Sara Olivera, Education and Public Outreach Division employee at the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, will speak Nov. 16 at the Martz-Kohl Observatory in Frewsburg. Submitted photo

The Martz-Kohl Observatory, 176 Robbin Hill Road, Frewsburg, will host a virtual tour of the Green Bank Telescope on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m.

Sarah Olivera from the Green Bank Observatory located in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia will provide an introduction into the history of the observatory, the National Radio Quiet Zone and relate the need for the Green Bank Telescope, a large single dish radio telescope. Learn about the design of the Green Bank Telescope, how it moves, how it collects data, and what makes it one of the world’s premier radio telescopes. Olivera said, “The telescope itself serves as a testament to humans’ natural and endearing curiosity; to put in so much time, effort, and teamwork, to create something to study the universe that we inhabit is truly remarkable and should be celebrated and shared.”

Olivera is a graduate of the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and a bachelor’s degree in physics. She now works at the Green Bank Observatory in the Education and Public Outreach Division. As an undergraduate student she helped to create animations of pulsating white dwarfs from K2 data, as well as developing educational material for the Painter Hall Observatory.

The lecture will be shown on the big screen at the observatory and available online via Zoom. Later, if the weather cooperates, there will be tours and viewing opportunities through the big telescopes at the Martz Observatory.