ʻImiloa: Exploring the Dark Night Sky

Courtesy of Gemini Observatory.

Why is the sky dark at night? And what does “dark” mean exactly? The seemingly obvious answer to this question may raise even more questions in the curious mind.

‘Imiloa Astronomy Center invites the public to explore these and other questions on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m. Gemini Observatory’s Dr. Tom Geballe will discuss the scientific and historical attempts to understand the night sky and answer questions about how dark it really is, and the visibility of light spectrums invisible to the naked human eye.  

The talk will also take a modern look at Olber’s Paradox – a long-standing theory arguing that the night sky should in fact be bright in an infinite, fixed universe, which conflicts with what we observe at night.  

Admission tickets to attend are $10 for general and $8 for members, and can be purchased in advance at ‘Imiloa’s front desk or by calling (808) 932-8901.

Dr. Tom Geballe, Gemini Observatory astronomer. Photo courtesy of Gemini Observatory.

Dr. Geballe has a Ph.D. in Physics from University of California, Berkeley. He is a tenured astronomer with Gemini Observatory since 1998 and worked at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope on Maunakea for over ten years.