August 24, 2022

Gaithersburg’s Webb Telescope Weekend Celebration to Include Movie Screening and Skywatching on Friday-Saturday, Aug. 26-27


The achievements of the Webb Telescope will be celebrated with a weekend of events promoted by the Gaithersburg Community Museum on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 26 and 27, with events including an indoor movie screening and an outdoor Skywatching event and discussion.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the most ambitious space observatory ever built through international cooperation. The telescope launched on Dec. 25, 2021, and the first color images were made public on July 12, 2022.

The weekend celebration will include the free indoor screening of the movie Hunt for Planet B at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn, which is located at 311 Kent Square Rd. in Gaithersburg. The movie is considered suitable for ages 6 and older. Free tickets are required. Reserve tickets here.

The Hunt for Planet B captures the human drama behind NASA’s high-stakes Webb Telescope, interweaving the creation of the massive machine with the story of a pioneering group of female scientists on a quest to find life beyond the solar system. What begins as a real-time scientific adventure turns into a meditation on the universe.

The “Space Telescopes, Galaxies & Nebula” free outdoor event will be held from 7-9:30 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 27, at Observatory Park, which is located at 100 DeSellum Ave. in Gaithersburg. The event is considered suitable for ages 6 and older. Free tickets are required. Reserve tickets here.

The skywatching event, in partnership with the Rockville Science Center, will explore the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope for a full evening of astronomy fun. NASA Solar System Ambassador and astronomer Caitlin Ahrens will discuss the cosmic structures that space telescopes have revealed. There also will be be hands-on activities and telescope viewing. This will be a NASA Webb First Look Community Event.

For more information on the event and other upcoming activities, go to Skywatching.

The Gaithersburg Community Museum, which is located in the restored 1884 B&O Railroad Station complex near the intersection of Summit and Diamond avenues in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, is a caretaker of the Latitude Observatory and Observatory Park. Its mission also encompasses a responsibility to honor the scientific past while introducing a new generation of residents to the opportunities that exist in looking into the vastness of the universe. The museum frequently partners with NASA to bring educational programming and Skywatching events to the Gaithersburg community.

Programs of the Gaithersburg Community Museum are funded in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC). To discover more about MSAC grants and how they impact Maryland's arts sector, visit www.msac.org.