OBSERVATORY OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE FOR THE 2026/2027 SCHOOL YEAR
ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
FALL/SPRING 2026/2027 STAR PARTY OPEN-HOUSE SCHEDULE
Free public Observatory Open Houses will be held at the ETSU campus Observatory one Saturday each month during the school year when the weather permits. The dates and times are listed below. During Fall 2026, there will also be two special daytime talks on campus (see listings below). During the evening open houses, the telescopes will be set up and available for visitors to view celestial objects, and ETSU astronomers/physicists will be available to answer questions. During each open house, one of the ETSU astronomers or physicists will give a short talk on a popular astronomical topic. All programs are open to the public and free of charge. Note that Observatory Open Houses are cancelled if the sky is cloudy. If you are uncertain as to the weather conditions, call the observatory before traveling up there to make sure the Open House will be held. For more information, contact Dr. Beverly Smith or Dr. Gary Henson. The phone number at the Observatory is 423-929-3382. The street address of the Harry D. Powell Observatory is 1101 Narrow Lane, Johnson City.
September 19
8 pm - 10 pm
'Is Life Possible for Jupiter's Moon Europa?'
Presented by Dr. Gary Henson
(Assisted by Dr. Yuriy Razskazovskiy)
October 17
8 - 10 pm
`Dark Matter and Energy: Missing Particles and a Forest of Theories'
Presented by Dr. Robert Pattie
(Assisted by Dr. Beverly Smith)
SPECIAL LECTURE ON CAMPUS:
Monday October 26 at 4:20 PM in Brown Hall Room 265
"Stellarator Path to Fusion Energy"
Presented by Dr. Nick Eidietis, Type One Energy
For Abstract of the talk, click here.
November 14
8-10 pm
`Stars on the Verge of Spinning Apart, and How They Got That Way'
Presented by Dr. Richard Ignace
(Assisted by Dr. Frank Hagelberg )
SPECIAL TALK ON CAMPUS:
Monday November 16, at 4:20 PM in Brown Hall 265
"Multiple Suns in the Sky: Updates on Astrophysics and Astrobiology"
Presented by Dr. Manfred Cuntz, University of Texas at Arlington
For an abstract of this talk, click here.
February 13
8 - 10 pm
`Artificial Intelligence on Mars'
Presented by Dr. Frank Hagelberg
(Assisted by Dr. Richard Ignace)
March 13
8 pm - 10 pm
`The Amazing, Exciting, Spitting Black Hole in IC 2431'
Presented by Dr. Beverly Smith
(Assisted by Dr. Mark Giroux)
April 10
8 pm - 10 pm
`The Martian: How Scientifically Accurate is the Movie?'
Presented by Dr. Yuriy Razskazovskiy
(Assisted by Dr. Gary Henson)
Last updated by B. J. Smith Sept 19, 2026