- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Space-themed Wind Ensemble performance to feature astronomy lecture, meteorite display

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 13:33:14 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Wind Ensemble will host an out-of-this-world concert Oct. 24 featuring a special astronomy lecture and meteorite display. The Wind Ensemble performance, “To Boldly Go,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building. The ensemble will perform “Take Off” by Daniel Weinberger, “One Moment to Eternity” by Stephen Melillo, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” by John B. Dykes, “All Stars are Love” by Steven Bryant, and “Open Space” by Brian Balmages. The program includes a pre-concert astronomy lecture by Dr. Darrell Heath, host of “The Night Sky”, at 7 p.m. as well as a meteorite display sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Department of Music at 501-569-3294.

Arkansas Space Grant Consortium celebrates 50th anniversary of moon landing

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:56:39 +0000

The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock-based Arkansas Space Grant Consortium is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing with two out-of-this-world events this summer. The Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, in partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System and the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, will host a lecture with astronomer Phil Plait, best known for his website and blog, where he debunks bad science and popular misconceptions. , “Strange New Worlds: Is Earth Special?” will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 15, at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave. The lecture explores the search for exoplanets that lie outside the solar system. While thousands of exoplanets have been discovered, none appear to resemble Earth. After earning his doctorate in astronomy at the University of Virginia, Plait worked on the Hubble Space Telescope as a NASA contractor at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He hosted the TV show “Phil Plait’s Bad Universe” on the Discovery Channel in 2010 and was the head science writer for “Bill Nye Saves the World” on Netflix. The second event is a screening of the documentary, The will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, at the Ron Robinson Theater. Bonestell was a space artist who painted memorable scenes of space flight and humans traveling to distant worlds. When Dr. Wernher von Braun, an aerospace engineer who pioneered rocket technology in Germany and the U.S., wrote articles to convince the American people of the merits of spaceflight, Bonestell was the artist who illustrated his vision. “Von Braun had the idea that you had to sell the idea of going into space to the American people,” said Darrell Heath, former president of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society and animal lab technician at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “He began writing articles about people going into space, and he even teamed up with Walt Disney to present a three-hour television special. Chesley Bonestell illustrated the artwork for von Braun’s articles. It struck a chord with the American people and helped sell the idea of manned spaceflight to the American public. This documentary explores how his artwork influenced the American people.” Bonestell helped design memorable architectural sites like the Chrysler Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. His artistry provided convincing backgrounds for legendary productions like “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Citizen Kane.” Both events are free and open to the public. In addition to the events, the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium is also a sponsor of the Central Arkansas Library System Summer Reading Club 2019: A Universe of Stories. The Central Arkansas Library System has purchased new telescopes for the CALS Telescope Program with a grant from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium. CALS patrons now have access to 30 telescopes to borrow. The CALS Telescope Program began in 2016 when CAAS helped CALS procure funding for the program from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium and then modified the original collection of 16 telescopes for public use. Since that time, hundreds of CALS patrons have participated in the program, checking out telescopes to take home and attending educational events to learn about the night sky.

Heath shares love of astronomy with central Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 12:58:36 +0000

Last month, many scientists were saddened by the ending of the television program, “The Big Bang Theory,” which popularized physics, astronomy, and other scientific topics that often seemed out of reach to people. Darrell Heath, an animal lab technician at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, can especially relate to the child character of Sheldon, a young misunderstood genius growing up in a small, religious, conservative town in Texas, portrayed in the “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon.” “I can very much relate to young Sheldon, a very smart kid growing up in the South,” Heath said. “I can relate to a lot of the things Sheldon goes through with his family, teachers, and church. I relate to young Sheldon, not as a genius by any means, but as a kid who just doesn’t feel as though he fits in with the rest of the crowd.” Often described as ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s space expert (though Heath calls himself a “devout astronomy enthusiast”), he is the man who sends out emails about the best time to view the International Space Station, planets, meteor showers, eclipses, and other heavenly bodies. Heath, who has a passion for space and astronomy that he loves to share with others, thinks that most people have a natural interest in space. “I think people are inherently interested in the mysterious and unknown, and space represents that,” he said. “The night sky has inspired us over the centuries. It’s inspired religious leaders, artists, poets, scientists, and scholars. Before we knew what stars and planets were, we were looking at the night sky and telling stories about gods and monsters. The stars were our storybooks.” After getting involved in amateur astronomy in 2005 and taking an astronomy course with Dr. Tony Hall at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Heath has served as past president and is the current outreach coordinator of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, which hosts star parties and other educational events on space and astronomy. He is also a volunteer with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Ambassador program, dedicated to conveying to the public information about NASA’s ongoing missions to explore the solar system.

Darrell Heath is a volunteer in the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Solar System Ambassador Program, which works to communicate the science and excitement of NASA’s space exploration missions and discoveries, some of which can be seen here in the NASA Hubble Space Telescope exhibit at the Laman Public Library in North Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain.

