2012 Observatory Schedule February 18 at 6:30pm Binoculars Night: Bring your binoculars to observe Kemble's Cascade, Hyades, Pleiades, & Beehive Cluster. Winter SkyTour and the best free coffee in Akron. March 17 at 7:30pm Planet Parade: Mars is less than 1/2 degree from M95 & M96, shining at mag -1.2 covering 14" of arc. Jupiter and Venus continue their spectacular display just 2 days past conjunction. March 24 at 7:30pm Venus reaches greatest elongation on 3/27 allowing observers to view the planet 40 degrees above the horizon at sunset. April 14 at 8:30pm Special Event: Messier Marathon at the ACA Observatory. Stay all night to observe 110 Messier objects with ACA club members. We'll have the best free coffee in Akron brewing all night. April 21 at 8:30pm Going Long: We'll observe the most distant object in our galaxy (NGC 2419 at 304,000 ly) and the most distant object within reach of the observatory telescope (Quasar 3C273 at 2.2 billion ly). Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks. May 12 at 9:00pm Galaxies Galore: Observe galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, including M87 hosting a 6 billion solar mass black hole. May 19 at 8:00pm ACA Telescope Seminar: Our members will describe the advantages and disadvantages of each type of telescope. If you plan on purchasing a telescope, don't miss this program. May 26 at 9:00pm Saturn's rings have been increasing inclination angle since they disappeared from sight on September 4, 2009. Come out tonight to see the rings beautifully tilted at 14 degrees. June 9 at 9:00pm Program: Star Maps* We'll show you how to follow a map to the stars. June 16 at 9:00pm An ACA member will take you on a sky tour of the Summer Constellations. June 30 at 1:00pm Daytime Observing Event: Solar Party & Hotdog Roast View sunspots, solar flares, and prominences. Our amateur radio astronomers will be searching for celestial radio signals. Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation and will be a target of the observatory telescope. Enjoy a hotdog for a small fee. July 7 at 9:00pm Program: SETI* Learn about the latest search for extraterrestrials. July 14 at 9:00pm Classical Music Night: Listen to the best musical selections of Mozart, Vivaldi, & Bach by which to gaze at the stars! July 21 at 9:00pm Program: Historic Astronomers Learn about the astronomers who set the foundation for our understanding of the Universe today. August 11 at 8:30pm Program: Sunspots Sunspot activity & behavior explained. Our observing session includes the Perseid Meteor Shower peak. September 8 at 8:00pm It's a great time of year to observe globular clusters. September 15 at 8:00pm Best Free Coffee in Akron Night: An ACA member will take you on a sky tour of the Autumn Constellations. October 6 at 7:30pm View a sampling of October’s planetary nebulae. October 13 at 7:00pm Galaxy Night: Come out to view Andromeda Galaxy, M32, & NGC 7331. November 10 at 6:30pm Relive Herschel's discovery of Uranus & the Saturn Nebula. November 17 at 6:30pm Star Gazing while the Leonid Meteor Shower peaks. * listed program or make-up program