GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Museum of Natural History visitors can enjoy an evening of free stargazing and science at the annual “Starry Night” event on Nov. 8 from 6 to 10 p.m.
This year’s event features three guest speakers in addition to more than 15 projects, games and learning opportunities for adults and children alike. Guests can earn prizes by using their “passport to the universe” to keep track of how many activities they complete.
“By learning from local astronomers, looking through high-powered telescopes and participating in various space activities, Starry Night gives the Gainesville community an opportunity to truly appreciate the vastness of our universe,” said Florida Museum educator Chelsea Collison. “There is no better way to feed our curiosity toward our planet and the awesome space that surrounds it.”
Featured speakers include Sarah Ballard, a University of Florida assistant professor of astronomy. She will talk about planets that orbit stars throughout the universe and the search for life outside of Earth in her presentation “Choose Your Own Adventure: Planet Edition” at 7:30 p.m.
“Understanding how common planets are elsewhere, and how common rocky planets are in particular, helps us see our own home planet in a new light,” Ballard said. “Rather than being unusual, life may potentially be widespread throughout the Milky Way.”
UF undergraduate astrophysics student John Della Costa will talk about the unfathomable size of our solar system, including the large size of some of the closest objects in our universe, in his presentation “The Scale of the Solar System and Beyond!”
“Learning about astronomy not only allows you understand your place in the universe better, but it also allows you to learn about extremely interesting things that are literally out of this world,” Della Costa said. “Exploding stars, colliding black holes and Earth-like planets around other stars are just a few of the amazing phenomena that we are learning more and more about every day.”
Visitors may also view celestial bodies through high-performance telescopes with help from Alachua Astronomy Club members. Other activities include learning about the process scientists use for astrophotography and exploring the path that photons take inside of the sun.
“Starry Night” is made possible by the Florida Museum, UF department of astronomy, Santa Fe College astronomy program, Kika Silva Pla Planetarium, WUFT and Alachua Astronomy Club.
For more information, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/starry-night or call 352-273-2062.
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Writer: Gillian Sweeney, 352-273-2032, printern@flmnh.ufl.edu
Sources: Chelsea Collison, 352-273-2062, ccollison@flmnh.ufl.edu; Sarah Ballard, 352-294-1866, sarahballard@ufl.edu
Media contact: Paul Ramey, APR, 352-273-2054, pramey@flmnh.ufl.edu
Starry Night Activities List
6-10 p.m. | Nov. 8, 2019
Florida Museum of Natural History
3215 Hull Road, Powell Hall on the UF campus
6:30 p.m. PBS “Star Gazers” (Classrooms)
Watch the latest episodes of “Star Gazers” and meet one of its hosts, James Albury! He is also the director for the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium at Santa Fe College.
7:30 p.m. “Choose Your Own Adventure: Planet Edition” (Classrooms)
Enjoy a presentation by UF department of astronomy assistant professor, Sarah Ballard. Learn about key patterns emerging from the study of hundreds to thousands of exoplanetary systems and how researchers can use them to have the best chance of remotely detecting life.
9 p.m. “The Scale of the Solar System and Beyond!” (Classrooms)
Enjoy a presentation by UF undergraduate astrophysics student, John Della Costa. Discover the different scale relations, mass, size and distance of various objects in our solar system as well as other objects in the galaxy.
Ask an Astronomer (Denny Gallery)
Want to know more about stars and the universe? Ask a professional astronomer!
Astrophotography (Denny Gallery)
See celestial images and learn how scientists conduct astrophotography with only a small telescope and camera!
Children’s Astro Activities (Discovery Zone)
Learn about space with fun activities and interactive games!
Comets! (Patio Area)
Create comets and learn how material from space affects the moon.
Crawl Through the Cosmos (Galleria)
Experience a journey through cosmic time and space as you travel from Earth to the outer parts of the universe.
Dinner Vendors (Patio Area)
Enjoy tasty treats and dinner under the stars from Hoggtowne Hotdogs, Hoggetowne Creamery and Mayflower Cellars.
Discover the Invisible Universe (Outside, Back Lawn)
Listen to radio waves emitted by the Milky Way using the Radio JOVE low-frequency radio telescope. Learn how you can use this equipment to listen to radio waves from Jupiter and the sun.
Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (Galleria)
Investigate the science and technology used to create the world’s largest telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias.
Kika Silva Pla Planetarium (Denny Gallery)
Visit with staff of the Santa Fe College Kika Silva Pla Planetarium, and discover how the team is “bringing the universe to our community.”
Prizes & Giveaways (Outside, Front Patio)
Return your completed “Passport to the Universe” to receive a prize.
Santa Fe College Astronomy Program (Denny Gallery)
Discover the Santa Fe College astronomy program and see objects like a portion of the Campo del Cielo, a 70-pound meteorite, as well as space shuttle tiles. Discover the oddities of rocks from space and find out how they differ from ones on Earth!
Outdoor Star and Planet Viewing (Outside, Back Lawn)
View celestial bodies through professional-quality telescopes with the help of astronomers from the Alachua Astronomy Club.
Starlab Planetarium Show (Thompson Gallery)
Enjoy the wonders of the constellations and the solar system with this fun and exciting 15-minute show!
Tim Malles Space Art (Inside, Front Entrance)
See an exhibition of space-inspired art by area artist Tim Malles, who contributed brass plaques to the Gainesville Solar Walk project on Northwest Eighth Avenue.
Tools We Use (Denny Gallery)
Learn about the fascinating and unusual tools astronomers use to study the universe.
Travel Through the Sun (Denny Gallery)
Explore how photons travel inside the sun and see simulations of a photon escaping the interior of the sun.