In observance of Astronomy Day on May 10, the Stokesville Observatory will be open from 8 to 11 p.m. This event is sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Stargazers club. The event is free, but the club will accept donations to support its outreach program.

The club recently purchased a laptop computer and projector to make its presentations more enjoyable. Several members of the club are available to give talks on astronomy to any group.

Astronomy Day is the start of a week of a grassroots movement to share the joy of astronomy. This is a chance for those who have never looked through a telescope to see the many wonders of the universe. Besides the observatory's main telescope, there will be several telescopes set up by club members.

If you attend don't feel afraid to ask questions. You will find amateur astronomers love to share their knowledge of astronomy and their telescopes. Many kinds of telescopes will be in operation. There will be reflectors, refractors and giant binoculars for you to look through. To get a good look at the many astronomy instruments, you should come before dark.

If you have never seen moon craters and mountains close up or the rings of Saturn, this date is great for viewing these. You should bring a jacket or sweater as the spring nights can be a little chilly. Directions to the Stokesville observatory site can be found at www.valleystargazers.Com

Also, if you happen to be in Richmond on May 10, the Science Museum of Virginia also will celebrate Astronomy Day from 10 a.m. To 4 p.m. Activities will include a tour of space travel outreach trailer, viewing the sun with a safe solar telescope, planetarium shows "Icy Worlds" and "Whats Up," and several talks by professional astronomers.

In The Sky

Mercury is best located from Tuesday to May 18. On May 16, use your binoculars and look for it about 11 degrees above the WNW horizon at 8:45 p.m. Saturn in Leo at dusk is almost directly over head. Mars in Cancer is about 28 degrees to the right of Saturn. On May 22 and 23, Mars passes through the Beehive cluster of stars. Jupiter rises in the southeast just before midnight. Venus is not visible as it is lost in the sun's glare in May. Neptune in Capricornus is high enough in the southeast to be seen in a telescope early in the morning. Uranus is one constellation east of Neptune in Aquarius.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks continue through Wednesday. These are best observed from the southern hemisphere but a few are visible from mid-northern latitudes. New moon occurs Monday and full moon is May 19.

Write News Leader columnist Jack Wine at starman34@comcast.net