Photo by Schmoopy2007

Get stoked, space nerds: amid all the Pride celebrations going on this weekend, there’s a small festival for space and astronomy aficionados happening tonight. Hofstra University is bringing the Astronomy Festival back to the National Mall!

The small festival, which will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. tonight, celebrates the final frontier—more commonly known as space—with “telescopic viewing, exhibits, hands-on activities, a multimedia presentation, and a chance to mingle with real astronomers.”

The organizer of the festival, Dr. Donald Lubowich—the Coordinator of Astronomy Outreach at Hofstra—says that the festival “gives us a very special opportunity to encourage children to pursue their interest in science or math and to promote public understanding of science.” He’ll be joined by a group of local astronomers to set up twenty telescopes on the Mall, where star-gazers can get close-up looks at nearby planets like Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and, of course, the Moon. There will also be an impersonator of Caroline Herschel—”the first modern female astronomer and the sister of William, who discovered Uranus”—present to dole out important history lessons. Planetarium programs Journey to the Stars and Cosmic Collisions will also be shown.

It’s all free and, according to the National Weather Service, it’s going to be a pretty clear night. A perfect evening to get your inner space nerd on.