NASA Visitor Center takes Astronomy to the Beach July 16
The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center and its partner the Delmarva Space Sciences Foundation will kick-off the Astronomy and Night Sky Summer Series on Assateague Island, Virginia, Thursday, July 16.
Each event will begin with an Astronomy 101 presentation at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Herbert H. Bateman Education Center Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. followed by night sky observations through telescopes and binoculars at the north end of the beach parking lot #1.
Kim Check, the Visitor Center manager, said, “The astronomy nights have been extremely popular with the public. Having the event on Assateague allows local residents and our visitors to discover the night sky on the beach through observations of Saturn, Jupiter, Earth’s Moon, clusters and galaxies.”
The series will continue on July 30 and August 13 and 27. The Perseid meteor shower, when it is at its peak, will be the focus of the August 13 event.
This series is a collaboration between Assateague Island National Seashore, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Delmarva Space Sciences Foundation, and the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center.
The event is free and open to the public. The presentation will occur regardless of weather, however, the telescope viewing is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather. Park entrance fees apply.
The NASA Visitor Center, located on Va. Rt. 175 about six miles from U.S. Route 13 and five miles from Chincoteague, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information about the Astronomy and Night Sky Summer Series or the Visitor Center, Call 757-824-1344 or visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/visitorcenter
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Keith Koehler
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov
757-824-1579