GRANVILLE, Ohio — The Denison University Department of Physics and Astronomy will host an observatory open house beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 1, at Swasey Observatory (300 Chapel Drive) with two possible backup dates set for Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3. The first clear night of the three possible dates will be the only night on which the observatory will be open. Observations will be taken of the Moon and Saturn. The open house is free and open to the public.

If skies are clear, visitors will use the Warner and Swasey 9-inch refracting telescope in the observatory’s dome and possibly one 8-inch reflecting telescope set up at ground level. The telescopes will be accessible until 11 p.m. The observatory may be contacted the afternoon of the open house, at 740-587-6477; a recorded message will confirm either the open house or a cancellation for that night.

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,050 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in research, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

- DU -

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville — Swasey Observatory Open House 9 p.m. on Friday, May 1, at Swasey Observatory (300 Chapel Drive) with two possible backup dates set for Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3. The first clear night of the three possible dates will be the only night on which the observatory will be open. The observatory may be contacted the afternoon of the open house, at 740-587-6477; a recorded message will confirm either the open house or a cancellation for that night. Free and open to the public.