On Thursday, May 23, at 7 p.m. amateur astronomer and Hope resident Jim DellaPenna will give his well-known presentation “A Brief History of Astronomy, Stars, The Speed of Light, and Much More” at Hope Library.
The public in invited. Light refreshments will be served. Donations to the library will be gratefully accepted.
Jim’s presentation will have a little bit of everything to satisfy a broad spectrum of interest. It begins at the beginning, with a brief history of astronomy from 5000 BC to the present. Then it’s on to the Sun, Earth’s magnetosphere, planets, comets & asteroids, the Kuiper Bet, the Oort Cloud, dark matter, dark energy, the speed of light, double stars, star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, how we see backward in time, our Milky Way Galaxy and where we are inside it, the Andromeda Galaxy, and what happens when galaxies collide.
There will be ample time for questions and answers.
About our presenter: Jim DellaPenna has been an amateur astronomer since he was a teenager, when he performed observations for the American Society of Variable Star Observers in Cambridge. He maintains membership in three astronomy clubs and served for seven years as an officer of the Raleigh Astronomy Club in North Carolina. Today he maintains a small observatory on his property in South Hope featuring a roll-off roof he built himself.
He has participated in numerous public outreach events for the North Carolina Museum of Science, elementary schools, Five-Town CSD Adult Education in Rockport, and the general public, including numerous semi-annual public observing events around the state.
About Hope Library: Hope Library is run by volunteers and funded by donations.
