The Denison University Swasey Observatory will be open from 8 to 10 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 27) - if skies are clear - to view the moon and the planet Mars.

Observatory director Lauren Jones and Denison astronomy students will assist visitors in viewing the skies through the Warner & Swasey 9" refracting telescope in the observatory's dome and an 8" telescope set up at ground level. The telescopes will be accessible until 10 p.m. .

Denison's Swasey Observatory opened in 1910. Open houses for community members are a tradition that dates back to at least 1963. "I enjoy giving community members an opportunity to learn more about astronomy and to use the Denison telescope to view objects in the night sky in a new way," says Jones. "These open houses also provide Denison students an opportunity to be involved in community service."

Two additional observatory open houses are planned for this semester (Oct. 25 and Nov. 29). Observatory open houses, of course, are dependent on clear skies, but Jones also has set a series of open houses in the Olin Hall planetarium and these programs take place in any weather. They are scheduled for Oct. 11 and Nov. 8 with presentations at 7, 7:45 and 8 p.m. on each evening.

Jones earned her doctorate at the University of Florida, where she also organized and taught open houses at the university's teaching observatory.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 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 rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575