Each month, onlookers have the opportunity to observe different celestial bodies like Saturn or Jupiter at the University of Mississippi’s Kennon Observatory. The Astronomy Open Houses are hosted by the astronomy department. This month, students and community members of all ages gathered to observe the moon.
Participants also looked at the Orion Nebula, a star-forming celestial body. Nicholas MacDonald, assistant professor of astronomy and physics at UM, described the significance of this phenomenon.
“It looks like a smudge, but what you’re seeing is literally a stellar creation. It’s a star being born. It’s the most beautiful, subtle thing,” MacDonald said.
Although the crowd at the open house on Feb. 18 consisted mostly of adults, Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Physics Anuradha Gupta hopes to make this event welcoming to a larger group of people.
In addition to the monthly viewing, the Department of Astronomy and Physics hosts a monthly talk in which patrons can learn about different aspects of the universe.
“We thought we could also have something in parallel to the telescope viewing session so that there is also something to look forward to. That’s one reason that there’s some educational learning about what they are seeing or about our universe,” Gupta said.
The department also hosts other events like an art competition and astronomy trivia. The art competition allows different age groups to enter their celestial-themed art, and each group has a winner. The monthly talks invite speakers and aim to help supplement what can be seen through the telescope.
“The telescope is very mesmerizing, and you are in awe of seeing things, but what is the science behind that? So, (the talks) at least educate the public on the science behind the things we see or don’t see like black holes, or neutron stars,” Gupta said. “We aim to teach the public about astrophysics and about our universe in general.”
The next open house is slated for March 17 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., weather permitting. A full list of dates can be found on the astronomy department’s website.
