Observatory Open to Public

After a couple recent cancellations due to overcast skies, the Ocean City High School observatory will be open to the public again on Friday.

Anybody is invited to visit the observatory from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 22 to get a telescopic glimpse of Jupiter and its mini-solar system of moons and the waxing gibbous moon. A few selected double and binary stars also will be visible.

Friday night's forecast calls for mostly clear skies with a low around 29 degrees, but any cancellation of the Friday observations due to weather conditions will be posted on the district website by 6:45 p.m. 

Later in April, the planet Saturn will enter the evening sky over Ocean City.

"The rings are absolutely spectacular to view through our telescope," astronomy teacher John Hermann says.

Watch for observation dates for Saturn starting in mid-April. Hermann is on hand during the public sessions to guide the public.

The observatory is located behind Ocean City High School near Carey Stadium. People who attend are asked to enter the observatory from the beach block of Fifth Street. There is no fee to the public.

The new observatory was dedicated in September on city property. The private, nonprofit Ocean City Education Foundation and the Ocean City Free Public Library donated money to create the unique educational resource at the high school.