Tamke-Allan Observatory will begin its summer public stargazing with a 50th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing on Saturday, July 6. The gates will open at 7:30 p.m., and a public lecture will be presented at 8 p.m. by guest lecturer Julie Rhyne, a press release said.
July marks the 50th anniversary of landing humans on the moon, the press release said. NASA’s Project Apollo, the program developed to land people on the moon, represented the “remarkable efforts of engineers, scientists, and many various industries around the country working together to accomplish one of the greatest feats in human history,” the press release said.
It said the July 6 presentation will provide an overview of the spacecraft and the Apollo missions. There will be pictures and memorabilia, moon globes, and hands-on learning about the Saturn V rocket that launched men to the moon, the release said.
“We’ll examine the missions of Project Apollo, beginning with its predecessors Project Mercury and Project Gemini, through the explorations of 12 men who walked on the moon,” the press release said. “There will be pictures and memorabilia from this time period as well as hands-on learning about the Saturn V rocket that launched men to the moon, marking one of the greatest feats in human history.”
An evening of stargazing will be featured after the lecture, where participants will see constellations and the Milky Way, dark sky objects, Jupiter and its moons, ringed Saturn, and a late-rising moon with beautiful craters, the press release said. The stargazes are supported by local astronomers and students.
The observatory is located near the intersection of Caney Creek and Joiner Hollow Roads. You can see the map at www.roanestate.edu/obs. The gates open at 7:30 p.m. on the first and third Saturday of each month.
Fall astronomy classes begin at Roane State Community College on August 26. Registration is now open for this popular class, which meets this year at the Oak Ridge campus and at the observatory, the press release said. The classes will be capped at 20 students.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or john.huotari@oakridgetoday.com.
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