10 June 2009

Neal Evans Delivers Talk on 'Time, Space, and Galileo' at San Antonio's Witte Museum June 21

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), the Witte Museum in San Antonio will host a speaker event at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 21 featuring University of Texas at Austin astronomer Neal Evans.

Evans' talk, titled “Time, Space, & Galileo,” will examine the relationship between astronomy and time and explain advances in astronomy that have allowed us to peer into the past to determine the exact age of the universe, and study events that happened within fractions of a second after its creation. The talk dovetails with the Witte's new exhibit "Playing With Time."

The principle investigator for “Cores to Disks,” a Legacy Science Program study of star formation with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, Evans is an expert on star formation. He's currently the chairman of the UT-Austin Astronomy Department. In addition to his research, he teaches a popular course on "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" for non-science majors at UT.

The lecture at the Witte museum is presented as part of a 2009 statewide speaker series coordinated by The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. Astronomers are traveling to a number of cities in Texas to deliver free talks on astronomy, IYA, Galileo and astronomical research.

Organizers of the International Year of Astronomy encourage citizens to explore the skies in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first astronomical use of a telescope in 1609. The International Astronomical Union launched 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) under the theme “The Universe, Yours to Discover.” IYA 2009 is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, with a strong emphasis on education, public engagement and the involvement of young people.

Evans’ presentation is included with museum admission. Admission for adults is $8. Members of the Friends of McDonald Observatory may present their membership card for free admission.

For more about this year's IYA speaker series, please visit: http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/iya/series. 

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Media Contacts:

Shannon H. Standley, Director of Public Relations & Retail Marketing for the Witte Museum, (210) 357-1876.

Rebecca Johnson, Press Officer for The University of Texas at Austin astronomy program, (512) 475-6763.