1 Public Night Schedule Fall 2008 - Astronomy at UVa

Fall 2008 Public Night Schedule

McCormick Observatory
DATE TIME OBSERVATORY FACULTY ASSOC.
Sep 5 9 - 11 pm McCormick Roger Chevalier Genevieve de Messieres
Sep 19 9 - 11 pm McCormick John Hawley Ka-Wah Wong, Bin Chen
Oct 3 9 - 11 pm McCormick Bill Saslaw Marios Chatzikos, Andre Wong
Oct 17 9 - 11 pm McCormick Brad Cox (Physics Dept.) Joleen Miller, Guillermo Damke
Oct 24 7 - 11 pm Fan Mountain D. McDavid, E. Murphy, S. Majewski, J. Wilson, M. Nelson A. Wong, B. Zhao, G. Damke, B. Dirienzo, A. Bilous, B. Chen, L. Walker, R. Beaton, G. Privon, D. Whelan, A. Yang, R. Lynch, G. Trammell, C. Park, J. Carlin, S. Kanneganti, M. Chatzikos
Nov 7 7 - 9 pm McCormick Remy Indebetouw George Trammell, Anya Bilous
Nov 21 7 - 9 pm McCormick Bob O'Connell Cheng-Yu Kuo, Bill Dirienzo
Dec 5 7 - 9 pm McCormick CAS Members CAS Members
Dec 19 7 - 9 pm McCormick Ken Seidelmann Lisa May Walker


Purpose

To provide the public with a chance to observe the stars and planets through the McCormick telescopes and to educate the public concerning the research work and history of the observatories.

Brief Description

Each public night includes observing with all of the telescopes (weather permitting), audio-visual presentations, museum exhibits, and tours of the Observatory. All faculty and graduate students participate through a rotating schedule.



McCormick Public Nights

Leander McCormick Observatory is open on the first and third Friday night of each month (except holidays) for 2 hours. McCormick Observatory is located on the western edge of the UVA grounds (click here for directions).


Fan Mountain Public Nights

Each April and October, a special public night is held at the Fan Mountain Observing Station (located 13 miles south of town at the end of a gravel road). Tickets, which are free, are required for Fan Mountain public nights (except for Friends of the Leander McCormick Observatory). Send a self-addressed stamped envelope, along with the number of tickets requested (up to 6), to: 
Fan Mountain Public Night 
P.O. Box 400325
Charlottesville, VA 22904-04325
A self-addressed stamped envelope MUST be enclosed or tickets cannot be sent.

Friends of the Leander McCormick Observatory do NOT need tickets for Fan Mountain Public Nights, they should simply bring their membership card up the mountain with them.


Group visits

The Leander McCormick Observatory is open to Educational Groups with ADVANCE RESERVATIONS on the SECOND and FOURTH Friday night of the month. Groups MUST call 924-7494 to schedule a visit. Group nights are reserved quickly; it is advisable to reserve a group night up to several months in advance.

Owing to the demand for tickets, groups cannot be accommodated at Fan Mountain.

The Astronomy Department can be contacted at (434) 924-7494, or by email at jdh7h@virginia.edu.