Please join us on Saturday, May 11 at 7:00 PM for Public Night at the Oil Region Astronomical Society Learning Center, home of the Bedow Memorial Observatory. ORAS member Larry McHenry will be giving a presentation about Charles Messier, the French astronomer and great comet hunter of the 18th Century. This will be followed followed by the dark sky observing through the observatory’s 30-inch telescope (weather permitting). For those unable to come to the observatory, we’ll be doing a simultaneous live version of the presentation via Zoom.

Public Night Schedule
6:50 PM – 7:00 PM: Zoom Session Opens – Opportunity for Tech-Check to make sure your system is working. (Link will be emailed to you after you register)
7:00 PM – 7:10 PM: ORAS News and Updates
7:10 PM – 8:00 PM: Education Presentation: Charles Messier: The Ferret of Comets
8:00 PM — 11:00 PM: Telescope Observing, weather permitting

Who can attend? Anyone who is interested in learning more about ORAS and astronomy-related topics may attend. We strongly encourage members of the general public, educators, and students from surrounding schools to participate. Public nights are FREE and open to all.

This will be both an in-person event and a virtual event. If you’re unable to join us at the observatory but would like to attend the virtual event, please register before midnight (EDT) on Thursday May 9 at https://forms.gle/uHYjMa2KhKknvDzx6. A link will be emailed to you on Saturday, May 11.

About the presenter:- Larry McHenry is a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been active in amateur astronomy for over 40 years. Over the years, Larry has sketched and video-astronomy observed all of the Messier Objects. You can view Larry’s personal Messier observations and learn more about Larry’s astronomical interests online at his web portal: http://www.stellar-journeys.org