The Cape has one of the darkest skies on the eastern seaboard, but many people don’t know exactly what they’re looking at. Learn about the night sky from a renowned astronomer, Dimitar D. Sasselov, professor of astronomy at Harvard University and director of the Harvard’s Origins of Life Initiative.

The class begins from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the Craine Room with a presentation on the Cape’s night sky from season to season: how to spot planets, stars, constellations, the International Space Station, and more. Then from 5:30 to 7 p.m. the class resumes at Skaket Beach in Orleans for a talk about the search for life in the cosmos through Dimitar’s telescope and an in-person star-gazing experience. (Rain date: Wednesday, Oct, 12, 5:30-7 at Skaket Beach.)