These space-obsessed brothers are bringing a new attraction to South Street. It’s out of this world.

“Hey, you want to see Saturn?”

Posted on the corner of Sixth and South Streets on a brisk October night, sidewalk astronomer Brendan Happe greeted onlookers with the question. Some averted their eyes entirely, while others stopped in their tracks with a look of confusion that turned to curiosity within seconds.

Minutes later, a line formed toward the edges of the curb, as more onlookers walked over to Happe with a rush of excitement. Some were looking into a telescope for the first time, while others wanted to add Saturn and Jupiter to their list of sightings from afar. “It’s totally free,” Happe said. The amazement on people’s faces after looking through the lens was priceless.

“A view through a telescope is an opportunity to see something beyond the Earth, and in a way, it’s an inherently human experience,” Happe said. “It allows us to be reconnected to something that makes us human, and it’s something we’ve kind of lost over the past 100 years because of light pollution.”

“It was definitely more impressive than I thought because we saw the telescope and thought, ‘OK, it’s actually not that big,’ ” stargazer Mikolaj Franaszczuk said. “But it was the first time I actually saw Saturn with its rings, so it was really cool.”

“It was so miniature, but it looked so cool,” his 8-year-old daughter, Dahlia, said with a smile.

Happe, a space-obsessed New York native, has greeted Philadelphians for years on South Street with his brother, Bill Green, under the name Philly Moon Men.

» READ MORE: A beginner’s guide to stargazing near Philadelphia

Back in 2018, Happe visited Green, who lived above the Theatre of Living Arts at the time. He grabbed a pair of Green’s binoculars to look out into the night sky, and was immediately struck by the magic of the galaxy. The craters of the moon and the gleam of the stars helped spark a newfound passion, he said.

“Through my brother’s binoculars, I had this realization or reminder that we’re living on a planet,” Happe said. “The universe has been here the whole time, and in that moment, I really started thinking about it. Had it not been on South Street, I can’t really say how it would have really gone down.”

Growing up on Long Island, Green said, they never thought to explore space, and knew very little about astronomy before starting Philly Moon Men. But after that night inside his old apartment, he and Happe decided to share their experience and connect fellow Earthlings to the depths of the universe.

Months later, Happe joined his brother and moved to Philly. They started setting up a telescope and pointing people to the night sky on the corner of Fourth and South Streets, and went on to host programs with nearby businesses like Tattooed Mom, and even collaborated with the Franklin Institute in the years after their first night on the bustling street.

Derrick Pitts, the chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute, said he supports sidewalk astronomers like Happe, Green, and others who encourage Philadelphians to explore the universe from the city’s streets. Pitts remembered going down to Second and Chestnut Streets to encourage locals to look up at the stars.

“What happens is the people look through the telescope and suddenly go, ‘Wow, that’s really cool.’ And it makes that person with a telescope feel as if they are introducing people to a whole world. It’s a feel-good thing all the way around, and it introduces people to the sky,” Pitts said.

Having followed the group for some time, Society Hill resident Sam Greenberg said Happe and Green’s efforts to share intergalactic views and knowledge is why Philly Moon Men has gained such a following in the city. “The views are sick,” Greenberg said. “I think what he does is really cool, so I take any opportunity to see more of it.”

Fourth-grade science teacher Jess Trider said the group is a refreshing attraction on the historic street. “It’s really cool to have access to a telescope in the middle of the city,” Trider said. “[Happe] is so knowledgeable about it, and it’s just good to have a quick information dump.”

Instead of drawing people who visit a traditional observatory or museum, Green said he and Happe started Philly Moon Men so they could “just take normal people off the street and turn them into astronomers.” Green said, “It’s even more exciting, I think, than trying to get a physicist outside of a university.”

Established institutions will always have more resources than a group like Philly Moon Men. But Green said sidewalk astronomy brings the wonders of the universe to the city’s streets, and it’s important for both to work simultaneously to reach and educate the public.

“The Franklin Institute is always packed, and it’s usually the same people every time,” said Green, “but they’re not meeting the people outside of those distinct audiences. Those people on the street don’t get that experience. We don’t need this institution or planning, we just need a telescope and a little bit of free time.”

While the mission of the group has evolved over the years, Happe said one that’s remained consistent is their fight for light pollution advocacy. He pointed to countries like the Netherlands, which has made efforts to reduce light pollution, and his and Green’s hope is that their work inspires the United States to follow suit.

Pitts said he plans to form community partnerships with more groups like Philly Moon Men. That way, there will be more programs and community events beyond the science museum’s walls.

Green and his brother often get asked the same question: “Why South Street?” It’s the last place most would expect to see a telescope, he said, but it’s an ideal spot because of the myriad of cultures that brew in the area and the people that frequent the bustling street.

“If it wasn’t for Philly and South Street, this project would have never happened,” Green said. “[Philly Moon Men] is uniquely a Philly thing. South Street has always had this reputation of cultivating creativity, and we’re just another example of that.”