Star gazing

The recent lunar eclipse isn’t the only news in the night sky lately. Here is a good summary of celestial observations for the coming weeks.

Every year, on the first weekend in September – Labor Day Weekend in the United States – three bright stars make a wonderful triangle shining overhead.

At 9 p.m. local time any night over this first weekend, look straight up almost overhead and you’ll see three bright stars which, if you connect with imaginary lines, make a huge cosmic triangle that stargazers have traditionally called the Summer Triangle. Every year, these stars can be seen rising over the eastern horizon in early evening announcing the beginning of summer.

Additionally, UCF has a new telescope to play with.

The University of Central Florida will publicly unveil its new, custom-built 20-inch telescope on Wednesday, Aug. 29.

The cutting-edge Ritchey-Chretien telescope allows professors and students to conduct astronomical research that previously had not been possible on campus. The telescope, housed in the Robinson Observatory, gives researchers access to observations either at the dome or via the Internet. Only a few universities have working observatories on campus; the presence of one at UCF provides students and the general public with a rare opportunity.

About Brandon Haught

Communications Director for Florida Citizens for Science.
This entry was posted in Science in Action. Bookmark the permalink.