Westport Observatory

A detailed space station with multiple solar panels orbiting above Earth against a backdrop of stars.

🚀 25 Years Aboard the ISS! 🛰️
The International Space Station marks 25 years of continuous human presence in space. As it nears retirement in 2030, NASA’s push for commercial stations faces delays — raising concern over a future gap in orbit.
spacenews.com/on-the...

#ISS #NASA #25YearsInSpace

🌌 Next WAS Speaker: Dr. Sara Seager (MIT) — From Lab to Cosmos: Three Frontiers in the Search for Signs of Life Beyond Earth!

Join us Tuesday, Nov 18 at 8 PM at the Westport Observatory & online for an inspiring talk on the search for life beyond our planet. 🔭

👉 was-ct.org/events/sa...

Bright Comet ATLAS (C/2025 K1) with a glowing nucleus and a long, luminous tail streaking across a star-filled night sky.

🌟 A Rare Golden Comet! 🌟

Most comets glow green — but not this one. Comet ATLAS (C/2025 K1) has emerged from its close solar encounter shining a brilliant golden hue. ☄️✨ Photographed by Dan Bartlett of June Lake, California. Learn how to spot it in the morning sky at Spaceweather.com

Unfortunately, the Star Party at Aquila’s Nest Vineyard is canceled tonight 11/1.

We’ll reschedule soon and be back with wine, stars, and cosmic views of your universe. 🍷🔭

Stay tuned for a new date → www.aquilasnestviney...

#WestportObservatory #StarParty #Stargazing #AquilasNestVineyard

Images of Comet 3I/ATLAS taken by coronagraphs on GOES-19, STEREO-A and SOHO.

🌟 Comet 3I/ATLAS brightens rapidly! 🌟
As it reached perihelion on Oct. 29, spacecraft watching the Sun saw a sudden surge in brightness. Scientists expect it to emerge from solar conjunction much brighter and easier to see from Earth. 🔭
Full story: Spaceweather.com

People gathered outdoors at dusk observing the moon through a large telescope under a somewhat clear sky.

🍷✨ The WAS Away Team heads to Aquila’s Nest Vineyard this Saturday at 6:30 PM for a night of wine and stargazing! See ☄️ Comets Lemmon & SWAN, 🌕 80% Moon, 🪐 Saturn, Uranus & Neptune, plus a Tiangong pass at 7:48 PM.

🍇 Sign up → tinyurl.com/26zgr4lr

#StarParty #Astronomy

White observatory tower with a dome on top stands beside several small white utility buildings under a cloudy evening sky.

The clouds have cast their spooky spell over the Westport Observatory tonight — we’re socked in!

No stargazing this evening, but don’t fear the dark too much — we’ll rise again next Wednesday for our Star Party! https://was-ct.org/

#WestportObservatory #Halloween #Stargazing #StarParty #Boo

Three waveform graphs in blue, red, and green display seismic data recorded on October 27, 2025, from Westport, CT, showing varying amplitude and frequency patterns. HHZ = vertical HH1 = North/South HH2 = East/West

Map showing an earthquake epicenter east of Guadeloupe with concentric colored rings indicating intensity zones.

The USGS seismic detectors at the Westport Observatory picked up the M6.5 earthquake this morning at 8:38 AM, just east of Beauséjour, Guadeloupe, 1,832 miles from Westport.

This quake is not related to Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, now tracking toward Jamaica.

#Earthquake #WestportObservatory

Star-filled night sky with glowing comet SWAN near the center and the Westport Astronomical Society 50th anniversary logo in the top left corner.

🌠 We’re opening early tonight at the Westport Observatory for views of Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) and Comet SWAN (C/2025 R2)! A few passing clouds won’t stop us—see Saturn, Neptune, and deep-sky wonders at our Star Party! 🔭✨

📸 Kathy & Ryan Denke, WAS SeeStar30

#Astronomy #CometSWAN #ZWO

🌠 Comet Night — Tonight! 🌠

If the weather cooperates, join us tonight (Mon Oct 20, 7–9 PM) at the Westport Observatory Tower to view Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) and Comet SWAN (C/2025 R2) as they make their closest approach to Earth this week!

Check for updates: was-ct.org/programs/...

