Most, if not all, of these facilities offer some opportunities for public involvement, though not all offer nighttime viewing opportunities.

Traveling east or west does little (or nothing) to alter our view of the night sky, but being several hundred miles south of the Four Corners delivers a slightly different aspect with the northern circumpolar constellations hanging closer to the horizon and a few southern constellations peeking up in the opposite direction.

For those of you with good telescopes who like a challenge, the solar system's former ninth planet - now dwarf planet - Pluto will be closest to Earth this year on June 19, only a little more than 2.8 billion miles away. A day later, it'll reach opposition, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise, ideally positioned for viewing in Sagittarius in the southern sky. Of course, at magnitude 13.9, it'll be hard to know what you're looking at.

The New Horizons spacecraft is en route to Pluto and crosses Saturn's orbit on June 8. It will arrive in Pluto's vicinity in 2015.

Thirty years ago on June 22, Jim Christy discovered Pluto's companion, Charon. Charon is more than half the size of Pluto. The two are separated by only 12,000 miles. If seen from Pluto, Charon would appear 50 times larger than our moon appears to us.

You won't have any trouble finding Jupiter (magnitude minus 2.6), also in Sagittarius. It's relatively low in the southern sky, so the dense atmosphere will degrade the view in telescopes a bit. Still, Jupiter is always worth a look. It reaches opposition on July 9. The best view will be around midnight or 1 a.m.

Saturn and Mars are hanging out with Leo the Lion and will be in conjunction on July 10. The odd couple will appear less than one degree apart. Saturn, at magnitude 0.75, is brighter than Mars (magnitude 1.7). Look for them low on the western horizon after sunset. For a couple of weeks prior to its rendezvous with Saturn, Mars plays tag with the bright star Regulus. On July 1, the two (of almost identical magnitude) will be less than a degree apart.

Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on July 1, meaning it will appear as far to the west of the sun as it gets (22 degrees). To find it, look low in the eastern sky before sunrise. At magnitude 0.5, it won't be very bright. It rises at 4:36 a.m. on the 1st and should be visible by 5 a.m. The bright stars Capella and Aldebaran will be slightly higher to the left and right of Mercury respectively.

Earth is farthest from the sun this year on July 4. We will be 94.5 million miles from our star.

Venus is lost in the sun's glare. It will return as the "Evening Star" in August.