With rare passion, Professor of Physics and Planetarium Director Ken Murphy excites students with his astronomy courses. He also attracts crowds with his shows in the school planetarium and spreads the word of upcoming astronomical events, including a very special solar eclipse event due in August.

Since childhood, Murphy has loved astronomy and sharing his knowledge with others.

“I feel that everyone has a natural interest in astronomy and simply need an exposure to it that wakes them up to the expanse of the universe we live in,” Murphy said.

Murphy, who also teaches physics courses on campus, cites a few other reasons why astronomy is such an interesting topic.

“It helps that astronomy doesn’t require much math. We focus more on the great ideas of physics and astronomy in more of a descriptive fashion,” Murphy said. “My course starts 20 miles up where the atmosphere is thinning out and outer space begins and we cover all the territory beyond out to 13.7 billion light years.”

The school planetarium is another of Murphy’s passions. Constructed during the international space race, the planetarium was an original installment to the school. Murphy took over the planetarium in 1999 when former professors Alvin Rusk and Roger Reede retired.

“[They] had been using it for college classes, K-12 outreach, and public shows throughout the years,” Murphy said. “I feel honored to have been able to pick up where they left off and to further equip the facility with new technologies.”

The planetarium was last upgraded in 2009 when it received digital projection technologies.

The planetarium is a useful tool to educate the public about astronomical events and phenomena with a broad range of programs and even laser shows.

Upcoming shows will focus on preparations for a solar eclipse scheduled for Aug. 21, 2017. One of the focuses of this series will be on how to view the solar eclipse safely. Special solar eclipse viewing glasses will be available for purchase at planetarium shows.