The presentation is part of PARI’s monthly Evening at PARI series and will be conducted by PARI Education Director Christi Whitworth. “The Sun has generated a great deal of interest lately, with a solar eclipse in May and the Transit of Venus in June,” said Whitworth. “The Sun holds the keys to energy and life on Earth and scientists today are engaged in efforts to learn as much as possible about this intriguing star. During our Evening at PARI we will look at what is being learned about the Sun’s features and structure, how they can be measured and what exciting events occur at solar maximum in the solar cycle.”

The Evening at PARI program will begin at 7 p.m. with the presentation, followed by an observing session and optional campus tour. Each participant will also have the opportunity to have a photo taken with a PARI telescope and will receive a subscription to the PARI newsletter and a 10 percent discount on PARI merchandise. Reservations are required and will be accepted until 3 p.m. the day of the event.

Evening at PARI programs cost $20 per adult, $15 for seniors/military and $10 for children under 14. Register and pay online at www.pari.edu or call (828) 862-5554.

For additional information contact PARI Science Educator Christi Whitworth at cwhitworth@pari.edu. Program details and directions to the site can be found at the PARI web site, www.pari.edu.

About PARI The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute is a public not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) foundation established in 1998. Located in the Pisgah Forest 30 miles southwest of Asheville, NC, the PARI campus is a dark sky location for astronomy and was selected in 1962 by NASA as the site for one of the first U.S. satellite tracking facilities. Today, the 200 acre campus houses radio and optical telescopes, earth science instruments, 30 buildings, a fulltime staff and all the infrastructure necessary to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and research. PARI offers educational programs at all levels, from K-12 through post-graduate research. The Astronomical Photographic Data Archive housed on the PARI campus is the North American repository for historic astronomical images. A member of the NC Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative, PARI’s Exhibit Gallery displays a collection of rare meteorites and has been designated by NASA to receive Space Shuttle artifacts, many of which have flown in space. PARI is a partner in NC OPT-ED and is affiliated with the 16-campus University of North Carolina system through PARSEC, a UNC Center hosted at PARI.

For more information about PARI and its programs, visit www.pari.edu. Follow PARI on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Astronomy_PARI. “Like” PARI on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Pisgah.Astronomical.Research.InstituteRead the full article