Wonders Of The Milky Way

SOUTH BRITAIN — Remember those dark summer nights of yesteryear when the Milky Way stretched across the heavens like a sparkling white highway across the entire sky?

The public is invited to recapture those memories on Saturday, August 26, when the Audubon Center at Bent of the River and the Astronomical Society of New Haven team up to explore the many wonders of the night-time sky. With many powerful telescopes and a dark viewing location, participants will be treated to eye-popping views of a variety of interesting celestial objects.

The journey through the galaxy will begin close to home with some quick views of the setting crescent moon and Jupiter fading into the twilight, the dark portion of its surface glowing blue with “earthshine,” the light reflected off of the Earth’s surface. 

As the skies darken, more distant wonders of the galaxy will be available for viewing, including M13, the great globular cluster in Hercules, a giant ball of millions of ancient stars, the best example of this type of object visible in the Northern Hemisphere; M57, the ring nebula, the remains of a long-dead star appearing from our perspective in the form of a ever expanding cosmic doughnut of glowing gas; and the famous Dumbbell Nebula, another artifact of an exploded star.

Also expected to be visible that night will be M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, a compact grouping of nearly 3000 young stars in a cluster 6,000 light years from earth; and M17 and the star-forming regions of the central Milky Way, which is rich in open clusters and star forming regions, including 15 Messier objects like the famous Omega Nebula M17, the Lagoon Nebula M8, the pretty star cluster M18, and the Trifed Nebula M20.

For those willing to stay late, the planets Uranus and Neptune will be above the horizon and affording views by 10 pm.

Meet at 7:45 pm at the Audubon Center at Bent of the River for carpooling to the observation site, about a ten-minute drive away. To preserve night vision, participants are asked to cover any flashlight they bring with red cellophane.

The program will be cancelled in the event of clouds or rain. Call 264-5098 for reservations, directions or cancellation information.

The Audubon Center at Bent of the River is located at 185 East Flat Hill Rd in the South Britain section of Southbury, about a half mile from Connecticut Route 172 off of I-84 Exit 14. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.