FREWSBURG – The Martz-Kohl Observatory will host a presentation at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, discussing what can be learned from the light from distant galaxies.

Encoded within that light spectrum are clues to that galaxy’s distance, speed, age, and history, a record stretching back billions of years to the early universe. Sadie Coffin, an RIT astrophysicist and PhD candidate, will present “The Many Colors of Galaxies: You Can Help NASA Decode the Cosmos,” a talk that examines how astronomers use galaxy spectra — the unique patterns of light emitted or absorbed by matter — to measure key properties of galaxies across cosmic time. These spectral signatures allow researchers to determine how fast galaxies are moving, how far away they are, and how they have grown and changed over billions of years.

Coffin’s own research connects that science to the public through Redshift Wrangler, a NASA-funded citizen science project she designed and leads as part of her doctoral dissertation at RIT. The project enlists volunteer classifiers to help analyze galaxy data — contributions that feed directly into professional research on galaxy evolution. Coffin will explain why this kind of public participation matters to science, and how anyone interested can get involved.

Coffin is a fifth-year PhD candidate in astrophysical sciences and technology at RIT, working under Dr. Jeyhan Kartaltepe. She is a recipient of the NASA FINESST award and served as a NASA Citizen Science Leaders Series Fellow.

The program will be presented on the big screen at the Martz-Kohl Observatory and is also available via Zoom for those who wish to attend remotely. An open question and answer session will follow the presentation. Weather permitting, in-person attendees are welcome to stay for guided telescope viewing. Visitors should dress appropriately for the outdoors; the classroom is heated, but the observatory domes are not.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information and the Zoom link, visit martzobservatory.org.

The Martz-Kohl Observatory is operated by the Marshal Martz Memorial Astronomical Association, Inc., a non-profit organization of volunteer amateur astronomers dedicated to observational astronomy, public education, and citizen science. The observatory is located at 176 Robbin Hill Rd, Frewsburg, NY 14738.