Observatory at Hawthorn Hollow

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Kenosha, WI
Observatory at Hawthorn Hollow

Connecting the community to the universe, one star at a time! Located at Hawthorn Hollow.

12/21/2025

How you connect the Sun, shadow, and time using a human sundial at the Heide Observatory

10/05/2025

Last weekend the Heide Observatory at Hawthorn Hollow hosted this year's Gala Under the Stars 🌌

Guests joined us for an elegant night under the stars including demonstrations, stargazing, live music, talks from staff, food, glitz, and glamour. We here at the Heide Observatory would like to thank every guest in attendance. We couldn't accomplish our mission without you, and we're excited to share the future of the observatory with good company!

Clear skies,
The Heide Observatory 🌠

09/02/2025

Planets & Pancakes 2025 in the books! ✅

Thank you to everyone who came out to the observatory Sunday morning! Planets & Pancakes was a big success and we couldn't have done it without you. Visitors were treated to spectacular views of the planets rising in the early morning, and enjoyed coffee and pancakes to keep everyone going. ☕🥞

See you next year!

08/29/2025

Planets & Pancakes has been rescheduled for our backup date due to weather forecast models predicting overcast skies tomorrow morning during the event. Sunday morning looks clear on all models for the new event date.

Questions? Contact us:
[email protected]

08/14/2025

Stargazers were treated to an unusual sight on Tuesday night! 🚀

This strange object passed overhead at about 9:30pm on Tuesday before our Perseids event. The object in question? A Vulcan rocket launched by United Launch Alliance.

The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral at 7:56pm CST, carrying an experimental navigational satellite NTS-3 into geosynchronous orbit.

Pretty cool!

08/13/2025

Have you ever seen a meteor shower? ☄️💫

The Perseids are peaking tonight and into tomorrow morning, so what’s the best way to see them?

While the bright moon tonight will affect viewing, the darker the sky you can get to the better. Even though the perseids radiate from Perseus, they can streak across anywhere in the sky. The main trick: patience. Don’t focus on one spot, rather you should relax and try to view the entire sky.

The Heide Observatory welcomes everyone who bought tickets to our SOLD OUT Perseids event!

08/12/2025

Join us at The Heide Observatory at Hawthorn Hollow for a celestial treat!

On August 30th The Heide Observatory is hosting Planets and Pancakes! 🪐🥞

Early mornings in August offer the perfect opportunity to witness the planets rising just before the break of dawn, including Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and perhaps even Mercury!

As the sun begins to rise, we'll gather for a delicious pancake and sausage breakfast with coffee provided by East View Coffee Company to help keep us awake!

This event is weather-dependent and will be rescheduled if the forecast shows more than 40% cloud cover. Weather backup night will be the very next morning 08/31 at 3:00 am.

Tickets for this special event are limited, so be sure to reserve yours today! Contact us with any questions [email protected].

08/07/2025

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside Environmental Explorers visited the Heide Observatory today to learn about the Sun and our solar system! ☀️🔭

They got to take a look through a solar telescope, see planets in our 17-inch telescope, and do some fun demos!

08/02/2025

It’s a sunny day! ☀️☀️☀️

Come take a look at the sun with us at East View Coffee Company today through special solar telescopes until 1:00pm.

East View Coffee is supporting the Heide Observatory’s Planets and Pancakes event with coffee!

07/13/2025

The James Webb Space Telescope just gave us our sharpest look yet at Uranus and its five brightest moons. And it’s more jaw-dropping than you might think. 🌀✨

Captured in stunning detail by using the James Webb Space Telescope, this new image reveals Uranus like never before complete with its icy storms, glowing auroras, and a rare view of its five brightest moons: Ariel, Miranda, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.

🔹 Seasonal Polar Cap: Uranus is tilted a wild 98° on its side, leading to extreme seasons where one pole basks in sunlight for 21 years straight. In this image, we see the planet's bright polar cap, which forms as one hemisphere faces the Sun.

🌩️ Stormy Skies: JWST’s infrared view exposes stormy weather systems, including high-altitude clouds glowing brightly against the icy blue backdrop. Turns out, Uranus isn’t so sleepy after all.

💫 Rings & Moons: While Voyager 2 and Hubble gave us glimpses, JWST brings 13 rings and 27 known moons into sharper focus—5 of which shine in this image. It's a hauntingly elegant planetary system we’re just beginning to understand.

🌌 Auroras: The planet’s twisted magnetic field generates some of the strongest auroras in the Solar System electric blue arcs lighting up the darkness, driven by solar winds.

🪐 Exoplanet Clues: Uranus isn’t just weird it’s important. As an ice giant, studying it helps scientists understand exoplanets beyond our solar system and how planetary systems form and evolve.

📸 Credit: Image by James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) / / European Space Agency, in collaboration with and historic data from Voyager 2.

Want this turned into a cosmic carousel, educational reel, or side-by-side planet comparison post? Just say the word Uranus is finally having its moment. 💫🔭

07/09/2025

Join us tonight for Wednesday Under the Stars!
Sit back and relax, look up at the sky, and stargaze with the fireflies ✨

🎟️ Tickets available in the comments...

Address

880 Green Bay Road
Kenosha, WI
53144

Telephone

+12625528196

Website

https://hawthornhollow.org/observatory/

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