First Public Open House and Planetarium Talk of the School Year

On September 5th, at 7:30 pm, the Guilford College Physics Department will host a public open house of the J. Donald Cline Observatory and Bryan Jr. planetarium. Prof. Thom Espinola will present a multimedia lecture about the life and scientific discoveries of Annie Jump Cannon. Cannon was a member of a team of women astronomers at Harvard in the early 20th century. She developed a system for classifying stars that enabled us to understand how they evolve and what processes drive them. This lecture is in celebration of the collaboration between the Physics and Theater departments to stage a production of Lauren Gunderson's play, Silent Sky (in which Cannon is a character), in this very planetarium in November. After the September 5th lecture, guests will be invited to tour the rooftop observatory, and if weather allows, view stars and planets through the Cline Observatory telescopes. The event is free and open to the public, and families with children are welcome.