UCF\u2019s Planetary Sciences Group will host a telescopic-viewing night of the moon in a new location Thursday, Dec. 8 . For the first time, telescopes will be set up from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in front of Millican Hall near the Reflecting Pond.<\/p>\n
Hurricane Matthew interfered with the originally scheduled event in October, which coincided with International Observe the Moon Night. But organizers wanted to make sure the community had an opportunity to get a close view of the night sky before the university\u2019s winter break. The viewing normally is held at the Robinson Observatory on campus.<\/p>\n
If the weather cooperates, the moon, Venus and several other planetary bodies will be visible through the telescopes. Check the group\u2019s Facebook page for weather updates, especially if rain sneaks into the forecast.<\/p>\n
The event is just one of the many events the Department of Physics group coordinates. It also hosts a student-run Astronomical Society, weekly seminars, and biweekly \u201cKnights Under the Stars\u201d sky viewings at the observatory, which are open to the public.<\/p>\n
Yan Fernandez, director of the observatory and a physics associate professor, said the program\u2019s mission is one of education and outreach to share the wonder of the stars with the world at large.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s part of the overarching mission of a university to educate people to become better citizens, and that means knowing something about lots and lots of things,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cAstronomy is well-placed for that because it\u2019s easy \u2013 compared to some other sciences \u2013 to draw people in thanks to that gee-whiz factor. You can show them pretty pictures from the Hubble Telescope, for example, but then they can come down to the observatory and see these things with their own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Robinson Observatory on the main campus was established in 1995 after members of the Central Florida Astronomical Society discovered a 26-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope in storage in Gainesville, according to the Planetary Sciences Group website. Orlando benefactors Herbert and Susan Robinson helped raise half of the $500,000 necessary to build an observatory to house the telescope, where it resides to this day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good training ground for some of our graduate students,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good place to get a feel for how data collection and experimental methods in astronomy actually work before they get into the professional world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI love looking through telescopes,\u201d said Zoe Landsman, a Ph.D. candidate in planetary sciences who works as a graduate teaching assistant at the observatory.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to see the rings of Saturn or Jupiter\u2019s moons with my own eyes is amazing, and I love the excitement in other people\u2019s eyes, in the visitors who come to the observatory and see those same things. I enjoy being able to foster that appreciation, especially in the younger generation when they first see these objects magnified and close up.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that sense of amazement that caught the attention of Jeff Jorges, president of the astronomical society and a senior physics major. He and the club members regularly host events at schools, where they teach elementary and middle school students how to use telescopes and how to identify constellations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a social element to the club of people being together and talking about their interests, there\u2019s an outreach element where club members help out at local events and there\u2019s a teaching element where, even if you don\u2019t know anything about astronomy, you can come and have fun and learn something,\u201d Jorges said.<\/p>\n