Auld set to show telescope images at Gravette center

GRAVETTE — Katherine Auld, NASA Solar System Ambassador and founder of NWA Space, will unveil images from the James Webb Space Telescope at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Gravette Civic Center.

NASA’s JWST, through a partnership with the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency, launched on Dec. 25, 2021. It took approximately six months for the telescope to reach its orbit approximately one million miles from Earth. The first full-color images were released on July 12.

The Gravette Public Library, which is hosting this event, is one of 60 libraries nationwide to be selected for participation in NASA @ My Library which provided funding and other resources for events and activities focused on Earth, Mars, the moon and the universe.

“The Webb telescope has a larger mirror than the Hubble and looks at the universe using infrared sensitivity,” said Karen Benson, library director. “It has produced some spectacular images and, thanks to NASA @ My Library, our community will be able to view the photos using new projection equipment with outstanding image quality.”

The Gravette Public Library has offered events and activities focused on space since 2017 and has a telescope available for checkout. Moon Over Main Street, a collaboration with the Sugar Creek Astronomical Society, will take place, weather permitting, on International Observe the Moon Night which falls on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.