Photo provided by IU Kokomo
Could one of Saturn’s moons support human life?
Learn more about the European Space Agency’s plans to explore Enceladus during the free Observatory open house at Indiana University Kokomo this Sunday, Nov. 9.
Patrick Motl, professor of physics, will begin the open house at 7 p.m. with discussion of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which has a subsurface ocean witnessed through cryovolcanic eruptions.
Motl said analysis of materials from that moon have prompted the European Space Agency to pursue a project to determine its habitability, with a dedicated mission aimed to arrive in 2050.
After the presentation, stargazers may be able to see Saturn and highlights from the Summer Triangle and prominent fall constellations like the Andromeda galaxy, the ring nebula, and the great globular cluster in Hercules, through the Observatory’s telescopes. They include a six-inch Takahashi refracting telescope and a 16-inch Meade reflecting telescope mounted together. The Takahashi provides exceptionally sharp images of planets, while the Meade allows viewers to see fainter objects in the sky, due to its larger light-collecting area.
Observation will continue through 9 p.m., weather permitting.
The Observatory is at 2660 S. Washington St., Kokomo. Free parking is available on campus.