UA Kicks Off Public Sky Viewings Friday with Comet Lovejoy

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The public will have six opportunities to search the sky through University of Alabama telescopes in coming months, starting Friday night with the first of two viewing slots featuring Comet Lovejoy.

Campus visitors may peer through a campus telescope between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, to view Comet Lovejoy, Jupiter and the Orion Nebula. Hosted by Dr. William Keel, UA professor of physics and astronomy, the free event, which features the comet discovered in August, uses a telescope atop Gallalee Hall.

If you wish to see the comet, you should look for it this month as astronomers say once it fades from view in coming weeks, it will be some 8,000 years before it’s again visible.

Other sky viewing opportunities this semester are:

Thursday, Jan. 29 – Dr. Dawn Williams, associate professor of physics and astronomy, will give a public talk, “IceCube: The Weirdest Wonder of Modern Astronomy,” at 7 p.m. This event, held in conjunction with UA’s annual high school physics contest that begins the following day, also features, from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., an opportunity to view Comet LoveJoy, Jupiter, and the Orion Nebula, in a viewing hosted by Keel. This event also uses the telescope atop Gallalee Hall.

Saturday, Feb. 21 – In an event held at UA’s Moundville Archaeological Park from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., visitors may use UA telescopes to see an atypical Venus-Mars alignment, nebulae and star clusters. The telescopes will be set up in the field across the road from the museum. Parking is available at the museum and near the conference center overlooking the Black Warrior River. This event is hosted by Dr. Ron Buta, professor of physics and astronomy, and Keel.

Thursday, Mar. 12 – Also held at the Moundville Archaeological Park, this event, scheduled from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., is hosted by Buta and gives an opportunity to view nebulae, galaxies and star clusters.

Friday, March 27 – Guests may view the moon and Jupiter from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. using telescopes atop Gallalee Hall. Dr. Jeremy Bailin, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is the host.

Friday, April 24 – Guests may view Jupiter, Saturn and the moon from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. using telescopes atop Gallalee Hall. Dr. Preethi Nair, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is the host.

All viewing opportunities are free and dependent upon the weather. Cloudy skies are not conducive to star gazing. If you plan to bring a large group, phone 205/348-5050 in advance.

More details are available at http://astronomy.ua.edu/Public.html.

The department of physics and astronomy is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.