Tonight at 9, the University Physics Department will present the second of four Observatory Open Houses this semester.

The event has been running for over a decade, and attendees will gaze through the telescope’s 24-inch mirror to see several objects in the night sky.

The Red & Black sat down with astronomy professor Dr. Loris Magnani, who previewed some of the heavenly bodies that will be highlighted at the open house.

The Moon

Earth’s only satellite, the Moon, has a diameter of about one quarter of ours, and orbits our planet at about 240,000 miles.

What you can see: The familiar impact craters and lunar seas and highlands that can be observed with the naked eye will take on new meaning when viewed at increased magnification.

Where it is: The Moon will be located in the southwestern part of the sky. It will be close to its first quarter phase.

Dr. Magnani: “The Moon is always spectacular. You can spend months and months just looking at the moon, seeing craters, mountain ranges, and these really sharp valleys called rilles.”

Jupiter

What it is: This gas giant is the largest planet in our solar system and is 484 million miles away from the Sun.

What you can see: The red hue of Jupiter can be seen with the naked eye.

Where it is: Jupiter will be due south and about 45 degrees up tonight.

Dr. Magnani: “It’s a spectacular sight, even through binoculars… You’ll see this really bright object. You really can’t miss it, even from downtown.”

Uranus

What it is: The seventh planet in our solar system, Uranus has a volume of about 64 times that of Earth’s.

What you can see: Although visible with the naked eye, the cool blue hue of Uranus is more easily observed through a telescope.

Where it is: Uranus will be located in the southeastern part of the sky tonight at about 50 degrees up.

Andromeda Galaxy

What it is: The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest galaxy to ours, about 2,500,000 light-years away, with an estimated one trillion stars.

What you can see: Dr. Magnani says that the center of the Andromeda Galaxy will look like “a little white smudge.”

Where it is: Andromeda will be almost directly overhead, at about 80 degrees up, but will be slightly in the north-northeastern part of the sky.

Dr. Magnani: “Through a small telescope a lot of objects that are very different physically look like little, faint white smudges. Now what you’re looking at is literally hundreds of millions of stars, so far away and so close together that they kind of blend.”

Albireo

What it is: Albireo, located in the constellation Cygnus about 390 light-years away from Earth, is a binary star.

What you can see: The red hue of Albireo A sharply contrasts with the blue of Albireo B.

Where it is: Albireo and the Cygnus constellation will be located in the western part of the sky tonight at about 60 degrees up.

Dr. Magnani: “Through a telescope it’s very bright.. The contrast is very pretty. You see these two little points of light, one looks like a sapphire and one looks golden.”

Space Stations

What they are: The U.S. Space Surveillance Network estimates that some 8,000 manmade satellites orbit the Earth, including the International Space Station. The SSN estimates that about 550 of these satellites are active; the rest are space debris.

What you can see: The iridium-based solar panels of satellites can emit glistening iridium flares when they reflect the sun.

Where they are: The satellite Iridium 68 will emit a flare tonight in the northeast. The International Space Station, however, will not be visible from Athens until next Monday.