On Aug. 2, some students and members of the local community got the chance to see stars.

Ohio State’s Astronomy Department hosted a planetarium show in Smith Laboratory followed by the opportunity to use a university telescope to look at the sky.

The event, which was open to the public, attracted about 50 people and began with Himel Ghosh’s lecture.

All graduate teaching assistants are required to do at least one of these shows, Ghosh said.

The show started with a replica of Columbus’ night sky as it would have been Wednesday during sunset. Though the sun would not work, Ghosh, a graduate student in astronomy, continued to rotate the sky to represent different seasons and times while providing the audience with facts. Interesting trivia included the definition for the Greek word planet, which means “wanderer,” and that the logo for the car company, Subaru, is Japanese for the constellation Pleiades.

Most of those in attendance seemed pleased with the lecture.

“This experience went beyond just a lecture. It involved props to demonstrate a point,” said Derek Dade, a senior in industrial and systems engineering.

Youmi Efurd, a Columbus resident, said this was her first time in a planetarium and found the projections to be impressive.

Following the show, many individuals waited in line to visit Smith Laboratory’s rooftop telescope. Hidden in a structure that resembled a silo, Ghosh said the telescope costs about $12,000 to $15,000.

Those who battled the heat had the chance to see two different objects in the night sky. The first was a section of the moon, which was viewed as a ball littered with craters. Next, people got to see Jupiter and some of its moons. From the telescope, all appeared faintly white and in a row.

Ghosh said campus stargazing has been around at least 27 years.

“It’s been a tradition here for longer than anyone can remember,” he said.

Ghosh said the event helps the graduate students such as himself because giving lectures is necessary if one has the intentions of becoming a professor.

“It doesn’t require a lot of effort on (the Astronomy Department’s) part,” Ghosh said. “It’s a way of giving back to the community.”

From a student’s perspective, Dade found the astronomy lesson to be a unique way to spend an evening.

“Personally, I wish events similar to this activity were more thoroughly publicized to students,” Dade said. “It was a different evening that went beyond the commonality of a college student going to a bar.”