Special Public Star Night – Friday, August 21, 2026
Little Thompson Observatory
Doors Open: 7:00 | Guest Speaker 7:30 | Observing at LTO: 7:00-10:00
A UNIVERSE TOUR – From Backyard Constellations to the Farthest Galaxies
A special presentation by
Hunter Pratt
Prepare to break free from Earth’s gravity. We begin with the familiar cosmic patterns of your own backyard night sky, before rushing straight past our neighboring planets. From there, we will cross the vast stellar wilderness of the Milky Way, plunge directly into the deepest stretches of intergalactic space, and explore the most distant, recently discovered galaxies in the known universe.
Hunter Pratt is an accomplished science communicator and undergraduate student in Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the creator and lead organizer of Astronomy on Tap Boulder and works at the Fiske Planetarium, where he presents immersive astronomy programs for diverse public audiences and mentors the next generation of student presenters. Hunter also produces and hosts the popular astronomy podcast ‘Open Orbit’ and actively leads an academic research project focused entirely on optimizing modern science communication. His diverse background includes extensive work as a research assistant across the fields of astrophysics.
Following the talk by Hunter, the observatory will be open for public viewing through our telescopes, weather permitting.
Celebrating 27 Years of serving the public.
