The Institute of Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics (IRyA) at UNAM, Campus Morelia invites the all public to observe the sky with telescopes and attend the “Astronomy Fridays” 2024 talks cycle. This year, IRyA’s academic staff will share general public talks on various topics related to astronomy, such as artificial intelligence (AI), eclipses, the calendar, the Webb space telescope, unidentified aerial phenomena, stars and gravitational waves.
After each talk, IRyA’s astronomers and graduate students will also observe the sky with telescopes. Depending on the date and weather conditions, they will look at the Moon, planets such as Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and star clusters.
The cycle begins this February 23 with the talk “Artificial intelligence in astronomy” by Javier Ballesteros, in which he will discuss about how AI is already being used to study, classify and discover astronomical objects.
The talk stars at 7:00 pm in the main auditorium at UNAM Campus Morelia, located on the Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro, in front of Tenencia Morelos. The sky observation starts later at 8:15 pm, using telescopes that IRyA staff will make available to the public. In case of cloudy skies, IRyA staff will prepare a complementary activity.
The rest of the “Astronomy Fridays” talks will have the same program, and will be held on the last Friday of each month. All activities are in person and free, and no prior registration is required to attend. They are open to the public, but IRyA especially invites secondary, high school and undergraduate students. IRyA invites the public to arrive 10 minutes early to reserve their spot.
The talks will be live streamed on the IRyA UNAM Facebook, YouTube and X pages, as well as the Facebook page of the Astronomical Society of Michoacán, SAMAC.
About IRyA, UNAM
The Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica (IRyA), or Institute for Radioastronomy and Astrophysics is an academic unit at UNAM, Campus Morelia, Mexico. The Institute’s personnel perform high-level and high-impact research in the areas of interstellar medium, star formation, evolved stars, high energy astrophysics, Galactic dynamics and structure, extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. They also contribute to educate high-level human resources through a postgraduate program, and maintain a close relationship with society through diverse outreach and science communication programs.
If you are interested in our Institute, visit the English version of our webpage, www.irya.unam.mx/web/en
Media contact:
Dr. René A. Ortega Minakata
Outreach and Science Communication
IRyA UNAM Campus Morelia
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Text: IRyA UNAM