* Astronomy

The staff at the Thomas G. Cupillari Observatory prefer to stare skyward, but lately they have been warily studying the northwest horizon.
Less than three miles in that direction from the observatory's hilltop perch, Southwestern Energy Production Co. plans to drill an exploratory natural gas well. If the Marcellus Shale is rich with gas in that spot, the company will return to drill six production wells.
The around-the-clock operations will require that the drilling rig and the pad below it be lit at night as brightly as if it were day. The amateur astronomers fear the light will scatter upward, obscuring the dark sky that makes stargazing for research or pleasure possible.
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