Are you interested in stargazing and looking at celestial objects through telescopes?  Come check out the Department of Physics & Astronomy rooftop observatory during public stargazing sessions. The rooftop observatory includes a 0.5-meter research grade telescope as well as smaller “amateur astronomer” telescopes, which you will be able to look through. You will also learn how to find major constellations and any planets currently visible. Stargazes take place on the roof of the Physical Sciences Laboratory Building.  The roof can be accessed by taking the elevator to the roof (press the “R” button in the elevator).  Signs in the hallway will help direct you to the elevator.  Do not use the stairs to go to the roof.  The “R” button on the elevator will be unlocked at the start time of the stargaze session.  If you arrive before it is unlocked, please wait on the first floor for the session to begin.  It is recommended that you dress warmly.  The roof is usually colder and windier than the ground.  While on the roof for a stargaze, please refrain from talking on your cell phone so that you do not interrupt others or stop them from hearing what is being discussed.  The use of phones for flash free pictures or astronomy apps is allowed.  Please do not use the light on your phone though since dark adaptation is important for viewing the nighttime sky. Astronomical  objects can only be seen when the sky is totally or mostly clear, therefore stargaze cannot be held unless the weather is clear.  If it is snowing, raining, foggy, cloudy, or even partly cloudy there will be no stargaze session that night.  If you aren’t sure if the conditions will permit a stargaze session, you can call (419) 372-8831 for a recorded message telling whether the sessions will be held or canceled that night.  The message is set one hour before the scheduled start of the session. If you call earlier than one hour before the start time you may receive an incorrect message. When you arrive at the roof and exit the elevator, you will be greeted by one of the stargaze personnel and directed to the various stations you can visit.  If you are attending the stargaze for a general visit (rather than as part of an astronomy course), please let the greeter know. In addition to the listed stargazing sessions, weather permitting, there may also be an opportunity for stargazing following evening Planetarium shows. Happy Stargazing!  

Join us in the Planetarium for a public talk titled “As Near an Approach as Possible”: Encountering the Moon’s Surface in Early Photographs, presented by Dr. Andrew Hershberger, Professor, BGSU School of Art Several years ago Dr. Hershberger was fortunate to spend an entire semester researching in an exceedingly rare book library. This particular library held thousands of books from the 1840s to the early 1900s, and all of these books had original photographs glued into the pages of each volume. During the decades after photography’s invention in 1839, but before halftone reproduction technology became widespread around 1900, if an author wanted photographs in a book, original photographic prints had to be literally “tipped in” or glued into the pages of the book. Thus, photographically illustrated books from the decades between 1840 and 1900 are highly prized today, not only by rare book collectors, but also by photography collectors, print collectors, and by art museums. The presentation will focus on an absolutely unforgettable encounter and a very surprising experience with a particularly magical book found in the library. This book was written by James Nasmyth (1808-1890) and James Carpenter (1840-1899), and Carpenter had worked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. The book, The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite, was published in London in 1874. This book has 23 illustrations inside it of various kinds, and about half of them are original Woodburytype prints created from Nasmyth and Carpenter’s original photographic negatives. To Hershberger, someone who studies the art side of the history of photography, Nasmyth and Carpenter’s Woodburytype photographs of the Moon were stunningly beautiful. In their book’s preface, the co-authors stressed that they created their photographs “in order to present these Illustrations with as near an approach as possible to the absolute integrity of the original objects.” They stated how the photographic images “faithfully reproduce the lunar effects of light and shadow” and “the details of the lunar surface” (p. ix). This program is one of six sessions hosted by the BGSU Planetarium on a wide range of interdisciplinary topics, each with a connection to astronomy.  Programs in the series will be every Thursday evening starting March 13 and running through April 17. “The Moon Speakers Series” events are free and open to the public.  This talk will also be available to livestream via zoom at https://bgsu-edu.zoom.us/j/4287586258  

  Discover how the mysterious Maya understood the patterns in the skies above – the Sun, the planets, the constellations – and how they tied their calendar and their earthly cities to that sky.   $2 donation suggested for all planetarium shows.  

