Special Events

THE SCALE OF THE UNIVERSE

 A special presentation by 

Jeff Bennett, Ph.D.

The Scale of the Universe discussion will build a conceptual bridge between ordinary human experience and astronomical reality. By breaking down the vastness of the cosmos into distinct physical and temporal frameworks, his discussion expands on several core themes:

The 1-to-10-Billion Scale The “Grapefruit” Analogy: The Sun as a grapefruit, the Earth a small ball bearing

Scaling the Time: The Cosmic Calendar: The life of the universe condensed into one year

The Philosophical “Cosmic Perspective”: The philosophical and scientific viewpoint, popularized by astronomers like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, that encourages humanity to view itself through the lens of the vast, expanding universe

Jeffrey Bennett holds a B.A. in Biophysics from the University of California at San Diego and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He specializes in mathematics and science education, writing for and speaking to audiences ranging from elementary school children to college faculty.

Dr. Bennett is the author of college textbooks in four subjects (astronomy, astrobiology, math, statistics), numerous books for the general public, and seven award-winning science books for children including:  Max Goes to the Moon, Max Goes to Mars, Max Goes to Jupiter and Max Goes to the Space Station! All seven of his books have been selected for the Story Time From Space program, in which astronauts read books aloud from the International Space Station.   Among his other major endeavors, Dr. Bennett served two years as a Visiting Senior Scientist at NASA Headquarters and he proposed the idea for and helped develop both the Colorado Scale Model Solar System (on the University of Colorado campus) and the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Following the talk by Jeff, the observatory will be open for public viewing through our telescopes, weather permitting.