The key differences between Mars and Venus will be part of Darren Williams’ topic of discussion on April 19, when Open House Night in Astronomy returns to Penn State Behrend. Williams, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the college, will explain what is known about each world and what remains uncertain.

To commemorate the Great American Eclipse, Penn State Behrend invites guests to visit its School of Science on Monday, Aug. 21, for telescopic viewing of the phenomenon. Free parking will be available in the parking lot outside the School of Science Complex, which is also the site for the telescopic viewing.

The last time a total solar eclipse was visible from the contiguous United States, Jimmy Carter was president. Sony had just introduced a new portable music player: the Walkman. So this summer’s Great North-American Eclipse will be a major astronomical event.

Ever wonder why Mercury and Venus are best seen just after sunset and just before sunrise? Why is it that other planets can only be observed during specific times of the year? While all planets circle the sun, their movements often change drastically. These movement patterns will be the topic of discussion when Open House Night in Astronomy returns to Penn State Behrend on Aug. 31.

The journeys of interplanetary space probes like New Horizons and others will be the topic of discussion when Open House Night in Astronomy returns to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Sept. 17.

Since its discovery in 1930, the planet Pluto has gone unseen to the human eye, but that will change come July. That’s when the New Horizons spacecraft will reach the planet after a nine-and-a-half year journey.

Darren Williams, professor of physics and astronomy, will discuss the nature of eclipses on Thursday, Oct. 23, in “Eclipse Season at Penn State Behrend,” the next Open House Night in Astronomy lecture at the college. Telescopic observation of the solar eclipse from atop the parking deck of the Jack Burke Research and Economic Development Center will precede Williams’ presentation.

Darren Williams works in the same office he did two years ago. He researches the same topics. He teaches the same courses.

Yet life will never be the same for Williams. Not anymore.

Justin Crepp, assistant professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame, will discuss the possibility for life around the universe’s smallest stars in “The M-dwarf Opportunity: Looking for Life around the Smallest Stars,” the next Open House Night in Astronomy lecture at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.