Free “star parties” being held at Weber State, next one is Monday
People look through state-of-the-art telescopes at Weber State's Public Observatory at the Tracy Hall Science Center.
People look through state-of-the-art telescopes at Weber State's Public Observatory at the Tracy Hall Science Center.
Weber State's Public Observatory has nine state-of-the art telescopes, which visitors can use as part of a series of star parties being held during winter and spring 2020.
Like many other community events, this series of star parties was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Ott Planetarium will be holding a virtual star party from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. It will be streamed from the Ott Planetarium Facebook page.
OGDEN — This semester, Weber State’s Ott Planetarium wants to help community members benefit from the area’s dark night skies — something not every community has.
To that end, the planetarium is holding a series of outdoor “star parties” this semester, where participants of all ages can learn about the night sky. Nine telescopes will be on hand, and stepladders will be available so small children can reach them.
“Astronomy is one of the few sciences where the laboratory is in everyone’s backyard, and we want to help people take advantage of our close proximity to areas with very dark skies,” said John Armstrong, director of the Ott Planetarium, in a university press release. “The large observation deck at the science center allows community members to use some fantastic telescopes in a comfortable environment.”
The next upcoming star party is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, at Weber State’s Public Observatory on the fourth flour of the Tracy Hall Science Center, near the south end.
But if you can’t make it Monday, four additional events will be held in the same location this semester. Dates and times are included below.
More information is available at www.weber.edu/ottplanetarium.
Friday, Feb. 28, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Monday, March 16, 8-10 p.m.
Friday, April 3, 8:30-10:30 p.m.
Monday, April 13, 8:30-10:30 p.m