Aurora Alert!

October 10, 2024

From Paul Lewis, astronomy outreach director:

If you missed seeing the northern lights this spring, you have another chance!

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a geomagnetic storm alert/watch for October 10-11. The storm watch is a G4, which means severe. There will be no observing from the Nielsen Physics Building roof those evenings, so take this opportunity to drive away from campus and city lights to try to see, if they actually appear, the northern lights or aurora.

Some of you may have been fortunate to see the spectacular display that occurred in May. There are certainly no guarantees for this, but if you don’t take the opportunity to look, you most certainly won’t see anything. 

Use your cellphone to try to get pictures, even if you can’t see the northern lights with the naked eye. The camera in your cellphone is more sensitive to the red and green light we usually see when there are bright aurorae. Look northwest to northeast for the best chance to see aurora. During the May storm we were able to see aurora to the south as well. That is rare here. Start looking as soon as it’s dark for at least a couple of hours.

There are several state parks nearby you might consider driving to. Look up Tennessee State Parks for more info and directions.

Good luck!

Solar Eclipse April 2024

April 14, 2024

Watch the Leonids Roar in at John Sevier’s House

November 8, 2023

Grad Students Coordinate November 18 Viewing at the Marble Spring Historic Site

In a fitting tribute to Governor John Sevier’s pioneer spirit, his home is hosting explorers looking to learn more about the universe where we live.

The Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last home and farm of Tennessee’s first governor and welcomes night sky fans on November 18, when UT Physics graduate students will explain and coordinate viewing of the Leonid Meteor Shower. The event gets underway at 7 PM and lasts until 11 PM. Marble Springs will have firepits out for s’mores and warmth, so bring blankets, telescopes, questions, and your astronomical enthusiasm.

This is the third astronomy presentation at Marble Springs this year: in April the site opened their green space as part of World Astronomy Month and Earth day celebrations. On August 25 they hosted an ice cream social followed by an evening of stargazing. Physics graduate students Michael Benjamin, Adam Cole, Donnie Hoskins, Jordan Jubeck, Ashwin Nagarajan, and Colter Richardson shared their insights and set up telescopes to help amateur astronomers navigate the night sky.

“This most recent event had us providing a night sky talk to a group of about 140 people from around the Knoxville area,” Richardson explained. “We had two telescopes, some binoculars, and then hosted some by-eye viewings. In all cases the physics graduate students were talking with community members and providing mini sky lectures.”

Students will reprise these roles at the November event. Richardson said Marble Springs is a great spot for stargazing because the skies are much darker than around campus but not too far from downtown Knoxville.

The events began when Danielle Sherrell, education and programming coordinator for the Marble Springs site, reached out to her former classmate (and current physics graduate student) Donnie Hoskins about community engagement. He spoke to Richardson and the astronomy outreach program got rolling. The students hope to grow their ranks to host more regularly scheduled events, but for now, be sure to mark your calendar and review event details for November 18! You can also RSVP here.

Rooftop Viewing Returns!

August 31, 2023

Time to hit the roof! After some spiffing up we’re ready for the return of Nielsen rooftop public viewing on the first and third Fridays of every month (weather permitting). Join us this Friday, September 1, at 9:30 PM, when we’ll be looking at Saturn, deep-sky objects, and the moon. We are located on the The Hill off Cumberland Avenue between 13th Street and Phillip Fulmer Way. Parking is available in the Volunteer Hall Parking Garage on White Avenue. (Some handicapped parking is available in front of the Nielsen Physics Building.) (Photo courtesy of Paul Lewis.)

Your Ticket to the Universe

March 30, 2023

There’s been lots of buzz about the recent planetary parade, but you don’t need the planets to align to satisfy your cosmic curiosity—UT Physics and Astronomy is always your ticket to the universe.

Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus lining up in the western sky generated lots of interest and there’s still more to see, with fantastic opportunities right here on campus.

Paul Lewis directs astronomy outreach for the department and said though the planetary parade is over, Venus and Mars are still observable in East Tennessee.

“It’s impossible not to see Venus, as it’s the brightest of all the planets and is about 30 degrees above the Western horizon at sunset,” he said. “Mars is high in the sky at sunset but is more than one and a half times farther from us than the sun, so it is pretty faint. It still has a reddish tint to it, so you should be able to catch it just to the right of the leftmost foot of the Gemini twins, who are facing us.”

Also in the neighborhood is the Messier 35 (M35) open cluster of stars. Lewis said amateur astronomers should be able to see this collection with a pair of binoculars. A sweep farther to the right of M35 offers a view of three more open clusters: M36, M37, and M38.

“Mars has a lot of company, it would seem,” he said.

Lewis recommends downloading a free planetarium program called Stellarium to make finding these objects easier and to learn something about the night sky at the same time.

“We use Stellarium in our astronomy labs and it runs our planetarium,” he explained.

There’s no need to navigate the sky entirely on your own, however. The department is eager to share expertise and resources with the public.

Lewis organizes public astronomical observations on the roof of the Alvin H. Nielsen Physics Building on the first and third Fridays every month, weather permitting. There’s also a 32-seat planetarium for visits from local school groups, scouts, home schoolers, church groups or any group looking for an hour or so under the stars, indoors, rain or shine.

There are also special viewing opportunities when there are cool events—or sometimes hot ones—in the sky.

“We are planning to start conducting solar observations on weekends in the near future,” Lewis said. “The sun has been, for the last few months, spectacularly active. Sunspots galore have danced across the face of the sun, popping off solar flares and spewing beautiful prominences all around the edge of the solar disc. We use special Hydrogen-alpha telescopes to see these beautiful features. We can also observe sunspots with white-light filters. You will not be disappointed. Solar observing is truly thrilling.”

Anyone can share the wonders of the night (or day) sky, especially here in Tennessee.

“If nothing else, we encourage you to get out on your own or join us for views of the night skies over Knoxville,” Lewis said. “There is always something to see. And remember, if you don’t look up, you won’t see a thing.”

Come See Us!

• To schedule a planetarium visit, please contact Paul Lewis at 865-974-9601.
• Hit the Roof!
  • The department hosts observations from the roof of the Alvin H. Nielsen Physics and Astronomy Building on the first and third Fridays of every month, weather permitting. We are located on the “the Hill” off Cumberland Avenue between 13th Street and Phillip Fulmer Way.
  • Parking is available in the Volunteer Hall Parking Garage on White Avenue.
  • Some handicapped parking is available in front of the physics building.
  • Observing begins at 9:00 PM.
  • Don’t forget to check the weather!