A new permanent exhibit opening Sunday at the University of Louisville planetarium includes meteorites that visitors can touch.
U of L says the exhibit at the Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium includes 90 meteorites among 132 specimens, along with dust from Mars.
It also includes a fragment of a meteor that hit Louisville in 1977, damaging buildings and a car and creating a sonic boom heard as far away as West Point, Kentucky, and Georgetown, Indiana.
Planetarium spokeswoman Paula McGuffey said admission is free and the exhibit will be open to visitors during weekend public shows. An open house will be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Sunday.
“The exhibit itself is so fascinating and gives so much information about the formation of the solar system,” she said.
Items in the exhibit were donated from the private collection of Louisville resident William G. Russell.
