The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Dahlonega Science Council is hosting an event this weekend to mark the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing.
The keynote speaker is NASA aerospace engineer Sabrina Thompson, who works at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Thompson will speak about the historic mission at 7:30 p.m. July 20 in the Health and Natural Sciences (HNS) building at University of North Georgia's Dahlonega Campus. Thompson said she will share the history of the space program, but she also plans to discuss what's in the future for space exploration.
Before and after the speech, activities include hands-on projects for children, planetarium shows and solar observations. If the weather is clear, telescopes for observing will be set up at HNS, the observatory, or both.
Schedule for the day:
- 5:30- 7:30 p.m. – Hands-on kids' activities and solar observing (weather permitting) (HNS building)
- 6:30 p.m. – "Birth of Planet Earth" planetarium show (HNS 234)
- 7:30 p.m. – Sabrina Thompson delivers keynote address (HNS 232)
- 8:30 p.m. – "Birth of Planet Earth" planetarium show (HNS 234)
- 9:30 p.m. – Night sky observing (North Georgia Astronomical Observatory)
Narrated by Richard Dormer, the planetarium show will begin with a 24-minute full dome video about the formation of Earth. Audience members will see a close-up view of the violent collisions that produced the planet and the moon.
