On April 4, Dyer staff treated two groups of OLLI students (42 total) to a tour of the historic observatory. Along with learning about the history of astronomy at Vanderbilt, attendees got an in-depth tour of the observatory’s unique exhibits, passed around samples of meteorites, and visited the Seyfert Telescope to learn how it functions. The second group, having arrived later in the day, was even treated to views from the Seyfert Telescope of the planet Venus and its gorgeous crescent phase. The groups had a fun time visiting the observatory (many for the first time) and getting to ask their burning astronomy questions.
Unbeknownst to some, Dyer Observatory is not part of Vanderbilt’s Department of Physics & Astronomy, at least it hasn’t been for a little over two decades. Our home is the Division of Government & Community Relations, which is also home to another big part of Vanderbilt’s community engagement team – the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Vanderbilt. Dyer and OLLI try to collaborate as often as possible; in fact, observatory director Billy Teets taught the six-part course An Astronomy Grab Bag this past winter, which dealt with topics from the life of Nashville astronomer Edward Barnard to demonstrating how astronomers learn about the universe simply by studying the light emitted by an object.
To learn more about OLLI and even sign up for future courses, be sure to check out the OLLI homepage!