9/18 - Stargazing at Carl Schurz Park

Located at the end of East 86th Street in Manhattan
212-923-7021

The Amateur Astronomers Association of New York hosts observing sessions, free and open to the public, one Friday night each month from April through October at Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan. Carl Schurz Park is located along East End Avenue at the end of East 86th Street. The park has a lovely view of a lot of sky above the East River, Roosevelt Island, Queens, and the Queensborough and Triborough bridges.

We meet on the park esplanade (John Finley Walk), overlooking the East River. The 86th Street entrance to the park is the closest to where we set up, though that entrance requires climbing stairs to reach the esplanade. One may enter the park at many other points, including 87th or 88th streets, thereby avoiding the stairs.

Starting at 8:00 p.m.

The Sun sets at 7:00 p.m.

The waxing crescent Moon is two nights before first quarter.

The Moon and Saturn are very close together on the sky, within a binocular field of view. But they set behind the buildings of Manhattan’s East Side during the evening as seen from Carl Schurz Park.

The Summer Triangle of Vega, Deneb, and Altair is high overhead. The Big Dipper and bright Arcturus are low in the northwest. Pegasus and Andromeda are high in the east. This may be a good night for the Great Galaxy in Andromeda, M31. The Double Cluster, the α Persei Association, the Pleiades, and other star clusters and deep-sky objects may be viewable. Carl Schurz Park is not a dark-sky site, though, so some of these may be challenging even after the Moon leaves the sky.

More Info: http://www.aaa.org/observing/observing-at-carl-schurz-park/