For University of Arizona students, the fall semester is in full swing. But nonstudents will also find that there is much to learn this semester.
New Flandrau Planetarium show on black holes
You asked, and Flandrau Planetarium delivered.
“Every one of our planetarium operators remarks on how many questions they get on black holes,” said Shipherd Reed, associate director of communications at the planetarium. “There seems to be a nascent curiosity for black holes.”
Flandrau will debut a new planetarium show called “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity,” which delves into the many mysteries about the celestial objects.
Screenings on Friday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 10, will be followed by a live presentation and Q&A session by planetarium operator Kevin Hainline, a postdoctoral student studying black holes at Steward Observatory.
There will also be two more screenings on Saturday.
The show covers the formation of the early universe, the birth and death of stars, collisions of giant galaxies and the supermassive black hole tucked into the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
“Black Holes” is narrated by actor Liam Neeson.
More information, including ticket pricing, is available online at: http://flandrau.org/visit.
LPL evening lecture series
The Lunar and Planetary Laboratory will hold the first of three public evening lectures on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
The first lecture, by Dr. Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna, associate professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, will explain how NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) orbited the moon and mapped its gravitational field in unprecedented detail.
Cameras can only reveal so much about the surface of the moon, but this technique allowed planetary scientists to probe our natural satellite’s secrets from surface to core.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the lecture begins at 7 p.m. at 1629 E. University Boulevard in The Kuiper Space Sciences Building, Room 308.
The talk will be followed by a Q&A session.
The date and topic of the last lecture is yet to be announced, but you can find more information at: https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/calendar/evening-lectures.
Steward Observatory public evening lecture series
The astronomy lecture series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, at 933 N. Cherry Avenue in Steward Observatory, Room N210.
The first talk, by Alyson Ford, is called “The Milky Way, Our Home, But What Does it Look Like?”
Six more talks will follow this semester every two weeks, and after each lecture, the Steward Observatory dome will be opened for public stargazing.
For more information and the full list of lectures, visit: https://www.as.arizona.edu/public-evening-lecture-series.
Science Cafe
Four UA Carson Scholars will share how their respective topics of study, ranging from aquifers to zika transmission, can begin to tackle an array of environmental challenges.
The first of four talks is on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. at Borderlands Brewery, 119 E. Toole Avenue.
For more information on future Science Cafes, visit: http://cos.arizona.edu/connections/for-the-public/ua-science-cafes.
UA parking
After 5 p.m., parking in university surface lots and metered street parking is free. Parking in the Cherry Avenue Garage is available after 5 p.m. for $1 an hour. If nearby, attendees may also ride the streetcar, bike or walk.
