Members of RAS will set up their telescopes on the park’s soccer fields for a spectacular view of the night sky.

You’ll be able to see close-ups of the vast craters and mountains of the moon and discover the mysteries of Jupiter and Mars, as well as see Jupiter’s cloud belts and four of the planet’s moons first seen by Galileo in 1610.

You’ll also visit the Lagoon and Ring nebulae and the Whirlpool Galaxy. The distinct oval Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius that looks like a pale and beautiful celestial flower. The star-forming nebula superimposed with its fragile star cluster is one of the leading celestial sights of the summer night sky.

The colorful Ring Nebula, located in the constellation Lyra and known as M57, is illuminated by a central white dwarf, and the fantasticly spiraled Whirlpool Galaxy is nearly 23 million light years from Earth!

An introductory program will kick off the event to introduce guests to the objects in the sky, and RAS will provide sky maps. In addition, an LCD monitor will show real-time pictures of the telescopic views.

The public is encouraged to bring binoculars as RAS members will point out the many objects in the sky to explore on your own.

The program is free to attend. For more information, e-mail terry@teebark.com.