Stars, Constellations, and Telescopes

Students and community residents explored the night sky during a Public Observing at Strawbridge Observatory last week.

A roomful of students and community residents joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy for Public Observing at the Strawbridge Observatory, held for the second time this semester on March 21.

A talk on constellations, given by Sarah Betti ’17, preceded guided tours of the observatory given by Eric Smith ’15, an astrophysics major. Children, accompanied by parents, lined up to take a peek at the telescopes that are actively used by students in astronomy classes.

 

Sarah Betti ’17 gives a talk on constellations before guided tours of the observatory.
Children enjoy a tour of Strawbridge Observatory.
Astro physics major Eric Smith ’15 (left) gives a public tour at the Strawbridge Observatory on March 21, 2015.
Community members peek into telescopes during a public tour and observing at the Strawbridge Observatory.

 

The last public observing event of this semester will be held in conjunction with the Philadelphia Science Festival’s Astronomy Night on Friday, April 24. There will be cool demonstrations, hands-on education activities, and of course, weather permitting, telescope observing. Do not miss out on this as the next public event will not commence at least until September 2015!

The public observing events are free and open to the public.

 

By Hina Fathima ’15

Photos by Brad Larrison