stargazing - View this location on map  Dartmouth College's astronomy department ( 603-646-9100) offers free guided glimpses of the heavens on Friday nights from 8 to 11 (and also on Sundays from noon to 2 p.m., when solar activity can be seen through safe filters) most weeks of the academic year. Call ahead for the schedule and weather conditions. Head behind the Shattuck Observatory and climb a ladder to a small turret in the center of a little white house with a retractable roof, and then, by the red glow of the special light bulbs that protect your night vision, your own personal astronomy graduate student will curse the encroaching trees, punch a few coordinates into the telescope and direct your eyes to the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter and various nebulae. Dress warmly. New York Times observatory road, Hanover, VT Active, Kids |