UB Physicists Invite the Public to Celebrate "100 Hours of Astronomy"

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- On April 3, faculty and students in the University at Buffalo's Department of Physics will celebrate "100 Hours of Astronomy," an event being held worldwide, by inviting the public to come to UB to view streaming Webcasts from the world's major telescopes.

From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., members of the public are invited to drop in to the UB Department of Physics on the UB North (Amherst) campus to watch planetary activities going on as far as a billion light years away. The Webcasts will be shown on a 50-inch plasma television monitor located on the second floor landing of Fronczak Hall. UB physicists will be on hand to discuss the Webcasts.

Astronomical treats that spectators will be able to view include distant galaxies, giant star formation nebulae, super nova remnants and planetary nebulae.

"100 Hours of Astronomy" is part of the yearlong celebration of astronomy, called the "International Year of Astronomy," sponsored by the International Astronomical Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

One of the goals of "100 Hours of Astronomy" is to have as many people as possible look through a telescope as Galileo did for the first time 400 years ago.

For more information on "100 Hours of Astronomy," contact Chris Gleason in the Department of Physics at 645-2017 or cg57@buffalo.edu.