For over 100 years, Steward Observatory has been offering public lectures on topics related to astronomy, offering explanations and insight into complicated concepts in a way that anyone, regardless of any scientific background, can understand and appreciate. 

The lecture series follows the school year, so far with 6 lectures in the fall semester and 3 in the spring semester scheduled. Dates for the lectures can be found on the observatory’s website, and each lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. in Steward Observatory Room N210. When the weather is good enough, attendees are invited to view the telescope after the meeting adjourns. 

“We really make it an effort to motivate and explain the science without using the jargon and the calculus that we do it with,” Thomas Fleming said, professor of practice and associate astronomer at the department of astronomy.

The most recent lecture occurred on Nov. 10, performed by Daniel Apai, professor of astronomy and planetary sciences. 71 attendees gathered in person, with another 15 attending over Zoom, to watch Apai explain potential methods and the complications involved in searching for habitats with extraterrestrial life on other planets. 

 “I think it’s really exciting to meet people who come out and discuss topics like this. I always enjoy the questions that I get, it’s always fun,” Apai said. 

The topic of the chosen lectures showcases the diversity of astronomy as a subject matter. Back when the world was supposedly ending in 2012, they hosted a lecture on the Mayan calendar and the Mayan’s views on astronomy. 

Recently, author and journalist David Baron lectured on his nonfiction book “The Martians,” examining the Martian craze at the turn of the millennium. Even mainstream news outlets were reporting the discovery of alien life on the red planet. 

While Fleming explained he has gotten talent from as far away as Cambridge and Guatemala, his budget is limited, and he is mainly relying on the kindness of others to volunteer their time. 

“I’m hoping that my colleagues can share their enthusiasm for the science of astronomy and that [the public] takes away from us a little bit of wonder,” Fleming said. 

Fleming traces the start of the public evening lecture series back to Andrew Douglass, founder of Steward Observatory. Douglass was the principal observer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff from 1894 to 1901. His service came to an end when Douglass doubted claims by the observatory’s owner, Percival Lowell, who had become convinced that a Martian civilization had built canals on Mars. Douglass arrived in Tucson in 1906, where he would establish Steward Observatory, found the science of dendrochronology and UA’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research.

Before the telescope had even been officially dedicated, Douglass invited members of the public to the first public evening on Sept. 28, 1922, where they could look through the telescope. 

The tradition started by Douglass has continued 103 years later, only taking breaks during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the lectures were moved virtually to Zoom. When they moved back to in-person lectures, it was decided to keep Zoom as an option. Fleming noted that the lectures have attracted a loyal following from an astronomy club in Kansas City, Missouri. 

For anyone who may be sad they missed an interesting subject, recordings of previous lectures going back over a decade are available to watch online.

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