The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn, will hold an astronomy workshop on Friday, March 27 at 7:30 pm. The workshop “Look Up! Viewing The Winter Milkyway” will be presented by Dr. Cynthia Peterson from the University of Connecticut’s Physics Department.
Explore winters’s night sky during this visit to UConn’s historic planetarium. Learn how to identify the stars, planets, and other celestial objects observable throughout this season. Astronomy Professor Dr. Cynthia Peterson will offer a general orientation to the constellations, planets, and special celestial objects visible in the night sky using binoculars.
Weather permitting, the session will conclude with a trip to the UConn Observatory, using binoculars and the telescope to observe the winter sky. We will observe Orion, the Beehive Cluster in Cancer, and additional open clusters in Canis Major and Taurus. We will also have a waxing gibbous moon to enjoy, brilliant Venus very near Mars in Pisces, and Jupiter in Cancer. Dress appropriately for the outdoor session and please bring binoculars! If skies do not cooperate, we’ll share astronomical resources with a selection of popular atlases, new guidebooks, and useful astronomical magazines and websites, with printed handouts and star-maps to take home.
The program fee is $15, $10 for Museum members, and is open to adults and children ages 8 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Advance registration is required. For further information visit http://www.cac.uconn.edu/mnhcurrentcalendar.html or call 860.486.4460.
The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Physics Department are part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. Find us on Facebook.
For more information, contact: Natural History Museumname/department at 860.486.4460