“I do outreach programs for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and talk about the latest missions that are happening in the solar system,” Heath said. “This has been a fun experience for me. I travel around the state and do programs in schools and parks. It’s always nice to see the support people have for science, space, and NASA.” In 2015, Cheryl Hellman, director of university television, saw an opportunity to share Heath’s knowledge with a larger audience. “I am always looking for interesting people at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock that we can put on the university television channel,” Hellman said. “Darrell had been putting out announcements about interesting things that were going on in the sky. We talked about doing a monthly television segment. That became ‘The Night Sky.’” Every month, Heath produces a short episode of “The Night Sky” about topics in space and astronomy. Episodes have included the mythology of the constellations, tips for observing meteor showers and eclipses, a buyer’s guide for telescopes, amazing facts about the moon, and meteorites at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. He also writes companion articles posted on the website that include highlights of night sky for the month and a feature story about a phenomenon in space. “‘The Night Sky’ has become one of our most popular shows on the university channel,” Hellman said. “You’ll see some episodes on YouTube that have more than 100,000 views. It’s watched all over the globe, and it’s used in classrooms as part of educational programs. It’s a very popular show. Darrell puts a lot of heart and soul into this program.” Heath said that his newfound popularity as an expert on space has led him to some unusual conversations. “I get emails from all across the world,” he said. “People always want to know if I have seen a UFO, and kids ask me if I have been in space. I have people come up and tell me what a full moon will do to them.” While he’s never seen a UFO, a close encounter at one of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society’s summer star parties led to a memorable experience. “We did a star party at Pinnacle Mountain State Park one June. There must have been 300 or 400 people in the crowd,” he said. “All of a sudden, I began to notice that people were looking in the sky and pointing their cell phones up there. Up in the sky, there was a formation of green lights moving slowly across the sky in uniform. It was kind of creepy at first. Then we turned our telescopes on it, and we realized it was a group of Chinese lanterns that the wind was carrying away in a pattern. At first, it looked like an alien invasion, but it turned out to just be a wedding.” For anyone interested in getting started in astronomy, Heath recommends “The Stars: A New Way to See Them” by H.A. Rey, the inventor of Curious George. “All a person needs to get started stargazing is just their eyes,” Heath said. “We have all looked at the sky with wonderment and curiosity. I think people are inherently curious about the universe I see that every time we do a star party. We have hundreds of people show up, and I’m amazed by how excited they are.”

Weekend University will have participants seeing stars

Janea Snyder — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 13:37:45 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s next Weekend University class on April 6 will teach central Arkansans the basics of stargazing. Darrell Heath, past president of the , will lead the discussion from 1:30-3 p.m. at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown, 333 President Clinton Ave. The cost is $15. Participants will learn how to explore the cosmos from their own backyards and find out what can be seen in the sky with the unaided eye or a simple pair of binoculars. Heath will teach attendees how to identify constellations, observe the moon and planets, and use star maps and planispheres. He will also will discuss why the night sky changes over time, and he will lead viewers through the “celestial zoo” in order to appreciate the diversity of objects that exist in the night sky. , part of the university’s Extended Education program, is led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty and staff. Heath, who works in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s biology department, is the host, writer, and producer for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock television series “The Night Sky” and is a volunteer with the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador program. Registration is available For more information, contact Christine Cotton, director of Extended Education, at cecotton@ualr.edu. Photo: Darrell Heath hosts “The Night Sky” on ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Television.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock offers Weekend University for lifelong learning

Janea Snyder — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 19:41:46 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will begin a new on March 9 that will offer central Arkansans a series of 90-minute micro-classes on topics ranging from Shakespeare to stargazing. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock is committed to offering lifelong learning opportunities in the community, and that’s what we are doing with this initiative,” Chancellor Andrew Rogerson said. “The Weekend University format allows people to come and spend part of their Saturday with some of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s star professors.” Weekend University, part of the university’s Extended Education program, will offer morning and afternoon sessions led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty and staff. The spring schedule includes two sessions on March 9, April 6, and April 20. The cost is $15 per session or $25 for two on the same day. Sessions will be held at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown, 333 President Clinton Ave. Topics will reflect a diversity of faculty and staff expertise and interests. “Weekend University promises to be eclectic and enriching,” said Sarah Beth Estes, interim dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences and associate provost for Community, Careers, and Extended Education. “The inaugural schedule covers such wide-ranging topics as the earth and the stars, the Met and the Bard, wedding dresses and fake news messes. We hope the community will join us downtown to learn something new, to stimulate their curiosity, and to shift their perspective.” Weekend University Spring 2019 Calendar March 9 – “Why Shakespeare?” 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Kris McAbee, associate professor of English March 9 – “What’s Behind the Magic at the Metropolitan Opera?” 1:30-3 p.m., Diane Kesling, instructor of music April 6 – “All the News that’s Fit to Fake,” 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Jan Thomas, professor of philosophy April 6 – “Stargazing Basics for the Beginner,” 1:30-3 p.m., Darrell Heath, past president of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society April 20 – “Natural State Geology You Need to Know,” 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Michael T. DeAngelis, associate professor of geology April 20 – “Memorable Wedding Dresses: From the Silly to the Sublime,” 1:30-3 p.m., Yslan Hicks, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance Fall topics will include the validity of forensic evidence, Middle Eastern archaeology, and how to curate collections. For topic descriptions and costs of Weekend University, visit For more information, contact Christine Cotton, director of Extended Education, at cecotton@ualr.edu.