UTSA Observatory Hosts Ghostly Astronomy Event Oct. 28

SAN ANTONIO. The University of Texas at San Antonio will host an event on Wednesday, Oct. 28, that mixes Halloween costumes, Día de los Muertos altars, and astronomy education. The gathering, titled Haunted Observatory Night, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Curtis Vaughan Jr. Observatory on the university’s Main Campus.

The event features costumed performers portraying historical figures in the field of astronomy. Participants include Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, and Hypatia, one of the earliest known female astronomers. Visitors can converse with these characters, collect stamps on a scavenger hunt card, and earn candy. Telescopes will be available for public stargazing, provided the weather allows for clear skies.

Dr. Angela Speck, a professor of physics and astronomy at UT San Antonio, developed the concept more than a dozen years ago while working at the University of Missouri. The initial idea emerged from a campus museum tradition that brought mythical Greek characters to life for Halloween. Speck later merged this spooky theme with Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, after she and a student independently proposed creating an ofrenda. This traditional altar honors deceased individuals and will specifically honor astronomers who have died.

This year’s lineup of ghostly scientists includes more women than men and represents a wider range of cultural backgrounds. Speck noted that the group includes an Indian American astronaut and a Filipina. Attendees learn about specific contributions to the field by talking to these characters. “They talk to our ghosts, so they find out what they did, so they learn about different aspects of how we do astronomy,” Speck said.

The event also addresses the history of people with disabilities in science. Annie Jump Cannon and Henrietta Swan Leavitt, both of whom were deaf, contributed to the understanding of stars and the cosmos. Their inclusion in the narrative aims to challenge assumptions about who can pursue careers in science. Speck stated, “Anybody can do astronomy. It doesn't matter what your background is. You can do it.”

The observatory is located on the fourth-floor roof of the Flawn Sciences Building. The event is open to visitors for the duration of the night, with telescope viewing dependent on conditions.