Westport Astronomical Society logo with starry galaxy background promoting a lecture titled 'The Life Cycle of Matter through Stars' by Iman Behbehani, CUNY, on October 21, 2025 at 8:00pm.

🚨 Speaker Update! 🚨 The government shutdown moved Naveen Vetcha to January, but we welcome CUNY’s Iman Behbehani this Tuesday, Oct 21 at 8 PM! Join us online for “The Life Cycle of Matter through Stars,” as Iman explores Betelgeuse on Zoom & YouTube: was-ct.org/events/im...

#WestportObservatory

Silhouette of a girl observing stars through a large telescope at night with a star-filled sky and trees in the background.

It’s Star Party season!

The WAS Away Team is out on the streets of Fairfield County with our telescopes, sharing the universe with all! Check out member astrophotography, a new October speaker, and Monday’s Comet Star Party: mailchi.mp/was-ct/fo...
#WestportObservatory #WestportAstronomicalSociety

Bright comet with a glowing white nucleus and a long, faint tail streaking across a star-filled dark night sky.

Comet Night!

Join us Monday, Oct 20, 7–9 PM for tower views of Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) and Comet SWAN (C/2025 R2) as they approach to Earth this week. We’ll open only if skies are clear: was-ct.org/events/le...

Photo: Phil Harrington
#WestportObservatory #CometLemmon #CometSWAN #Astronomy #CT

Promotional banner for a James Webb Space Telescope lecture by Dr. Naveen Vetcha on October 21, 2025, at 8:00pm by Westport Astronomical Society.

The Webb Space Telescope: The Journey So Far

Join us Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 8 PM for a talk by Dr. Naveen Vetcha, Team Lead at Amentum’s Space Exploration Division. Explore Webb’s incredible discoveries!

📺 The classroom will be closed
Watch on YouTube or Zoom: was-ct.org

Image by Michael Southam. Vast cosmic nebula with swirling clouds of gas and dust illuminated against a backdrop of countless stars in deep space.

Congratulations to WAS member Michael Southam!His stunning image of LDN 1295 — The Giraffe Nebula featured as today’s AAPOD2 Image of the Day!

Captured under the dark skies of Cherry Springs State Park, PA. www.aapod2.com/blog/...

#Astrophotography #AAPOD2 #GiraffeNebula #Astronomy #CherrySprings

Aerial view of a white observatory dome atop a tall building surrounded by autumn trees with colorful foliage.

Tonight at the Westport Observatory!

Join us for the Weekly Star Party at 8 PM. Spot early views of Comets C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), along with Saturn, Neptune, and more.

was-ct.org/programs/...

#WestportObservatory #Starparty #CometLemmon #Astronomy #WAS #CometSWAN

Starship/Super Heavy on the launch pad before the Flight 11 launch scheduled for Oct. 13. Credit: SpaceX

Starship takes flight (again)!

SpaceX is set for its 11th Starship test flight tonight at 7:15 PM ET from Starbase, Texas. The mission will test satellite deployments, heat shielding, and new booster engine configs — the final flight of version 2 before v3 debuts later.

spacenews.com/spacex...

Part of an image of two black holes in orbit around each other in quasar OJ287. (Image credit: University of Turku/J.L. Gomez and et al., 2022)

🌌 Historic cosmic first!

Astronomers have captured the first-ever image of two black holes orbiting each other — a breathtaking confirmation of decades of theory! The quasar OJ287, reveals a pair of titanic black holes dancing in deep space.

www.space.com/astron...

#Astronomy #BlackHole #OJ287

Promotional poster for Westport Astronomical Society's 50th anniversary featuring a lecture on the search for life in the universe by Dr. Adam Frank.

🌌 Missed September’s Westport Astronomical Society Free Science Series Lecture?

Catch Professor Adam Frank’s fascinating talk “The Search for Life in the Universe” — exploring how science hunts for life beyond Earth. 👽✨

🎥 Watch it now (or again!): youtube.com/live/Z89...

#WestportObservatory

Three seismograph charts from Westport, CT, showing blue, red, and green waveform data recorded on October 10, 2025, with time stamps and network status details. HHZ = vertical HH1 = North/South HH2 = East/West

🌏 A powerful M7.4 earthquake struck off the southeastern coast of the Philippines near Mindanao, about 79 miles from Davao. Tsunami warnings were issued. The USGS seismometer at the Westport Observatory detected the quake 8,850 miles away! 🌎 #Earthquake #Philippines #Seismology

The Westport Observatory illuminated at night with a large telescope and trees glowing red under a partly cloudy sky filled with stars.

