TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A pair of University of Alabama astronomers will host, weather permitting, a free public sky viewing of star clusters, Saturn and the Orion Nebula Friday night, March 31 from 7-10 using telescopes at UA’s Moundville Archaeological Park.

The event, which hinges on visible sky conditions, will be hosted by Drs. Ronald Buta and William “Bill” Keel, both professors in UA’s department of physics and astronomy.

The Moundville telescopes, including a 17-inch and a new 20-inch “Big Little Telescope,” are set up on pads in a field across the road from the park’s museum. Parking is available at the museum and near the conference center overlooking the Black Warrior River.

For information on future public nights see http://www.astr.ua.edu/PublicNights.html. For questions, call the department office at 205/348-5000.

UA’s department of physics and astronomy is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in Alabama with 355 faculty and 6,600 students. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, and memberships on the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team.