Astronomy Program at Hobbs State Park

On Saturday September 20th, Mars and Saturn will appear in the western sky while Neptune can be seen in the east.  Saturn will present itself for only an hour or so before it disappears below the horizon, but will linger long enough to observe its distinctive and beautiful rings.

The Summer Triangle will be high overhead. The triangle is formed by three bright stars: Deneb, Altair and Vega. Galaxies are the largest integral structures in the universe, each containing several hundred billion stars.  Galaxies themselves are gravitationally bound to other galaxies in groups. The Andromeda galaxy, M31, will be visible in the northeastern sky about 9 o’clock. The Milky Way (our own galaxy) will appear as a very luminous ribbon of light to the naked eye.      

Jack McDaniel, president of the Sugar Creek Astronomical Society said, “Star clusters abound in our galaxy as they do in all galaxies.  A globular cluster is an almost spherical collection of stars that is very tightly bound by gravity.  These vast cosmological structures are very old and existed before the first galaxies formed billions of years ago.  Our featured cluster will be M13 in the constellation Hercules also known as the great Globular Cluster of Hercules.  M13 is comprised of hundreds of thousands of stars and is about 25,000 light years away.  It can be viewed with the naked eye on a clear night!  It is a beautiful sight in our telescopes.”

Note 1:  The Sugar Creek Astronomical Society brings their large telescopes through which the public can view the night sky.

Note 2:   Charles Messier (Mezz-e-a) was an 18th – century French astronomer who made a catalog of comet lookalikes, a compilation of the brightest and best deep-space objects.  The promotion of any astronomy program states that on such and such a night we will                    see M32 or M14, etc.  These are simply Messier-numbered star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.

What to Bring:  
• Flashlight (covered with a red cloth or red balloon)
• Binoculars and/or telescope (if you have)
• Folding chair – one per person`
• Star chart (if you have one)

Where:  Hobbs State Park visitor center located on Hwy 12 just east of the Hwy12/War Eagle Road intersection.