Winslow-Homolovi Observatory Public Sky Exploration Night

September 27th, 2025 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. As sky conditions allow, the observatory will open to view these objects thru the Moore 14" SCT telescope;

September 27th, 2025 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Guest Speaker Presentation in the park visitor center -

Dr. Haley Sapers is an assistant professor of planetary geobiology at Northern Arizona University jointly appointed in the departments of Astronomy & Planetary Science and Biological Sciences. Her research takes her to the high Canadian Arctic investigating microbial communities and permafrost methane emissions, to developing instruments to measure methane and search for life beyond Earth. Dr. Sapers has worked on NASA Mars missions including the Curiosity rover and the SHERLOC science team (one of the instruments on the Perseverance Rover). She investigates the limits of life in planetary analog environments including meteorite impact craters, methane seeps, and polar hyper saline springs.

• Dress warm. Night time can get chilly with a light breeze.

• White lights can be used around the visitor center & parking lot. Avoid pointing a white light including car headlights at the observatory.

• Red lights only adjacent and inside the observatory. This protects your dark adaptation and gives you a much better eyepiece view.

• Please take your time at the eyepiece. The human eye does not work well in the dark. Ask for an assist if you can't see anything thru the eyepiece.

• If you have any questions please share. We have quite a few friendly volunteers with a breadth of knowledge and experience.

• 6 day old moon, Apollo 11 & 17 landing sites, cell cam pix thru 6” dob

• M57, Ring Nebula

• M27, Dumbbell Nebula

• M31 & M32, Andromeda Galaxy & Satellite Galaxy

• M15, Globular Cluster

• Saturn, Ringed Planet

• Neptune, Furthest Planet

Telescope Etiquette, Comfort, & Seeing