The University of New Hampshire's Department of Physics and Astronomy is hosting the New England Fall Astronomy Festival (NEFAF) — a free, two-day event in mid-October packed with inspiring talks, night-sky viewing, and hands-on activities for the whole family.
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Patrick McNameeKing: So, John, there's something fun happening next month at UNH. Can you tell us about it?
John Gianforte: The University of New Hampshire Department of Physics and Astronomy is holding the New England Fall Astronomy Festival.
Patrick McNameeKing: What happens at an astronomy festival?
John Gianforte: Our theme for the festival this year is "Other Worlds and Life Elsewhere." So two really popular topics. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Jack Lissauer from NASA's Ames Research Center in California, is going to come and talk to us about the Kepler mission, the test mission from NASA and exoplanets, which covers the other worlds portion.
Patrick McNameeKing: Who should attend the keynote address?
John Gianforte: Doesn't matter if you're a grammar school, elementary school kid, or a physicist, you'll be able to make sense out of his talk. And it's going to be really inspiring about all that's being done to discover life elsewhere and other planets. And that's Friday night.
Then following the keynote talk, which will last about an hour, depending on clear skies, members of the New Hampshire Astronomical Society, a huge group here in New Hampshire of amateur astronomers, will help my observatory staff set up telescopes for everyone to view the stars and planets and moon, which will be visible that night all into the wee hours of the morning, hopefully depending on the skies.
Patrick McNameeKing: You said that this is for Friday and Saturday. What's happening on Saturday?
John Gianforte: Saturday morning, the festival takes a completely different character. We have a huge area of science, hands-on activities for kids. You can build your own telescope. You can build your own motorized Mars rover, you can build your own rockets and launch them. There's lots of really good hands on activities for kids scavenger hunts. So it's really a fun astronomy, immersive event that doesn't cost you anything.
Patrick McNameeKing: The New England Fall Astronomy Festival is October 16 and 17 at UNH.
Have a question about the night sky? Email us at Cosmic@nhpr.org.
