Late summer at the heart of the Milky Way.

September is one of the last great windows for the summer Milky Way. Scorpius still dominates the southern sky, with brilliant red-orange Antares marking the heart of the Scorpion while Sagittarius points us toward the dense central regions of our galaxy.

This is not a fixed-checklist tour. We build the night around what is best placed overhead, the Moon, transparency, seeing, and the objects showing best through the telescopes that evening.

From Antares to the galactic core.

• Antares and the colorful heart of Scorpius
• Sagittarius and the richest Milky Way star fields
• Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae when conditions allow
• Bright globular and open star clusters
• Dark dust lanes threading through the Milky Way
• Seasonal planets, double stars, and surprise targets

Three hours under the sky.

6:30 PM — Arrival & sky orientation. We get everyone settled, introduce the night sky, and point out the major constellations and Milky Way structure.

7:00 PM — Visual observing. We move through the strongest targets using the large visual telescope, changing magnification and eyepieces as needed.

8:00 PM — Live astrophotography. While visual observing continues, the imaging system builds real deep-sky exposures so you can watch faint structure emerge that the eye cannot see directly.

9:15 PM — Final targets & questions. We revisit favorites, finish with the best remaining objects, and wrap up around 9:30.

Visual observing + live imaging.

12-inch Meade LX90: our primary visual telescope for nebulae, clusters, planets, double stars, and deep-sky objects at a range of magnifications.

Dedicated imaging rig: a separate tracked astrophotography system runs during the tour, capturing longer exposures and revealing faint color and structure in real time.

The sky decides the final plan.

Clouds, wind, seeing, transparency, and Moon phase all affect what looks best. If one target is weak, we move to something stronger. Bring warm layers, closed-toe shoes, water, and your questions. No astronomy experience is required.

Reserve your seat.

This event is limited to ten guests so everyone gets meaningful telescope time and room to ask questions. Use the booking controls above to choose the number of guests and add the event to your cart.