Public night Oct. 12 at UNL's Behlen Observatory

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Behlen Observatory near Mead will be open to the public 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 12.

Provided the sky is clear, visitors will be able to view a variety of objects with the 30-inch telescope and with smaller telescopes set up outside the observatory. These include the planet Jupiter (early in the evening), two kinds of star clusters, double or multiple stars, the Ring Nebula in Lyra, and the planet Uranus.

At various times throughout the evening members of the observatory staff will give illustrated talks.

One of the highlights of the autumn sky is the Ring Nebula in the constellation Lyra. Resembling a pale ring of smoke, it is one of the best and most easily observed examples of a type of object known as planetary nebulae. This object is the remnant of an old, dying star which expelled part of its outer layers 6,000 or 8,000 years ago to form the nebula. The distance of was recently determined to be 2,300 light years from Earth.

The observatory will also be open to the public Nov. 16 and Dec. 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. each night. There is no admission charge for the public night. Further information can be found on the observatory Web site ( http://astro.unl.edu/observatory) or by contacting UNL astronomer Edward Schmidt at (402) 472-7304 or by e-mail.

Behlen Observatory is located at the University of Nebraska Agricultural Research and Development Center. It is operated by the UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Directions to the observatory (maps are available on the web site)

FROM LINCOLN: Take U.S. 77 north from Lincoln. Six miles past Ceresco, turn east on Nebraska 66 (formerly 63) and go eight miles to the Mead road. Turn left and go one mile north to Avenue H. At this corner, there are large brown signs on both sides of the road listing various locations of the field lab. Turn right on Avenue H and continue east two miles to Eighth Street. Turn left on Eighth Street and follow it north 0.6 miles to the observatory, which will be seen on the left.

FROM OMAHA: Take Nebraska 92 west until you reach Mead. At Mead, turn south on Nebraska Spur 78F and follow it for about five miles to Avenue H. At this corner, there are large brown signs on both sides of the road listing various locations of the field lab. Turn left on Avenue H and continue east two miles to Eighth Street. Turn left on Eighth Street and follow it north 0.6 miles to the observatory, which can be seen on the left.

CONTACT: Edward Schmidt, Professor, Physics and Astronomy, (402) 472-7304