Features: April 22, 2002

View the Night Sky at Hirsch Observatory

The Hirsch Observatory on the Rensselaer campus will offer free public observing beginning Wednesday, April 24, and continuing every Wednesday through the end of August. The observatory will open for three hours starting at sunset (approx. 8 to 8:15 p.m. this time of year) if skies are clear or mostly clear.

Photo taken from Hirsch Observatory

One of the most exciting planetary viewings will come on May 7, when Venus, Saturn, and Mars will form a small, bright triangle, with Mercury and Jupiter falling just outside its perimeter. In June, focus will turn to the stars as Ursa Major, whose brightest stars form the Big Dipper, claims its spot high in the sky. The stars of Ursa Major have long been used to locate and identify other stars.

July will let viewers explore the Milky Way, and Aug. 11 brings the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower, which will be enhanced by a dark, moonless sky.

In addition to these wonders, viewers can examine planetary nebulae, globular clusters, and binary star systems with the observatory's 16-inch telescope.

Amateur astronomers and graduate students from the Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy Department at Rensselaer will provide star charts and help identify constellations and other heavenly bodies.