Open House Night in Astronomy at Penn State Behrend January 28, 2010

Dr. Keith Noll, a Space Telescope Science Institute astronomer and director of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Heritage Project, will discuss the “new and improved” Hubble at an upcoming Open House Night in Astronomy at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

Noll will share and discuss Hubble’s most recent images at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, in the McGarvey Commons of Reed Union Building. His nontechnical presentation is free and open to the public, and will be followed by astronomical viewing from the college’s Mehalso Observatory, weather permitting.

Last May, astronauts visited Hubble on a servicing mission that gave the telescope an ambitious and extensive upgrade, including installation of both a new wide-field camera and Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. “The result is the most versatile, instrument-laden observatory ever in Hubble’s nearly 20 years,” Noll says. “The first images and spectra demonstrate the power and potential for discovery that will carry Hubble into its third decade.”

Open House Nights in Astronomy are a public outreach program of the School of Science at Penn State Behrend. They are suitable for children 8 years and older. For additional information, phone the school at 814-898-6105.

Official Website: http://www.behrend.psu.edu