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 Summer 2009 Speaker schedule)

  • Tue, May 5, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Gerald Share on "The High-Energy Sun"
    MC: Mike Koss

  • Wed, May 20, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Rob Olling on "Searching for Other Solar Systems with the Space Interferometry Mission"
    MC: Holly Sheets

  • Fri, June 5, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Neil Miller on "Radio Astronomy: Past, Present & Future"
    MC: Mike Gill

  • Sat, June 20, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Lucy McFadden on "The Hubble Repair Mission (SM4): What it means for Planetary Science"
    MC: Sidharth Kumar

  • Sun, July 5, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Matthew Burger on "Europa: Ice, Oceans, and Life?"
    MC: Dheeraj Pasham

  • Mon, July 20, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Sean O'Neill on "If We Can't See Black Holes, How Do We Know That They Exist?"
    MC: Randall Perrine

  • Wed, August 5, 9:00 pm
    Dr. Nelly Mouawad on "MESSENGER on Mercury and its Exosphere"
    MC:

  • Thu, August 20, 9:00 pm
    Melissa Hayes-Gehrke on "Spectroscopy: Looking at Astronomical Objects in a Different Light"
    MC: Che-Yu Chen

Get a sneak peek at our Fall/Winter 2009 schedule!