UTSA 'Friday Nights, Celestial Lights' focuses on detection of dark matter May 16

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(May 14, 2014) -- UTSA faculty astronomers invite the community to attend "Friday Nights, Celestial Lights," featuring Eric Schlegel, Vaughan Family Professor of Physics and Astronomy in the UTSA College of Sciences. The presentation "Has Dark Matter Been Detected?" is free and open to the public and will be at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 16 in Flawn Science Building Room 2.02.02 on the UTSA Main Campus.

Schlegel's presentation will address recent claims of "excess radiation" by two authors, who argued that the excess represented the first detections of dark matter.

Following Schlegel's 40-minute presentation, and weather permitting, attendees can view the night sky using UTSA's telescopes including a 15-inch telescope and several 8-inch Cassegrain telescopes. Viewing will be outside on the fourth-floor patio of the Flawn Science Building, which is wheelchair accessible. If the sky is clear, attendees may be able to see Jupiter and Mars.

The UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy hosts "Friday Nights, Celestial Lights" the third Friday of each month in the fall and spring semesters. The programs are regularly updated on the UTSA Astronomy Facebook page. The May 16 program will be the last one for the academic year; the events will resume Sept. 19.

"Friday Nights, Celestial Lights" began in 2009 as a celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei using a telescope to observe the heavens.

For more information, contact UTSA Vaughan Family Professor Eric Schlegel at 210-458-6425 or Mark Jurena at 210-458-4921.

 

 

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