Our Place in the Universe

At this year’s Astrophysical Science and Technology exhibit, visitors will explore our place in the universe! Booths will explore our experience within the universe here on Earth, ranging from detecting cosmic events here on Earth to uncovering the structure of the universe at large. Individual booths are dedicated to the following topics: The 2024 Solar Eclipse – This exhibit will show a short documentary about the 2024 solar eclipse, which will have happened on April 8th in Rochester. It will cover topics (in interview format with various students and faculty) surrounding the cultural history of eclipses, events and festivities planned around the eclipse, and footage of the eclipse as viewed from Rochester. Cosmic Rays - High energy particles from space, called cosmic rays, influence our daily lives here on Earth. By studying them, we gain insight into far-away astronomical sources and their processes, like solar flares and exploding stars. Here, we use a cloud chamber as our very own particle detector to see these cosmic rays! Accessible Astronomy - Explore astronomy with your senses! At this exhibit, you can experience the universe in sight, sound, and touch. Focusing on accessibility, you will learn space related signs and about astronomers with disabilities. Gravitational Lensing – Experience an interactive demonstration showing how light bends around massive objects. Attendees will be able to learn about this phenomenon through the demonstration and view images of celestial objects showing the effects of lensing as seen by premier space telescopes like Hubble and JWST. The Cosmic Web – This exhibit will guide ImagineRIT goers through the scale of the universe, with attendees being invited to create their own “cosmic web”, showing off the large-scale structure of the universe using modest decorations typically seen around Halloween. Other exhibits will include yearly staples such as astronomy trivia and a table demonstrating the effects of Einstein's general relativity on the fabric of space!