The Department of Astronomy at the University of Maryland, College Park hosts Open Houses at the UMD Observatory on the 5th and the 20th of every month. On Open House evenings a guest speaker will give approximately a half hour talk about a topic in astronomy. The talk is followed by viewing of celestial objects through the observatory's telescopes, weather permitting. If weather does not permit viewing, the talk will still go on as scheduled.

Upcoming Speakers

(download a copy of the Spring 2008 Speaker schedule)

  • Saturday, January 5, 8:00 pm
    David Ludwikoski, CCBC, on "Teaching and the Amateur Astronomer"
    MC: Megan DeCesar

  • Sunday, January 20, 8:00 pm
    Matthew Zagursky on "Dark Matter in Spiral/Disk Galaxies: Discovery and Current Observations"
    MC: Vanessa Lauberg

  • Tuesday, February 5, 8:00 pm
    Dr. Rosemary Killen on "Messenger at Mercury"
    MC: Kas McLean

  • Wednesday, February 20, 8:00 pm
    Dr. Lucy McFadden on "Meteorite Hunting in Antarctica"
    MC:

  • Wednesday, March 5, 8:00 pm
    Elizabeth Warner on "Light Pollution"
    MC:

  • Thursday, March 20, 8:00 pm
    Misty Lavigne on "Women in Astronomy"
    MC: Lisa Wei

  • Saturday, April 5, 8:00 pm
    Matthew Knight on "The Contributions of Ancient Astronomers to Modern Day Astronomy"
    MC: Stacy Teng

  • Sunday, April 20, 8:00 pm
    Dr. Tim Livengood, USRA, on "A New EPOCh of Extrasolar Planet Exploration"
    MC: Yana Radeva

Get a sneak peek at our Summer 2008 schedule!