Rainwater E-News 2/14/08
FEBRUARY 20 TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
Next Wednesday night the Moon will glide into the Earth’s shadow and it will be the last time North America will see such a event until December 2010. Weather permitting we will have the observatory open after supper for anyone who wants to see it here. You won’t need a telescope to appreciate it however. The penumbral eclipse begins at 6:35pm CST in the eastern sky, but you won’t notice much at first. The beginning of the partial phase will be much more noticeable at 7:43. The Moon will finally enter the Earth’s umbral shadow and totality begins at 9:01. Mid-eclipse is at 9:26pm and totality ends at 9:52. From 9:52 until 11:09 the Moon moves out of the dark part of the shadow and the eclipse is over at 12:16. A couple of web sites for more information are http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/13feb_lunareclipse.htm?list899987 and http://www.universetoday.com/2008/02/12/get-ready-for-the-february-2008-total-lunar-eclipse/ or http://www.space.com/searchforlife/08021
4-seti-chasing-shadows.html
Finally, here is a bit of history that you may not have heard about Columbus and lunar eclipses. http://www.space.com/spacewatch/080208-ns-lunar-eclipse-columbus.html
COMING PROGRAMS (Contact us to arrange a program at Rainwater or in your community.)
February 16: Girl Scouts at Rainwater
February 18: Greenlee Elementary at Rainwater
February 20: Full Moon and Total lunar eclipse.
February 23-24: Oxford Boy Scouts
“Spring Backyard Astronomy” 7pm Friday evenings in March, 2008. The first program will be Friday March 7 at 7pm. “Dark Matter-Dark Dark Energy: the Dark Side of the Universe”. We’ll see that astronomers are ignorant of 96% of the “stuff” the universe is made of. Observing will follow, weather permitting. Registration and info at http://www.rainwaterobservatory.org/programs/backyard.html
Mid-South Star Gaze will be April 2-5, 2008. The registration form is up on the web site. Details and speakers will be added. http://www.rainwaterobservatory.org/stargaze/regform.html
Astronomy for Teachers: June 8-13 at Rainwater. 3 semester hours credit. www.outreach.olemiss.edu/teachers 662-915-7621 for info
Johannes Kepler’s Astronomy workshop at Rainwater: June 15-20, 4 CEU units. www.johanneskepler.org
NEWS FROM THE HILL
The latest word on the Sangre Telescope is that John Martinez will arrive to prep the pier and scope that will have arrived the day before. The rest of the crew from Las Cumbres will come on Sunday March 23 and the crane will lift the scope into the dome on March 24. The last week of March will be spent fine tuning mechanical parts and installing the computer controls and software. The telescope is planned to be ready to operate in time for the beginning of the Mid-South Star Gaze the first week of April.
ASTRO NEWS: If you have info or links you’d like to share, let us know.
Where do the presidential candidates stand on science? Find out at the Bad Astronomer blog. http://www.badastronomy.com:80/bablog/2008/02/03/what-do-the-presidential-candidates-think-about-science/
A new record distance for a galaxy may have been set. This galaxy seems to have formed within a billion years of the origin of the universe. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080212-farthest-galaxy.html
Scientists have found about 200 planets around other stars, but they also look at disks where planets could be currently forming. http://www.universetoday.com:80/2008/02/11/lightweight-disk-could-harbour-planets/
Modern biology has blurred the definition of life. The new field of astrobiology is hoping to find more about what makes something “alive” in Antarctica. http://www.universetoday.com:80/2008/02/08/extremophile-hunt-begins-in-antarctica-implications-for-exobiologists/ Get another take on the expedition at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07feb_cloroxlake.htm?list899987
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