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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Stare at the sun Saturday during Kirkwood Observatory event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2009

BLOOMINGTON -- Saturday is your chance to stare at the sun with no negative side effects as Indiana University Department of Astronomy's Kirkwood Observatory hosts a public open house where the focus will be on the observatory's solar telescope.

The reflecting telescope uses mirrors rather than a lens to direct a beam of sunlight to optical benches that produce different types of images of the sun, from white light images for viewing sunspots to hydrogen-alpha images that show active regions where flares may be prominent.

The solar telescope open house runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and is free to the public. To confirm that weather conditions will permit viewing, visit https://www.astro.indiana.edu/kirkwood.shtml or call the observatory hotline at 812-855-7736 for the latest information. The observatory is located at 119 S. Indiana Ave.

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