June 4, 2012
The City of Cerritos is offering the following three events at the Cerritos Library in support of the “Visions of the Universe: Four Centuries of Discovery” exhibit on display at the Library through July 20. The exhibit is presented by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the American Library Association, Chicago, through funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Astronomy Night
On Tuesday, June 5 from 6 to 9:30 p.m., students of the physics classes from Cerritos High School will present a special evening under the stars in the Skyline Room, the Terrace and the Esplanade outside the Library. Pinhole boxes will be available to view the Venus Transit at sunset along with telescopes for night viewing of Saturn with its rings, and other celestial bodies. A Venus transit is when Venus passes directly between Earth and the sun. It is one of the rarest planetary alignments; only six have occurred since the invention of the telescope. In addition to several displays, PowerPoint presentations will be presented by the students.
Night sky viewing with L.A. Sidewalk Astronomers
On Tuesday, June 26 at 7 p.m., Bob Alborzian, a member of the L.A. Sidewalk Astronomers, will share his experience working for NASA and offer a presentation showing several photos of planets, stars and other celestial bodies. Following the talk in the Library’s Skyline Room, guests may view the night sky through telescopes located on the Skyline Room Terrace.
Telescope making workshop
Children are invited to make their own telescope, modeled after the original one made by Galileo over 400 years ago, on Wednesday, June 27 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Library’s Skyline Room. The workshop is limited to 22 participants ages 7 to 11.
Registration is not required for these events. For more information, call Carrie Kurata at (562) 916-1349.
