Today is just off the scale for a beautiful day in Rhode Island -- sunny, bright, a cool breeze -- whatever it takes, duck out of work early, skip dinner, turn off the TV and the computer, and get outside.

Later, just as dusk settles in, our friends at Ladd Observatory will be open, about 8:30, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mercury in the 12-inch refractor. Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, glimpses of it through Ladd's telescope are very few and far between, so if you would like to see it, this might be your best chance this year. Later in the evening, the telescope will turn to the Moon and Saturn.

For more details and info about tonight's skywatching, click on "More...".

via Francine Jackson, Staff Astronomer, Ladd Observatory:

On the deck, David and Craig will be using the 10-inch Meade and the Astroscan to slew through the midspring sky.  One of their featured objects will be a unique open star cluster, M67, in Cancer, the Crab. There are two different types of star clusters in our sky. Open clusters are made up of a small number of stars, from dozens to a few hundred, so when viewed through a telescope, individual stars can be seen. Globular clusters are made up of hundreds of thousands of stars, situated so close to each other that the object resembles a giant blob. Separate stars can only be seen at the edge of the cluster. 

Globular clusters are some of the oldest stars in our galaxy, billions of years old; open clusters, though, are relatively young as stars go, normally only a few hundred million years. Except for M67, which is believed to be over a billion years in age. This cluster also is often forgotten because it is near one of the best open clusters, also in Cancer, M44, the Beehive. Join us tonight to contrast these two beautiful parts of our sky.

Late this evening, there will be an Iridium flare. Tonight's might be a tad difficult, because it is only about 10 degrees above the horizon, but it will be almost due west, a direction where we have a slight opening between the trees and the buildings. If you're still at Ladd at 10:33 tonight, join us as we try to see the flash of Satellite #63.

Also, for those of you who chart the position of our Sun in the sky, at 1:00 this afternoon, it left the region of Aries, the Ram, and, for the next several weeks will be in Taurus, the Bull.  Some of you may be surprised that it hasn't been there for awhile, but that's a story for another day. 

Hope to see you all tonight! For more info about the Observatory, and directions, click here . The Open Houses are always free and open to all.