Emerson Suites takes on many forms over the course of a year?s worth of lectures, shows and events, but rarely is it transformed into an oversized bustling coffee house dedicated to the study of the skies.

On the evening of Sept. 23, the Emerson Suites will play host to the second Physics Caf?. The first was held last February and featured Dr. Jim Bell who discussed the Mars Exploration Rover Mission.

For next week?s event, the physics department brings to campus world-renowned astrophysicist Dr. Jay Pasachoff, a professor at Williams College. Pasachoff has written several books, including his most recent, ?The Complete Idiot?s Guide to the Sun.? He has spoken all over the world to scientists and laypeople alike.

Pasachoff works extensively with data provided by the Hubble Space Telescope and has recently begun research on the atmosphere of Pluto.

In his lecture titled ?Black Holes: Small, Medium, and Huge? he will discuss the basics of black holes.

?Everybody seems to be interested in black holes,? Pasachoff said. ?A few years ago we thought they were rare and very odd, but now we know they are common and very important.? Apart from the massive, star-gobbling variety, black holes can come ?as tiny as a pinhead and weigh as much as Ithaca,? he said.

Pasachoff is the president of the International Astronomical Union?s Commission of Education, a group he said is devoted to teaching others.

?I have long been interested in spreading astronomy to various colleges,? Pasachoff said.

And the Physics Caf? is designed to do just that.

Beth Ellen Clark Joseph, assistant professor of physics, said the purpose of the Physics Caf? is to make science more accessible to students who wouldn?t normally be involved in the sciences. She is responsible for organizing the lecture series.

Joseph received funding for Pasachoff?s presentation through the American Astronomical Society on a one-time basis, but she said she is hoping to receive more permanent funding from other sources so the series can continue. Joseph said she also hopes to cover topics including quarks, the seismic signals of elephants and archaeological physics in the lecture series. By bringing in speakers with interesting subjects, Joseph said she hopes to give some of those ?vague ?science-y? notions some substance.?

?We?re trying to reach students who don?t normally come through the department,? she said.

And in order to grab the attention of those very students, Joseph has come up with a foolproof lure ? free coffee. To simulate the coffeehouse feel, students will sit in clusters of couches, eating cookies and biscuits and drinking Starbucks coffee out of what Joseph calls ?real, clinky china cups.? She said her goal is to make the room feel as authentic as possible by providing ?everything but the smoke.?

Joseph said there are many benefits to the caf? format. Not only will the coffee keep the students awake, but she is also hoping that the informal environment will make the students comfortable enough to talk with the speaker following his presentation.

But the Physics Caf? is not the only way that Joseph is trying to foster an interest in physics around campus.

The Clinton B. Ford Observatory, located on the hill behind the Terraces, usually does not get much use outside of classes and research.

But, as part of the effort to engage ?non-science types? Joseph has organized several open houses at the observatory.

The most recent of these allowed visitors to view Mars through the high-power telescope when the red planet was its closest to the earth. In the past, Joseph said people have come up to see Saturn?s rings, passing comets and other cosmic sights. Several years ago, for example, the observatory held an open house to let people see the effects of a comet that had crashed into Jupiter.

Senior Philip Slingerland is one student who gets a chance to use the observatory on a regular basis.

?I do a lot of research,? said Slingerland. ?We track the positions of asteroids.?

The research he does at the observatory is part of his major in physics.

?You really have to know you want to be a physics major in order to be a physics major,? he said, ?It is one of the most difficult majors.?

And that?s where events like the Physics Caf? come in. They let students discover physics without having to commit to four years of physics classes.

?More than anything,? Joseph said, ?we want to show that physics is fun.?