On Thursday night, the ever-expanding universe was the main topic of discussion, when Open House Nights in Astronomy returned to Penn State Erie. The event was completely free and open to students and the public.

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The evening was jam packed with lots of information on the topic, starting with free presentations on the night sky hosted in the Yahn Planetarium. There were two showings of the 30-minute presentation held at 6:15 and 6:45 p.m.

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Following the shows in the Planetarium, Professor Darren Williams hosted the main event of the night. His presentation titled “Toward the Edge of Space and Time: Clues from an Expanding Universe,” began promptly at 7:45 p.m. in Room 101 of the Otto Behrend Science Building.

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Throughout his presentation, Williams outlined how astronomical measurements are made. He went over the evidence that proves that the universe is in fact expanding, using mathematical data and scientific theories to prove his point. There was a focus on the many scientists that paved the way for the theory with mentions of Harlow Shapley, Edwin Hubble and Fritz Zwicky.

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“Today, astronomers are using big telescopes to see farther into space and farther back in time than ever before. Clues to the expansion come from the ability to measure velocities and distances to galaxies near the limit of observation. The rest is math on paper,” said Williams, a professor of physics and astronomy at Penn State Behrend.

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After the main event, Williams hosted a short question and answer session where attendees could further learn about any of the discussed topics. Many of the attendees further questioned Williams about some of the theories discussed, sparking debate and interesting conversation.

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An Erie native, David Brown said “I am happy that professors like Darren take the time to hold these events and give everyone a chance to learn about something that is very interesting, but seldom spoke of.”

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Various students also attended the event, and although many of them arrived because of the offering of bonus points, there was definitely much to be learned.

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Sophomore Finance major, Bethany Paige, shared that  “I was pleasantly surprised about what I learned throughout the night, and I really think that I got an upper hand on some of my peers in the class.”

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The next Open House Night will be coming up in November as part of the outreach program through the School of Science. For additional information contact the school at 814-898-6105.