HAL's Public Star Party for May is this Saturday, May 23rd

[Ernie Morse]

Hi all,

On behalf of the Howard Astronomical League (HAL), I'm excited to invite you to our May Public Star Party this Saturday, May 23, at Alpha Ridge Park! This free, family-friendly event is open to all ages and everyone is welcome.

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Time: Starting at dusk (8:52 PM)

Location: Alpha Ridge Park in Mariottsville, MD

Hosts: Bianca Andersen and Ernie Morse

Observatory operator: Krystal Rolon

What to Expect:

If the skies are clear

At dusk, the first-quarter Moon will be high in the sky.  Venus will be shining brightly 22° above the western horizon.  Jupiter will be nearby in the western sky, with one moon about to exit from a transit across the planet's disk while another is about to begin one (Io begins transit at 10:17 PM and Callisto exits on the other side at 10:24 PM).  Jupiter's Great Red Spot will be visible as well.  Also nearby are two of the sky's most beautiful double stars, Castor (one of the twin stars in Gemini) and Iota Cancri.  As it gets fully dark around 10:15 PM there will be views of a couple of striking edge-on spiral galaxies, the Sombrero Galaxy (Messier 104) and the Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565), nebulae such as the Owl Nebula (Messier 97), and two of the best globular star clusters, Messier 3 and Messier 5.  Our observatory will be open with live views on a large screen, plus telescopes set up outside for hands-on viewing.

If it’s cloudy

We’ll still host an open house at the observatory. You’ll have a chance to see our telescopes, chat with us about astronomy, and learn more about HAL.

We hope for clear skies and look forward to seeing many of you there for a night of stargazing and discovery!

Ernie

[Ernie Morse]

Hi all,

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for tomorrow night's public star party hasn't improved at all.  It looks like we'll be dealing with rain showers, temperatures in the low 50s and 10-15 mph winds.  In fact, we could tie or break the record for lowest ever daily high temperature for May 23rd in Baltimore (56 in 2003).  However, we will still be hosting the open house in the observatory and will be there to chat about astronomy and HAL, but I imagine that we'll leave before 11:00 if there are no guests.

Ernie