On September 29, 2023, under the glow of a full moon and with stunning views of Saturn and Jupiter, the Center of Excellence in Sustainability and the Deree Astronomy Club co-organized the 1st Astronomy Night at Deree – The American College of Greece. The Hellenic Amateur Astronomy Union supported the event.
In a packed auditorium, Professor Manolis Plionis, Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Director and President of the BoD of the National Observatory of Athens and member of the External Advisory Board of the Center of Excellence in Sustainability-ACG, gave an inspiring lecture on “Modern Cosmology in the era of the James Webb Space Telescope,” which was received enthusiastically by the audience.
Following the guest lecture, the Hellenic Amateur Astronomy Union treated attendees to two impressive astrophotography presentations. The indoor portion of the evening was brought to a conclusion with a piano performance by the talented pianist and ACG alumnus Nick Venner, who amazed the audience with compositions by Jean–Philippe Rameau, Frederick Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninov.
The night ended with a night sky observation with telescopes kindly provided by the Hellenic Amateur Astronomy Union. The event was made possible with the support of the Deree Astronomy Club’s student volunteers and was attended by over 120 enthusiastic stargazers and astronomy enthusiasts.
