Resources

The Problems of Light Pollution

Light pollution: Any adverse effect of artificial light including sky glow, glare, light trespass, light clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste. Light pollution is not only a hinderance to astronomy, but it also impacts us directly.

Light pollution:

• is a risk factor for cancer to people
• is a disturbance to animals
• is a waste of energy, resources, and money
• is a security risk to your property
• and obscures our view of the wondrous night sky.

Other Florida Observatories

We have welcomed many different groups to come to visit our observatory, from school classes, to extracurricular groups and day camps.

On cloudy days or evenings, we will still offer lectures or video presentations to our visitors.

For those that can not make our Public Viewing events, there are various astronomical viewings available through out the state, to the public, such as in:

• Daytona Beach: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has a 1 meter Ritchey-Chr茅tien telescope at their .
• Orlando: the University of Central Florida has a 20" Richey Chr茅tien telescope and other Schmidt Cassegrains at their .
• Orlando: the Orlando Science Center has a 10" Refractor and more at its .
• Cocoa: the Eastern Florida State College (formerly the Brevard Community) has a housing a a 24" Ritchey-Chr茅tien reflector on their campus.
• Cocoa: the is a Brevard-area amateur astronomer group that often is affiliated with the Student Astronomical Society of F.I.T. and the Kennedy Space Center Amateur Astronomers.
• Melbourne: Florida Institute of Technology's Astronomy & Astrophysics Group runs the 0.8 meter (32") on its campus.
• Fort Pierce: the meets on the main campus of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, which also houses the .
• Fort Myers: the is on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University. Their observatory features a 16-inch Ritchey -Chr茅tien reflector telescope.
• West Palm Beach: the volunteers time at the .
• Boca Raton: the is offered at , which is off of Military Trail, just south of Palmetto Park Road.
• Davie: Broward College has the on its campus.
• Sunrise: the in Markham Park.
• Big Cypress Preserve has some of the darkest night skies in the eastern United States! Park Rangers and their astronomy partners conduct outings under awesome night skies!
• Miami: Booker T. Washington Senior High School has a great for students and public viewings.
• Miami: the Florida International University has their with the addition of their 24" ACE telescope.
• Miami: the hosts their .
• Website: Jason Higley runs the great on all the Observatories and Astronomy happenings through out Florida. Nicely done Jason!

Astronomical Information

General Sky Conditions

What's Up in the Sky!

Section updated: Feb. 23^rd, 2026

The Sun Today:

The Sun is in the quiet pasture of Ares the ram right now. It鈥檒l hop the fence into Taurus鈥檚 pasture on May 14^th. (Joke: Man in the middle of a pasture sees bull nearby, and then a farmer, and nervously calls out 鈥淚s that bull safe?鈥� 鈥淵ep鈥� the farmer replies, 鈥渂ut I can鈥檛 say the same for you.鈥�) The Sun will appear about 4掳 away from the Pleiades on May 20^th. Mercury will pass it by on May 29^th at its superior conjunction. On June 21^st, it鈥檒l safely pass out of Taurus鈥檚 pasture and move on to meet the Gemini twins just as it reaches its maximal height above the celestial equator, at the summer solstice and begin that season for the northern hemisphere. It then will be just 40 arcmin away from M35 on the 23^rd, and on the next day, the 24^th, perfectly occult Jupiter on its conjunction, too.

Lunar Phases:

	1st Qtr. Moon	Feb. 24th
	Full Moon	Mar. 3rd
	Last Qtr. Moon	Mar. 11th
	New Moon	Mar. 18th
	1st Qtr. Moon	Mar. 25th

Meteor Showers:

Section updated: Feb. 23^rd, 2026

Note: compare shower dates with Moon for favorable viewing conditions; the fuller the Moon, the harder it will be to see the meteors!

Peak Night	Name	Radiant's Location	Source	Zero Hour Rate	Meteors' Velocity	Description	Conditions
Apr. 14-30th	Lyrids			18	49 km/s		Minimal Lunar Interference

Viewing Tips: Find a decent location away from obstructive lights in night, especially avoid bluish-white lights that so impact your nightvision capabilities which you'll need to see the fainter meteors! The meteors are generally heaviest in the wee hours of the morning as then we'll be in front of the Earth as it plows it way through the debris trail. You'll want a clear and unobstructed view of the sky as you can find as the meteors will appear to travel across the entire sky. It is this reason that an observatory, like FAU's, is a poor choice to go to observe a meteor shower. An even worse place to go would be a cave! In South Florida, I often advise folks to try the beach, though please be VERY careful during sea turtle season! Egg nests or little hatchlings can be easily crushed by clumsy feet. Use only red LED flashlights if you go to the beach to not only avoid stepping on these reptiles, but the color also protects your night vision (and of course your nighttime circadian rhythm, too) so that you can see the show. Bring a blanket, use bug spray, get comfortable and enjoy the view!

Additional details about meteors, showers or to REPORT your own fireball observations should be done via .