FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO
  Arts & Entertainment Editors          
 Science & Technology Editors
 DATE: October 4, 2007
 CONTACT: Heidi Lazare 
 518-438-2826 or                                                            
 hlazare@commservices.net

AN EVENING WITH THE STARS

(Albany, NY) --- Did you ever wish that you could see Halley’s Comet every year?  Well, in a way you can, right here in your own backyard. On October 21^st at about 5:30 am tiny particles left behind by the comet will go shooting across the sky as the Orionid Meteor Shower. Head outside and keep your eyes open for this natural light show.  Then drive over to the Dudley Observatory in Schenectady and tour the observatory; check out the educational programs; hold a real meteor; and learn of their exciting, one-of-a-kind gala “An Evening with the Stars.”

Gazing up at the sky you’ll spot planet Venus looking like the brightest star. Just above Venus is Saturn, and below close to the horizon is Jupiter. It is in this proximity that every 10 minutes you may see a meteor streak. Bill Cooke of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center shares "every year around this time earth glides through a cloud of dusty debris from Halley's Comet. Bits of dust, most no larger than grains of sand, disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere and become shooting stars."

The meteor showers can’t eclipse the announcement of Dudley Observatory’s 150^th anniversary “An Evening with the Stars” gala. Dudley Observatory will host an “Evening with the Stars” on Friday, November 16 from 5:30 to 8 pm at the Albany Institute of History & Art (AIHA). “An Evening with the Stars” shines with distinguished Honorary chairs Dava Sobel, author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter and The Planets, Assemblymember Jack McEneny, and R.P.I’s President Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. They will be joined by guests from the scientific, high tech and arts communities who will celebrate the unique contributions Dudley has made to our region and our planet.   

The gala offers a galaxy of food and drink, music, a silent auction, telescope observing as well as history and artifact displays dating back to the mid-19^th century. Guests will have the opportunity to browse the museum—home to the original 1858 painting by Tompkins Matteson of the Dudley Observatory inauguration, depicting celebrated politicians and businessmen of the day alongside America’s scientific and academic elite.

Directly following “An Evening with the Stars,” guests are invited to participate in a contemporary re-creation of the painting staged by artists Michael Oatman and Joe Putrock. This modern day depiction will capture, on film, present-day political and business leaders, scientists, supporters, and astronomy enthusiasts, and will be placed in the collection of the Albany Institute of History & Art. The tableau photograph will be staged in Chancellor’s Hall at the State Education Building, located one block away.

Dudley Observatory is respected nationally and internationally in the field of astronomy, both for its library that contains one of the world’s finest collections of historically significant astronomical texts, including early editions of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton and for its commitment to cultivating future scientists.

The observatory was founded through the generosity of those who saw our Capital Region as an economic and intellectual center—the Tech Valley of its day.  Today, the Dudley Observatory changes the way young people think about science—and Astronomy in particular—through educational outreach that supports and encourages young astronomers. Dudley offers a unique blend of astronomy and history in programs that integrate our Hudson Valley heritage with a Tech Valley future. The funds raised from “An Evening with the Stars” will support these programs.

General admission is $60 per ticket or $100 per couple, Honorary Committee tickets are $125 per person and $225 per couple, and may be purchased on-line at www.dudleyobservatory.org or by contacting the: Dudley Observatory, 107 Nott Terrace, Suite 201, Schenectady, NY 12308, 518/382-7583.