UCI Department of Physics & Astronomy to host lunar eclipse viewing party
EVENT: On Sunday evening, the moon will turn an eerie blood-red, the effect of a total lunar eclipse as Earth’s shadow passes over its surface. UCI’s Department of Physics & Astronomy invites the public to campus for a viewing party and educational event to commemorate this rare astronomical phenomenon. The gathering will feature an informative lecture and an opportunity for attendees to view the eclipse, Mars, the Orion Nebula and other deep-space objects through telescopes.
WHEN/WHERE: 5-10:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, UCI campus
5-6 p.m.: “Exploring the Galaxy’s 25 Billion Planets,” a lecture by Paul Robertson, UCI assistant professor of physics & astronomy, in the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall (bldg. 411, grid F5 on campus map: https://www.parking.uci.edu/maps/documents/UCI-CampusCore_2018.pdf)
6-10:30 p.m.: Viewing opportunities via telescopes set up in front of the Multipurpose Science & Technology Building (bldg. 415, grid G5 on campus map)
INFORMATION: This family-oriented event is free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged to support UCI’s Astronomy Outreach Program and astronomy club. Hungry moon gazers can get dinner from the Falasophy and Piaggio on Wheels food trucks, and commemorative T-shirts will be sold. The most dramatic part of the eclipse will be from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Media planning to attend should contact Brian Bell at 949-824-8249 or bpbell@uci.edu. Parking is complimentary for media who RSVP in advance.
For more information, see https://www.physics.uci.edu/news.
