Observatory
The Pattonville School District is Home to its Own Planetarium and Observatory.
The observatory, located at Pattonville Heights Middle School, is the first school or college in Missouri to have a planetarium/observatory facility located in one of its buildings. Throughout the school year, the district hosts regular viewing sessions of the night sky. For dates and the upcoming areas of focus in the sky, see below.
W h a t : The Pattonville Observatory has an 10-inch Schmidt-Cassgrain telescope which can be used to view planets, stars, nebulae, galaxies and globular clusters.
Where: The white dome atop Pattonville Heights Middle School located at 195 Fee Fee Rd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Please enter the door directly below the white dome on the roof of the building just to the right of the gym. ( Click for a Map)
When: Approximately two Fridays every month during the school year in the early evening after sunset.
Cost: Totally and completely Free!!
Observatory and Planetarium
Public Viewing Sessions
The observatory is located at Pattonville Heights Middle School, 195 Fee Fee Road. Access in the evening is next to the gym at the end of the parking lot using the door below the observatory dome. To find out more or hear up-to-date information, contact the information hotline at 314-213-8034.
Next Session:
Friday, April 10, 2026
8:00pm - 10:00pm
The Moon will be in a waning crescent phase, just past 3rd quarter, so it won’t be visible for this session. It will make it easier to view dim objects, so we add some of those to our list for the night..
Venus is low in the west and will set before the end of our session. Uranus is a little higher. Jupiter is high in the south above Mars will be high in the sky. Jupiter’s moons, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede will all be visible next to Jupiter. Mercury, Saturn, Neptune and Mars are all below the horizon and will not be visible.
The “Celestial Six-Pack” of winter constellations consisting of Auriga, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Taurus, Orion and Gemini are now beginning to set in the west. They are marked by the stars that form a giant circle and include Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Caster, Capella, Aldebaran, and Rigel with Betelgeuse in the middle. Leo, with it’s bright star Regulus is well positioned in the East. Arcturus and Spica are rising in the East, along with M13, the great Hercules globular cluster
We will look at the large open cluster The Pleiades or M45, M42 the Great Orion Nebula, and M44, the Beehive Cluster and the Double Cluster. We will use the refractor mounted on top of the main telescope to view M45 as it is too large to view all at once with the main scope.
Come spend the evening viewing the cosmos with your family, residents and non-residents are welcome! Students, who are accompanied by their parents, are especially welcome! Please take note that the dome is not heated or cooled, so pay attention to the weather and dress in a manner that is appropriate for the evening temperature conditions. . Even if it is raining or cloudy, a program will still be presented.
Night Sky News
Here's some info about what's going on in the sky.
