The University of Toledo is joining hundreds of planetariums across the country for “White House Astronomy Night: A Celebration of Science, Technology and Space” on Monday, Oct. 19.

Join President Obama and stargazers across the country for this seventh annual event designed to ignite the next generation of scientists, engineers, visionaries and celestial dreamers. 

Participants of all ages and education levels are invited to UT’s Ritter Planetarium for the free event 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

“The event is organized so that people can come and go as they please,” said Dr. Michael Cushing, director of the Ritter Planetarium and associate professor of astronomy. “There will be lectures and planetarium programs featured every half hour.”

The event will feature four 15 minute lectures presented by UT astronomers on topics the department is actively researching.

“We have a wide range of research going on at UT, from hot stars, to star clusters, to gas and dust within other galaxies, and even searches for stars near the sun,” Cushing said.

The lectures from astronomers, which will be in McMaster Hall Room 4009, are:
•  7:30 p.m. Stellar Archaeology in Nearby Galaxies
•  8 p.m. Dusty Galaxies Across the University
•  8:30 p.m. Hunting for Missing Solar Neighbors
•  9 p.m. Playing Hide and Seek with Stars and Disks

The event also will include free liquid nitrogen ice cream and physics demonstrations, and a different planetarium program every half hour. The planetarium program schedule is:
•  7:30 p.m. Zula Patrol: Under the Weather
•  8 p.m. Pluto Live
•  8:30 p.m. Fall Skies Over Toledo
•  9 p.m. Black Holes, The Other Side of Infinity

Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to observe the sky, weather permitting, through Ritter Observatory’s 41-inch telescope, the largest optical telescope east of the Mississippi River.

For additional information about Ritter Planetarium, visit utoledo.edu/nsm/rpbo.

Media Coverage
NBC 24 and 13 ABC (Oct. 19, 2015)
NBC 24 (Oct. 19, 2015)

Tags: College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics