Those looking to expand their celestial horizons have the chance each month to observe stars, planets and the moon at the observatory’s open house, which will be at 8 p.m. today.

Outside in the far back stretch, a building that looks comparable to a shed houses a telescope capable of capturing images of storms on Jupiter’s surface, said Hannah Tanquary, a physics major with a concentration in astronomy in charge of the event.

Visitors will look into the skies through the 16-foot telescope and learn about several objects floating in the skies.

Tanquary said visibility of planets and constellations vary depending on the weather.

With every new year, she said planets and stars move around and escape from the telescope’s field of vision.

“It’s really hard to map things out directly,” Tanquary said.

She also said the changes in the seasons will affect what people

see on Friday.

In the past, viewers have observed “globular clusters, the Ring Nebula, Hercules Cluster and the Orion Nebula,” Tanquary said.

When planets are visible in the sky, Tanquary said people track down Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

On rare occasions, she said observers have caught a glimpse of the moons orbiting around Jupiter.

If an object is emitting too much light, its brightness can ruin the image running through the telescope, and that’s when Tanquary said they have to put in filters to clear up the image. Tanquary said a full moon will be up at the event and that full can make it hard to see things. She also said the will attempt to view The Hercules Cluster and the Ring Nebula.

Tanquary said she loves viewing Saturn because it was the first thing she caught a glimpse of when looking through a telescope on her own.

At previous events, Tanquary said children new to telescopes react ecstatically whenever they manage to locate something in the sky.

“Those are the best reactions,” Tanquary said. “Normally, I believe their reactions are real. I mean, they come in here having seen pictures of planets and ask questions like ‘is this real?’”

She said she hopes people will take what they learn about outer space and use it in the future when they learn more about the topic.

The viewing is free, and donations are accepted as well.

Jaime Lopez can be reached at 581-2812 or jlopez2@eiu.edu.