NASA Night at Pretlow Planetarium, Sept. 24

Old Dominion University will host NASA Night on Saturday, Sept. 24, to help promote the space agency's "Driven to Explore" initiative.

The events, which are free and open to the public, include a keynote talk by Ann Martin, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Langley Research Center, and a viewing of an Apollo 17 moon rock specimen.

The programs start at 4:30 p.m. in the Oceanography and Physics Building lobby with a reception and a viewing of ODU's OmniGlobe, a spherical display that can take spectators on an interplanetary trip to Jupiter, send them back in time to early Earth or even zip them around the modern-day globe to pinpoint field research being done by faculty and students.

Martin will speak at 5 p.m. in the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building auditorium. Following her talk, at 5:40 p.m., visitors will have a chance to view the Apollo 17 moon rock, a space shuttle heat tile and meteorite specimens in the Pretlow Planetarium.

The next activity will be a viewing of sunspots through a filtered telescope, weather permitting, and a showing of the NASA full-dome movie "IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System" in the Planetarium.

Those planning to attend the programs should RSVP by Thursday, Sept. 22, to 683-3116 or www.odu.edu/ao/univevents (event code: NAS11).

For more information about the events contact Declan De Paor, planetarium director, at ddepaor@odu.edu.