UC Merced to Host Stargazing Night with Director of UC Observatories

UC Merced invites the public to an evening of cosmic discovery on Thursday, Oct. 23, featuring a free lecture by Bruce Macintosh, director of the University of California Observatories, followed by telescope viewing with the campus Astronomy Club.

Macintosh, a leading expert in the search for planets, will present "Beyond the Solar System: The Search for Distant Worlds and Alien Earths." His talk will explore the groundbreaking technology behind the first images of other solar systems and the quest to find Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars.

Attendees will learn about the Gemini Planet Imager and other cutting-edge tools used to detect exoplanets - worlds that orbit stars outside our solar system - and hear about future space telescopes designed to search for signs of life on distant planets.

The ultimate goal is to find a second "pale blue dot" - an Earth twin where biosignatures of life might be visible.

As director of UC Observatories, Macintosh oversees some of the most advanced astronomical facilities in the world, including two of the world's largest optical telescopes. These instruments have contributed to Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and continue to support hundreds of professional astronomers across California.

Following the lecture, guests are invited to join the Astronomy Club at UC Merced for stargazing and telescope viewing. Club members will be on hand to guide attendees through the night sky and share insights into celestial objects visible from campus.

The lecture takes place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Arts and Computational Sciences Building, Room 120, followed by the star-gazing event outside the Science and Engineering 2 Building. Buildings can be located on this campus map. Free parking is available in the North Bowl lot, and a shuttle will take people to the Arts and Computational Sciences building.

The event is free and open to the public. Families, students and space enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to attend. Those interested are asked to RSVP online.