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physics & astronomy

50th Anniversary of UK's Particle Accelerator

Celebrating its 50th anniversary on UK’s campus, the Accelerator Lab is the giant cylinder in front of the Chem/Phys Building. Mysterious to many visitors to campus, and affectionately but incorrectly referred to as the “Atom Smasher” by others, it houses a 7-million-volt small particle accelerator used by the Physics Department for various experiments, such as studying the form and shapes of stable nuclei.

Marcus T. McEllistrem, the man that helped bring the accelerator to campus reflects back on some of its history.

Stargazing at MacAdam Observatory with Tim Knauer

The University of Kentucky's own MacAdam Observatory provides students with the opportunity to use the most powerful telescopic lenses on campus and see the universe. On clear nights, students are welcome to join director Tim Knauer and his graduate assistants as they look out into the stars and observe those celestial bodies.

Here, Tim and assistants Kyle and Aaron join us to talk about running the observatory and their experiences there.

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