WAS treasurer, librarian, and volunteer Einstein Stephen Uitti will be presenting a talk called "Alien Universe" this Thursday at Macomb County Community College. It should be a blast!
He says:
"This is from the idea that the Universe is often counter-intuitive. From General Relativity to Quantum Mechanics, the Universe is an alien place compared to where we live. If you're not confused when i'm done talking, you weren't paying attention."
Disclaimer: no aliens nor universes were harmed in the making of this presentation.
Read more...
No, Comet Lulin (the APOD of the year) has not left our skies, but it has faded considerably and will start to (apparently) slow down now that it has passed Earth by. Her prime is past already. Luckily, some WAS members have documented her visit nicely!
As documented in this month's WASP, the research team of Phipps, Hall, and Kade first observed Comet Lulin at Stargate on February 21. Their story can be backed up by referring to the sketch Jonathan made that night:
WAS resident macular imager extraordinaire Jerry Kuchera was next out of the gate with this sketch, made the night of Saturn's conjunction with Comet Lulin, February 23:
Jonathan sketched it the following nights as well, when Michigan was clouded over. It was really moving quickly the night of the 24th. Here it is on the 25th, under the vast constellation of Leo.
Dave D'Onofrio, one of the star WAS astrophotographers, captured this beautiful image of Lulin on February 28, combining four individual images.
The trailing stars indicate how fast this comet is moving. He says, "The picture was taken from Dearborn Heights using my 12" LX200 at f6.3 and the ST2000 camera. They consist of 4 one minute shots taken consecutively. The short animation is just the sequence of the shots representing 4 minutes of elapsed time."
Yes, it took a lot of observing time in the cold, cold February climate to document Lulin so well, but since she won't be coming back for more than a millennium if ever, I for one think it was quite worthwhile.
Larry Phipps, our indefatigable and heroic newsletter editor and publications director, has delivered another great issue of the WASP. Resident polymath David Y. Bailey supplies the headline article, on Algol, the Demon Star. Larry and Jonathan supply complementary viewpoints of a quixotic (though ultimately successful!) trip to view Comet Lulin on a cloudy February night. The growing avalanche of International Year of Astronomy events takes on new energy with a slew of new events as well. If you want to be in the loop, read it now.
As part of the International Year of Astronomy, the Hundred Hours runs from April 2-5. On Saturday, April 4, the WAS is participating in three separate events for the public's enjoyment.
During the daytime, 1-5 PM, we will be offering solar observing and a presentation on the Man of Honor for the IYA2009, Galileo Galilei. More details here.
At night, you get your choice of two great events! A group of volunteers from four local clubs will be offering Sidewalk Astronomy at Metro Beach Metropark. More details here.
For our regularly scheduled open house, there will be a special program, with exhibits, presentations, and videos at the educational center next to Stargate. More details here.
Dear WAS members, The March 2009 Cranbrook WAS meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Cranbrook Institute of Science on Monday, March 2nd at 7:30 pm. Bob Berta, our President, will make a presentation of "Bob Berta's Video Astronomy." Knowing Bob, there will be some amazing images on display.
NOTE: This is a change from our published program as presented in the WASP. Ken Bertin's presentation of George Ellery Hale, which was scheduled for March 2nd, has been moved to April 6th the original slot for Bob Berta's presentation. In other words, they switched dates.
Posts
