🌱 Patch AM: How a UMD scientist is weighing planets without stars

Hey there, College Park! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• How a UMD scientist is weighing planets without stars

Also on today's calendar: Folded Paper Star workshop and 8 more events.

Today's riddle: I quit my job as a banker. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Friday: Considerable cloudiness, with a high of 40 and low of 26 degrees.
• Saturday: Some sun, then clouds, temps: high: 37, low: 24.
• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high of 42 and low of 23 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Scientists Just Clocked a ‘Rogue' Planet the Size of Saturn (scientificamerican.com) — A University of Maryland, College Park scientist is helping unlock the mysteries of “rogue” planets—worlds that drift through space without a star—by precisely measuring one with the mass of Saturn. Using a clever microlensing technique and data from Earth and the Gaia spacecraft, the team established a method that NASA’s upcoming Roman Space Telescope could use to weigh hundreds more of these lonely planets.
   

📸 Around College Park

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in College Park

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Saturday January 3

• Berwyn Ballet School at The Old Parish House
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , 4711 Knox Road , College Park
  8:45 am
• Folded Paper Star workshop
  Old Parish House , 4711 Knox Rd , College Park
  2:00 pm
• CPAE Workshop
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , 4711 Knox Road , College Park
  2:00 pm

Sunday January 4

• Girl Scout Troop 23031
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , 4601 Calvert Road , College Park
  2:30 pm
• College Park Arts Exchange - Youth Orchestra Rehearsals
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , 4711 Knox Road , College Park
  3:00 pm

Monday January 5

• Berwyn Ballet School
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , 4711 Knox Road , College Park
  5:15 pm
• City Events Advisory Board Virtual Meeting (Recreation Board)
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , Meetings are held Virtually , College Park
  7:00 pm
• Affordable Housing Task Force Meeting
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , Meetings are held Virtually , College Park
  7:00 pm
• Public Safety Meeting
  City of College Park, Maryland Calendar , 7401 Baltimore Avenue , College Park
  7:00 pm

Saturday January 10

• Arts Drop-in
  Lakeland College Park Community Center , 5051 Pierce Ave , College Park
  9:30 am
• First Time Homebuyer Seminar (FREE!)
  Virtual/Online
  10:00 am

📣 College Park Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Friday January 2

• Capital Food Bank Food Distribution for Federal Workers and Contractors
  Mount Rainier, MD Calendar
  11:00 am

Saturday January 3

• Ready 2 Read Storytime: Ages 35
  Hyattsville Branch Library Hyattsville -
  10:30 am

Monday January 5

• Ready 2 Read Storytime: Ages 02
  Hyattsville Branch Library Hyattsville -
  10:30 am
• English Conversation Club
  Mount Rainier Branch Library Mount Rainier -
  11:00 am

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making College Park PatchAM possible:

• Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
  Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!
• Brysis Realty International — (240) 510-5693
  25 years of experience, helping buyers and sellers...
• Greenbelt SITY Stars — (301) 679-5100
  35% Off - Jump Rope Classes
• Dogtopia of Downtown DC — (475) 338-3501
  Dogtopia – Dog Daycare, Boarding, Spa & Wellness

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• A two-alarm apartment fire on Lighthouse Way near Calverton, MD, resulted in numerous people being trapped and assisted by firefighters, with all visible fire knocked down and crews working on hotspots.
  2:07AM on Jan 1: A two-alarm apartment fire was reported at a three-story building on Lighthouse Way near Calverton, MD, with fire visible upon… (Nextdoor )

• Sweetgreen posted a job opening for College Park - Core Team Member in College Park. Apply here.
• Dunkin' posted a job opening for Team Member in College Park. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near College Park here.

🗞 Nearby News

Greenbelt

• Metro's Green Line service returns to normal as Yellow Line extends to Greenbelt (wjla.com)
• Greenbelt police on the lookout for drunk drivers on New Years Eve (dcnewsnow.com)
• Top Stories of 2025 (greenbeltnewsreview.com)

Hyattsville

• The Hyattsville Wire's Most-Read Stories of 2025 (hyattsvillewire.com)

Bowie

Ok College Park! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I just lost interest.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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