The Clarence T. Jones Observatory, 10 Tuxedo Ave. in Brainerd, has begun its spring schedule of Sunday night viewing parties and planetarium shows.
Topics this season will include brown dwarfs, Dobsonian telescopes and driving on Mars.
The observatory is operated by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Physics, Geology and Astronomy Department.
Sessions will be held weekly through April 22, except for March 11 and 18, the two Sundays that bookend UTC's spring break, and April 8, which is Easter. Programs will start later after the change to daylight saving time in March.
For more information, contact Jack Pitkin at 425-4518 or Jack-Pitkin@utc .edu. The website is www.utc.edu/academic/jones observatory/index.php.
SCHEDULE
Through March 4, gates open at 5:30 p.m.; lecture and planetarium show begin at 6 p.m.; telescope viewing lasts until 8 p.m. Starting March 25, gates open at 6:30 p.m.; lecture and planetarium show begin at 7 p.m. and telescope viewing lasts until 9 p.m.
Sunday
Topic: Europa: The Ice World Updated." Featured constellation: The Pleiades.
Feb. 5
Topic: "Brown Dwarfs -- Are They Stars or Planets?" Featured constellation: Taurus.
Feb. 12
Topic: "Brown Dwarfs -- Are They Stars or Planets?" Featured constellation: Taurus.
Feb. 19
Topic: "Dobsonian Telescopes." Featured constellation: Gemini.
Feb. 26
Topic: "Dobsonian Telescopes." Featured constellation: Gemini.
March 4
Topic: "Driving on Mars." Featured constellation: Orion.
March 25
Topic: "Driving on Mars." Featured constellation: Orion.
April 1
Topic: "Saturn." Featured constellation: Taurus.
April 15
Topic: "Titan." Featured constellation: Leo.
April 22
Topic: "Titan." Featured constellation: The summer triangle.