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As the long, dark evenings of winter return, they bring with them a unique opportunity: to take in the celestial canopy above. And to better people's understanding of what they see when staring up at the night sky, the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska (CLCA) in Kenai will be hosting a Community Science Night from 6 to 8 p.m. today.

"Now is a great time to be thinking about astronomy and looking up for some star viewing," said Kathy East, curriculum director at CLCA, who along with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum of the North, will be presenting the night of family fun centered on space science.

The recent trend of cloudy weather won't rain on the parade for this free event, as participants will still be able to take in the celestial spheres and movements of planetary bodies via a digital planetarium show.

"It gives some pretty cool graphics," said Marnie Olcott, chief operating officer at CLCA. "It gives some very realistic imagery, and better movement and animation compared to the older projections."

Participants will also be able to take part in the "Colorful Cosmos" astrophotography project. This program will give people online access to robotic telescopes in other areas of the world, to take and colorize their own images of stars and galaxies the same way that professional astronomers do, according to Olcott.

"We'll also have lots of different science activities, such as learning about spectroscopy," Olcott added.

Spectroscopy, according to East, records the spectrum of light emitted by a given object and uses it to determine the chemical composition of the object because of signatures emitted by known elements.

Similar devices, called spectrographs, are frequently incorporated into major telescopes, and are similarly used to identify the composition of stars and other astronomical bodies, based on the light they emit.

"Since we can't go to the sun," East said, "it's how we can tell what it and other stars are made of, and what their temperatures are.

"It's also how they know what the rocks on Mars are made of, since we can't bring any back. There's one of these devices on the Rover."

While spectroscopy will be suitable for most age groups, Olcott said there will also be other games, and make-and-take projects for younger children to take part in.

The science night is free and open to all, East said.

"We thought it would be a great opportunity for families to come in, see our facility, and learn about some of our programs," she said, "but we are also hoping to see other people in the community, who don't have kids, and are just interested in science and astronomy."

For more information, call the CLCA at 283-2000 or visit their Web site at http://www.akchallenger.org/UpcomingEvents/.

Joseph Robertia can be reached at joseph.robertia@peninsulaclarion.com.