Q. What can I see from the Flandrau observatory right now?
A. The planet Saturn and its rings will be easily visible in our observatory telescope. Saturn’s rings now appear very thin, as we view them edge-on from Earth, and are now near the thinnest we can see them in the evening for years to come. Also, you can view diffuse celestial objects, such as the Great Orion Nebula, either by looking through the eyepiece or by using our Hyperstar imaging system, which provides enhanced real time views on a monitor. The Orion Nebula is a wonderful and bright area of active star formation. It’s also possible to see a variety of star clusters. The telescope is the only such free public telescope in Arizona open on a weekly schedule, and should remain so in 2009, though our main building is set to close after May 31 due to state budget cuts.