September 21, 2015

Behlen Observatory public night is Sept. 27

The end of the lunar eclipse on Oct. 8, 2014, the second eclipse in the current tetrad of lunar eclipses.
Shawn Langan | UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy

Shawn Langan | UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy
The end of the lunar eclipse on Oct. 8, 2014, the second eclipse in the current tetrad of lunar eclipses.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy will host a public night at Behlen Observatory from 8 to 11 p.m. Sept. 27.

The evening will feature the last eclipse in a series of four lunar eclipses over the past two years, known as a tetrad. Photos of past lunar eclipses and other astrophotography done in Nebraska are available online.

“Tetrads happen every 10 years or so this century, but there were no tetrads from 1600 to 1900 so we are in the middle of an interesting time for lunar eclipses,” said Shawn Langan, lab manager with physics and astronomy.

Behlen Observatory near Mead, Nebraska, has been in operation since 1972 with dozens of publications credited to it.

For more information, including directions to the observatory, click here or contact Langan at slangan@unl.edu or 402-472-2199.