News release from the University of Saint Francis:
USF Planetarium Announces New Horizons Pluto Events
(June 25, 2015) — The University of Saint Francis’ Schouweiler Planetarium and the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society (FWAS) are providing a series of community events beginning July 2 surrounding the New Horizons Pluto flyby.
The “Pluto Celebration” will consist of several events designed to familiarize the community with binary dwarf planet Pluto and prepare for the July 14 New Horizons spacecraft flyby of Pluto. After a ten-year, three-billion mile journey, New Horizons will photograph, measure and examine Pluto and its system of 5 moons before continuing on to its next dwarf planet destination later this decade.
“Pluto Celebration” events:
- “Pluto, Up Close and Personal” – Thursday, July 2 and Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. both nights at the Gunderson Auditorium in the USF Achatz Hall of Science, 2701 Spring Street.
- Presented by Schouweiler Planetarium staff and FWAS members, this event will be an evening of Pluto lore, explaining why it is a binary dwarf planet, reviewing New Horizons Mission details, recent images from the New Horizons spacecraft and much more. “Pluto, Up Close and Personal” is free to the public and visitors will be eligible for door prizes.
- Attempts to see Pluto on every clear Saturday night in July through the Astronomical Society’s 16-inch telescope at the Jefferson Township Park Observatory, 1702 S. Webster Rd. in New Haven, Ind. The Saturday night viewings are free and begin one hour after sunset, lasting for two hours each night. Viewing details including directions and a map to the observatory can be found at www.fortwayneastronomicalsociety.com.
- Pluto-New Horizons updates will be part of all USF Schouweiler Planetarium Three Rivers Festival Shows. More details on festival shows will be released soon.
Complete details about upcoming planetarium events can be found on the USF Schouweiler Planetarium website https://planetarium.sf.edu.
About the Fort Wayne Astronomical Society
The Fort Wayne Astronomical Society is a not-for-profit organization, incorporated in 1959, for the purpose of public education in Astronomy and related sciences.About the University of Saint Francis
The University of Saint Francis is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2015. Founded in 1890 as a comprehensive university in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, USF offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, the university designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. The university will open a Downtown Fort Wayne Campus in the fall of 2016 that will feature business, entrepreneurship and music technology programs. Currently 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF for its academic excellence.
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