BRIEFING:

An interesting IYA 2009 promoting session has been arranged by the UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy and these sessions are to be held at the end of the every month starting from February 2009. The first session “Friday Nights, Celestial Lights!” was a grand successful event, which was held from 6:30 p.m. onwards on Friday, Feb. 27 with a free screening of “Cosmic Voyage” in the Science Building Theater (2.01.12) on the 1604 Campus.

In these sessions UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy invites public to UTSA Science Building to view a multimedia presentation, to observe through the telesccopes of the department and to learn about astronomy and IYA 2009. Admission will totally be free, of course.

FEATURES:

“An interesting overview of the universe”, the film narrated by actor Morgan Freeman was first shown in IMAX theaters. It is planned, if the night sky is clear, to enable telescope viewing following the movie at 7:30 p.m. on the Science Building fourth-floor patio. Additionally for sky observation, there will be a 15-inch Newtonian telescope and several 8-inch Cassegrain telescopes. The theater and the roof patio are wheelchair accessible. Therefore anyone could just visit and experience the benefits of IYA 2009 and astronomy with modern facilities and professionals, who will be readily available during the sessions.

OBSERVATION

With a clear sky, there will be great views of Venus; the crescent moon; the constellations Orion, Gemini, Taurus and others; the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda galaxy. Saturn will be seen at the end of the session at 9:30 p.m.

Apart from this monthly session there would be more opportunities where anyone could get access to the information and activities, especially conducted in affiliation with IYA 2009. Paying tribute to Galileo Galilei’s efforts after 400 years, UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy have arranged a variety of scenarios and projects to improve the understanding of Astronomy and IYA 2009 in general. According to the agenda, there are more educational activities for children and families, telescopic observation and star-gazing, multimedia, screening of films, professional lectures in the long run to happen.

The ultimate target of the series is to communicate the impact of astronomy on society and culture over the last 400 years, while sparking interest in astronomy by a new generation of space explorers. The sky is always ready for those who want to learn more about the universe.

The Universe, Yours to Discover

Stay tuned with updates:

e-mail Daniel Boice, Eric Schlegel, or Mark Jurena

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