The long-range forecasts are looking good for a special event at Ladd Observatory, on Hope Street in Providence, this Thursday night. The observatory will open from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m.  to offer a view of the very close positioning of Mars and Saturn. The best view is right about 9, so don't be late. Afterwards, the Moon, in its 1st quarter phase, can be enjoyed through the 12-inch refractor. Views of Jupiter will also be possible.

Click on "More..." for more info. And check back here on Thursday for an update on the weather.

UPDATE: As of Thursday at 2:30, Francine says the weather looks good and the event is a go!

The 12-inch Meade telescope will be temporarily mounted in the southeastern corner of the deck, and for some part of the night, will be aimed at Jupiter.  Our largest planet, Jupiter reaches opposition Wednesday, which for us means it will become a part of our nighttime sky, and therefore available for us for the rest of the summer. Some of you have probably seen images of Jupiter, and noticed it has a great reddish blemish on its surface, a landmark  called the Great Red Spot. 

This appears to be the largest hurricane in our solar system, larger than the diameter of two Earths - about 20,000 miles across. The Spot will be in our line of sight Thursday, but, don't be looking for this big colored blob. The pictures we see of it are very much enhanced, and the reddish color isn't anywhere near as prominent as those images lead us to believe. If any of you do catch even a hint of red, please let us know.      

When we view Jupiter, we usually mention its four largest moons, the ones first discovered by Galileo in the 17th century. On Thursday, there will only be three of them visible. Ganymede, the largest of the four, and, in fact, the largest satellite in the entire solar system, will be behind Jupiter for our entire evening's observing time. The other three will be there; ask those of us on the deck which dots are which.

via: Francine Jackson, staff astronomer