, as the Moon moves past Mars, it will pass in front of the red planet for much of North America and Europe. This is known as an occultation, as the Moon covers up or eclipses Mars. We should see Mars disappear at 9:09 pm CST and then reappear 10:11 pm CST. Then, around 12:00 am CST on December 8, Mars reaches opposition. During opposition, the Sun, Earth and Mars will form a line with Earth in the middle.
Come out to The Heide Observatory to see the occultation of Mars. This fascinating and unusual event will start at 7:00pm.
This event is weather permitting. A cancellation notice due to weather will be given within 24 hours of the event via email to ticket holders. Tickets for this and all events can be rescheduled for another event if due to weather.
Dress appropriately for being still in nighttime outdoor weather.
Tickets are available here.
Questions? Feel free to email: observatory@hawthornhollow.org
by Chad Jocius | Aug 24, 2022 | Observatory, Observatory Events, One-Time
Friday October 21 (8:30 pm – 10:30 pm)
When you gaze up at the night sky, through the veil of stars and the plane of the Milky Way close by, you can’t help but feel small before the grand abyss of the Universe that lies beyond. Even though nearly all of them are invisible to our eyes, our observable Universe, extending tens of billions of light years in all directions, contains a fantastically large number of galaxies within it.
The Andromeda Galaxy is the most distant object readily visible to the naked eye. It is 2.5 million light-years away. The light from it that we see right now is 2.5 million years old. We are therefore seeing the Andromeda Galaxy as it was at a time long before modern humans existed!
Come out to The Schoolyard Observatory and we will take you on a tour of visible galaxies going back in time millions of years.
Take turns looking through our 16-inch telescope at binary stars, dim planets, distant galaxies, and other sky objects. Between individual views in the observatory dome, receive a guided sky tour standing outside under the stars to appreciate the broader picture of what you see through the telescope.
This event may need to be rescheduled if the cloud cover outlook is over 40%. Please watch for a confirmation email from the observatory.
Dress appropriately for nighttime outdoor weather, and insect repellent is highly recommended.
Find tickets here!
Questions? Feel free to contact us at Observatory@hawthornhollow.org
