MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Typically held on the first Friday of the month during the semester, the MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy Friday Star Parties for fall 2022 will feature four events from September until December.

Lecturer Abdorreza “Abdi” SamarBakhsh launches the series, presenting the topic “The Unprecedented Accuracy of Omar Khayyam’s Jalali Calendar” starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, in Wiser-Patten Science Hall Room 102.

To find free parking behind Wiser-Patten, go here.

All Star Parties are free and open to the public and MTSU community. The format is a 30- to 45-minute lecture followed by a telescope viewing by the MTSU Observatory, weather permitting. 

SamarBakhsh said he will “briefly talk about Omar Khayyam’s life and his contributions to astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and poetry. 

“As an astronomer, he calculated the duration of the solar year with remarkable precision and accuracy, and designed the Jalali Calendar, which is a solar calendar with a very precise 33-year intercalation cycle,” SamarBakhsh said. “His calendar is far more exact and precise than the Gregorian calendar. We will learn why his calendar is so special and how it compares to several other calendars.”

The fall Friday Star Party schedule also will include: 

• Oct. 7 — “Meteorite Scars in Tennessee,” led by assistant professorJana Ruth Ford. 

• Nov. 4 — “Cosmology and the Big Bang,” led by professorJohn Wallin. 

• Dec. 2 — Topic to be announced, led by lecturerIrina Perevalova.

For more information about Physics and Astronomy, one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments, call 615-898-2130.