Lecture and Star Party on Jan. 20

On Jan. 31, a lunar eclipse will occur with ecliptic conjunction at 13:26:42.5 UT. It will have an umbral magnitude of 1.3155 and a right ascension of 08h56m05.5s.

Hobbs State Park welcomes Katherine Auld, an astronomy professor at Northwest Arkansas Community College and a NASA Solar System Ambassador who will explain the upcoming total lunar eclipse at 5 p.m. on Jan. 20. She will explain how to interpret the NASA eclipse notifications, and each participant will learn to figure out when an eclipse will occur, where in the sky it can be seen and how dim the moon will appear.

Following the lecture, at 6 p.m., there will be a star party hosted by the Sugar Creek Astronomical Society with telescopes set up in the parking lot for use by the public. Because no planets will be visible this night, it will be a time for viewing dark-sky objects. Astronomers often call these objects “faint fuzzies” because they are faint objects only visible using telescopes or binoculars. A few objects that will be well placed for viewing on Jan. 20 will include M33, the Triangulum Galaxy; globular cluster M15; and M45, the Pleiades open cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.

What to bring: Flashlight (covered with a red cloth or red balloon), binoculars and/or telescope (if you have one), a folding chair per person, and a star chart (if you have one). These events are free. For more information, call at 479-789-5000. Hobbs State Park visitor center is located on Arkansas Highway 12, just east of the War Eagle Road intersection.