TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The University of Toledo astronomy program is getting an out of this world honor this week.
UT has been selected to join a prestigious association with many of the top astronomy programs in the nation.
The university is now the forty-first member of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
It goes by the acronym AURA.
The association's role is to establish and promote public observatories and facilities that advance innovative astronomical research.
UT is now part of that first class field.
The Ritter Planetarium is the focal point of the astronomy program at the school.
AURA says UT qualified for membership because of research efforts that include undergraduate and graduate students experiencing hands-on training.
"We have a research grade one meter telescope here on campus. Not a lot of people can say that. We have a planetarium on campus. So we run the gamut on education all the way up through training our students and research," said Dr. Mike Cushing with the UT Astronomy Department.
The astronomy program also reaches out into the community.
Every Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. the public can come to the planetarium to view the night sky using telescopes to check out constellations and planets.
