People of all ages gathered on Friday at the College of Basic and Applied Science’s third star party of the year to ask questions and explore the observable universe.

The college hosted an open lecture and observatory event where members of the public, students and children learned about astronomy. Eric Monson, a physics and astronomy professor at MTSU, led a lecture titled “Everything Everywhere.” He walked the audience through the universe’s timeline, from the Big Bang to the present.

Afterward, guests moved to the viewing-portion of the party outside, where the classical observatory and a smaller telescope showed live images of planets and nebulae.

Monson emphasized that scientists have not figured everything out. He pointed to the “Hubble Tension,” a disagreement between two ways of measuring how fast the universe expands. One method examines nearby galaxies, while another studies the early universe, and the results do not match. He also discussed findings from the James Webb Space Telescope, which continues to reveal galaxies older than expected, forcing scientists to rethink existing theories.

“Our understanding … is still being shaped by new discoveries,” Monsoon said. “So the question of astronomy is ‘How did we get here and where are we going?’ Answering these fundamental questions helps us understand that.”

Mari Shields, an MTSU physics major concentrating in astronomy, said he valued Monson’s clear explanation of complex ideas and stressed the importance of events like the star party.

“Communicating science accurately is going to save the world,” Shields said. “You need to be able to understand the science, but you also need to be able to communicate it to anybody, so we don’t end up in pseudoscience.” 

Some attendees returned for another star party, including future MTSU student Louis Degennaro, who found the lecture engaging and easy to follow.

“I thought the way the lecture presented the information was interesting,” Degennaro said. “I like the graphics, and the way he explained it was easily understood by most people, I’d say.” 

The event drew more than students and prospective scholars. Jake Burkahalter, 62, attended with his wife and stepson Louis.

“I’ve always been fascinated with astronomy and looking up at the stars and planets and learning more about it,” Burkahalter said.  “We’ve been here two other times and had a good time. I love looking through the telescopes and seeing.”

Burkahalter said the event follows a familiar format each time, though he notices small differences with each visit. He said both the lecture and the telescope viewing stood out to him.

“The presentation was fun and interesting,” Burkahalter said. “And, the view that I saw of Saturn with four of its moons was awesome.”