A free festival of astronomy for all ages will be held concurrently with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, through Saturday, July 10, on the Penn State University Park campus.
The sixth annual "AstroFest" is sponsored by the department of astronomy and astrophysics and is made possible through the contributions of more than 50 faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduate volunteers.
All ages are welcome to attend, to look at the stars and to participate in a variety of activities. Events are free and will be conducted rain or shine in classrooms and in the planetarium located on the fifth floor of Davey Laboratory. If the weather is clear, visitors also may gaze at the night sky through eight telescopes on the roof of Davey Laboratory.
"We will have a lot of great events focusing on Mars this year, thanks to the success of NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers," said Joe Masiero, who graduated this year from Penn State with a degree in astronomy. "With the Cassini space craft about to begin its study of Saturn, we're also going to be focusing on the results of this exciting mission."
Other activities will include planetarium shows, a tour of the solar system, a journey through the history of the universe, and various public talks and presentations.
For information, call (814) 865-0418 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.