✨ Clear skies tonight, Westport! ✨ Join us at the Westport Observatory for Public Night starting at 8PM. Cool, crisp air and perfect views of Saturn’s rings, Neptune, and your universe! 🌌🔭

🔗 was-ct.org/programs/...

Bright green comet with a long, wispy tail streaking through a star-filled night sky.

While interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS steals the spotlight, Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) is rapidly brightening and may soon be visible to the naked eye! It should be a dazzling evening sight around the New Moon in late October. 🌠

Photo: Rolando Ligustri 🇮🇹
🔗 Spaceweather.com

#CometLemmon

Westport Astronomical Society's 50th anniversary logo with a large moon and city skyline promoting International Observe the Moon Night tonight on October 4th, 2025, 8-10 pm.

🌙✨ Tonight! Join us at the Westport Observatory for International Observe the Moon Night! 🌍🚀

Point a telescope at the Moon, share stories, and connect with millions worldwide.

📸 Share your shots with #ObserveTheMoon + #WestportObservatory! 🌒💫

#MoonNight2025 #NASA

Mars orbiter spacecraft with large solar panels and a dish antenna hovering above the planet's rocky, dusty surface under a starry sky.

🚀 A cosmic visitor is flying by Mars today! Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will swing just 29 million km from the Red Planet. NASA & ESA orbiters are ready to capture images and data on this rare traveler from beyond our solar system. 🌌

🔗 skyandtelescope.org/...

#CometAtlas #Mars #Interstellar

Westport Astronomical Society celebrating 50 years with a large moon and event details for International Observe the Moon Night on October 4th, 2025, 8-10 pm.

🌙✨ Join us Sat, Oct 4 for International Observe the Moon Night! ✨🌙

We’ll celebrate Earth’s closest neighbor with telescopes, stories & skywatching fun at the Westport Observatory. 📸 Share your shots with #ObserveTheMoon & #WestportObservatory!

#MoonNight2025 #NASA #WestportObservatory

Artist’s concept of the Cassini spacecraft passing through plumes venting from Saturn’s ocean moon, Enceladus. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

As we observed Saturn and its moon Enceladus tonight, a new study of Cassini data revealed the icy moon is bursting with complex organic molecules in its plumes — the same kinds linked to life on Earth. 🌊🧬 Its hidden ocean may hold the chemistry for life.

🔗 Read more: www.scientificameric...

Group of people observing the night sky with telescopes near an observatory building illuminated by red light under a starry sky.

✨ Clear Skies Tonight! ✨

We’re opening the Westport Observatory at 8 PM, 10/1, for a star party under a gorgeous sky.

🌕 70% waxing gibbous Moon
🪐 Saturn & distant Neptune
🌌 Deep sky wonders

Come see your Universe! was-ct.org/programs/...

#WestportObservatory #StarParty #Astronomy #LookUp

Circular fisheye view of a cloudy sky at the Westport Observatory with tree silhouettes around the edges, labeled with cardinal directions and timestamped September 24, 2025.

🌧️☁️ Once again, the clouds win. The Westport Observatory will be closed tonight for public night.

We’ll keep watching the skies — hopefully some clear skies NEXT Wednesday and we’ll open the dome for you. Stay tuned! https://was-ct.org/

#WestportObservatory #CloudySkies #LookUp

Star trails streak across the night sky with a faint green comet visible among the stars.

🚨 Space weather meets interstellar visitor! 🚨
A solar storm (CME) may collide with Comet 3I/ATLAS on Sept. 24–25, a week before its Mars flyby—where spacecraft are waiting for a closer look.

📸 Sept. 17 image by Gerald Rhemann & Michael Jäger.
🔗 Full story: Spaceweather.com

#31Atlas

As we pack for beautiful nights at the Connecticut Star Party #CSP35 this weekend, we heard we lost a friend from #Stellafane. Dennis Cassia, the cigar chewing smiling bald guy that met everyone at the gates passed this morning. Love to Kim and his family at this difficult time from all of us at WAS