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Second Annual Planet Walk Announced

 The Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails second annual Planet Walk has been scheduled for Saturday, April 17, 2010.  The full day of events is presented in partnership with the Anne Arundel Community College Astronomy Club and the Astrophysics Science Division of the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

This free daytime event will occur on the B&A Trail between Aquahart Road in Glen Burnie and Earleigh Heights Road in Severna Park. Along this 4.7 mile segment of the Trail, the Friends are developing a Planet Walk, with large sculptures representing the Sun and nine planets, each located its proportional distance from the Sun.  The Sun sculpture is located behind the Harundale Shopping Center, just south of Aquahart Road.  The outermost planet, represented by the Pluto sculpture, is located just north of Earleigh Heights Road, adjacent to the B&A Trail Ranger Station.

From 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m on Saturday, April 17, planetary scientists from the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, area universities and astronomy clubs will be present at each of the planet stations along this segment of the B&A Trail to discuss the planets and answer questions about the unique attributes of each.  Free parking is available at both ends of the Planet Walk, behind the Harundale Shopping Center accessed from Aquahart Road and adjacent to the Ranger Station off Earleigh Heights Road.  The Planet Walk may also be accessed behind Marley Station Mall, opposite JC Penney.  Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes or plan to travel between the Planet Stations by bicycle!  In the event of heavy rain, the event will be cancelled.

During Saturday’s evening hours, The Anne Arundel Community College Astronomy Club will sponsor additional free events at AACC’s campus in Arnold.  At 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., multimedia presentations will be held in Room 112 of the College’s Humanities Center.  Between the presentations, drawings will be held for complimentary subscriptions to astronomy-related periodicals. 

6:00  “The Formation of Extrasolar Planets”  Hannah Jang-Cordell,  University of Maryland/College Park and NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

7:00  “Hiding in Plain Sight:  The Largest Planetary Ring in the Solar System”  Doug Hamilton, University of Maryland/College Park

Following the two presentations, from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., there will be a free Public Star-Gazing Party at the AACC College Observatory on the Arnold Campus.  The Observatory is located on the outer edge of Parking Lot B.  Participants will be able to utilize multiple telescopes at the Observatory, or they may also bring their own.  The Star-Gazing Party will be cancelled in the event of overcast sky conditions. 

Questions about the events of the day may be directed to Anne Arundel County Trails at 410-222-8820.