One of the astronomy world’s major milestones – the recent flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft past Pluto – will be the subject of a special open house at Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium.
Happening at 4 p.m. Friday, the 90-minute program will answer questions about the mysterious dwarf planet and share some of the images taken by the NASA spacecraft.
The program also will allow planetarium goers to “fly” New Horizons. A three-dimensional model of the spacecraft will be shown on the planetarium dome and visitors will be able to control its movements by the use of a joystick.
The program is open to all and free of charge.
It’s taken the New Horizons almost a decade to reach Pluto, a journey of 3 billion miles. And it’s been worth the wait, as astronomers and skywatchers from all around the world have been marveling at the pictures it took.
Abrams Planetarium is located at Farm Lane and Shaw Lane on the MSU campus.
For more information, visit http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/.