On Aug. 27, Mars will be closer to the earth than it has been in 59,000 years.
U students and the general public can view the planet during one of the U’s star parties-hosted by the physics department and the U Astronomical Society-held every Wednesday night. Admission is free. The parties take place in the observatory-one of only a handful in Utah-located on top of the physics building. The observatory was built in 1970 and is home to six Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes.
“A Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is one in which light comes and bounces off the primary mirror, then off the secondary mirror and then into the eye piece. These telescopes are more compact and don’t suffer the complexities of telescopes that have glass lenses in them,” said Keith Carney, amateur astronomer and star-party attendee.
The goal of the star parties is to increase participants’ knowledge of and interest in astronomy, according to Dan Burn, president of the Astronomical Society and host of a recent star party.
“I enjoy showing people objects that they have never seen before. My favorite moment was when a 10-year-old girl saw Jupiter and Saturn for the first time and her eyes lit up,” Burn said.
The physics department is offering a number of astronomy classes this year, including Observational Astronomy and “Does E.T. Exist?”
“Does E.T. Exist?” and other 1000-level classes “are a great introduction to astronomy,” Burn said. “The Observational Astronomy class gives you the opportunity to use telescopes and cameras and take astronomical pictures.”
“It was cool to see a lot of enthusiasm for the parties from local people. Also, a lot of the objects we looked at I had only seen before in pictures,” Carney said.
“Science majors would especially enjoy [the parties],” Burn said. But “everyone would benefit from learning the basics of the universe.”
To attend, contact Burn at [email protected], or visit the Web site at www.utah.edu/astro.