Presented by Dr. Becca Levy, Steward Observtory

Lavinia Steward made her historic contribution of $60,000 to the University of Arizona “…TO BUY TELESCOPE OF HUGE SIZE,” on October 18, 1916.  However, the United States entry into World War I delayed the construction of the Steward Telescope and its 36-inch mirror.  That original Steward Telescope was finally used for the first time on July 17, 1922.  It would take another 9 months before the Steward Observatory and Telescope would be formally and officially dedicated on April 23, 1923.

The Telescope, however, was ready to be used before the official dedication date and Prof. Andrew Ellicott Douglass, the first Director of Steward Observatory, did not leave the telescope idle. He invited members of the campus and Tucson communities to view the wonders of the night sky through this new, large (for the time) telescope.  The date was September 28, 1922, and the Steward Observatory Public Evenings were born.

We are thrilled to able to celebrate 100 years of presenting lectures on astronomy and telescope viewing to the public by offering a special Public Evening Lecture on the 100^th Anniversary of the very first Steward Public Evening.

Please save the dates for the following Public Evening Lectures, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Steward Observatory Room N210 and on our NEW ZOOM at the URL: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/4470189357

All of the lectures and the use of the telescope are free of charge and open to the general public.

For more information, contact Dr. Thomas Fleming at 621-5049 or taf@arizona.edu.

Sign up for our monthly Astronomy Newsletter for more information about our lectures and other events taking place at https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1797802/1759894/

Click here to stream podcasts of previous Public Evening Lectures.