  Are you interested in stargazing and looking at celestial objects through telescopes?  Come check out the Department of Physics & Astronomy rooftop observatory during public stargazing sessions. The rooftop observatory includes a 0.5-meter research grade telescope as well as smaller “amateur astronomer” telescopes, which you will be able to look through. You will also learn how to find major constellations and any planets currently visible. Stargazes take place on the roof of the Physical Sciences Laboratory Building.  The roof can be accessed by taking the elevator to the roof (press the “R” button in the elevator).  Signs in the hallway will help direct you to the elevator.  Do not use the stairs to go to the roof.  The “R” button on the elevator will be unlocked at the start time of the stargaze session.  If you arrive before it is unlocked, please wait on the first floor for the session to begin.  It is recommended that you dress warmly.  The roof is usually colder and windier than the ground.  While on the roof for a stargaze, please refrain from talking on your cell phone so that you do not interrupt others or stop them from hearing what is being discussed.  The use of phones for flash free pictures or astronomy apps is allowed.  Please do not use the light on your phone though since dark adaptation is important for viewing the nighttime sky. Astronomical  objects can only be seen when the sky is totally or mostly clear, therefore stargaze cannot be held unless the weather is clear.  If it is snowing, raining, foggy, cloudy, or even partly cloudy there will be no stargaze session that night.  If you aren’t sure if the conditions will permit a stargaze session, you can call (419) 372-8831 for a recorded message telling whether the sessions will be held or canceled that night.  The message is set one hour before the scheduled start of the session. If you call earlier than one hour before the start time you may receive an incorrect message. When you arrive at the roof and exit the elevator, you will be greeted by one of the stargaze personnel and directed to the various stations you can visit.  If you are attending the stargaze for a general visit (rather than as part of an astronomy course), please let the greeter know. In addition to the listed stargazing sessions, weather permitting, there may also be an opportunity for stargazing following evening Planetarium shows. Happy Stargazing!  

  Are you interested in stargazing and looking at celestial objects through telescopes?  Come check out the Department of Physics & Astronomy rooftop observatory during public stargazing sessions. The rooftop observatory includes a 0.5-meter research grade telescope as well as smaller “amateur astronomer” telescopes, which you will be able to look through. You will also learn how to find major constellations and any planets currently visible. Stargazes take place on the roof of the Physical Sciences Laboratory Building.  The roof can be accessed by taking the elevator to the roof (press the “R” button in the elevator).  Signs in the hallway will help direct you to the elevator.  Do not use the stairs to go to the roof.  The “R” button on the elevator will be unlocked at the start time of the stargaze session.  If you arrive before it is unlocked, please wait on the first floor for the session to begin.  It is recommended that you dress warmly.  The roof is usually colder and windier than the ground.  While on the roof for a stargaze, please refrain from talking on your cell phone so that you do not interrupt others or stop them from hearing what is being discussed.  The use of phones for flash free pictures or astronomy apps is allowed.  Please do not use the light on your phone though since dark adaptation is important for viewing the nighttime sky. Astronomical  objects can only be seen when the sky is totally or mostly clear, therefore stargaze cannot be held unless the weather is clear.  If it is snowing, raining, foggy, cloudy, or even partly cloudy there will be no stargaze session that night.  If you aren’t sure if the conditions will permit a stargaze session, you can call (419) 372-8831 for a recorded message telling whether the sessions will be held or canceled that night.  The message is set one hour before the scheduled start of the session. If you call earlier than one hour before the start time you may receive an incorrect message. When you arrive at the roof and exit the elevator, you will be greeted by one of the stargaze personnel and directed to the various stations you can visit.  If you are attending the stargaze for a general visit (rather than as part of an astronomy course), please let the greeter know. In addition to the listed stargazing sessions, weather permitting, there may also be an opportunity for stargazing following evening Planetarium shows. Happy Stargazing!  

  Discover how the mysterious Maya understood the patterns in the skies above – the Sun, the planets, the constellations – and how they tied their calendar and their earthly cities to that sky.   $2 donation suggested for all planetarium shows.