Rainwater E-News 3/2/08
“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 normal baryonic matter (stuff) the universe is made of. If you have heard about these strange theories and would like to learn more, please plan to come and bring your friends. Some information on a new experiment to detect “dark energy” is at http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6671 Each presentation will have a different and engaging speaker. See below for the other programs in this series. The programs are free and open to the public. Observing will follow, weather permitting. Registration and info at http://www.rainwaterobservatory.org/programs/backyard.html These events are underwritten by the Mississippi NASA Space Grant Consortium. Rainwater Observatory is located 1 mile east of the Natchez Trace at French Camp.
COMING PROGRAMS (Contact us to arrange a program at Rainwater or in your community.)
March 14: Selenography, Tim Rich
Tonight’s talk will feature the geography of our Moon and the kinds of features you can see in a small telescope. A first quarter Moon will be in the sky to observe the features we’ve heard about in the talk.
March 21: Constellations of the March Sky, David Teske
The winter constellations, Orion and his hunting dogs are still in the western sky and the spring galaxy filled groups like Leo and Ursa Major are high overhead. Learn to find them and about their lore.
March 28: Saturn: The Lord of the Rings, Gary Lazich
The solar system’s seventh planet has revealed new aspects to the Cassini spacecraft that has been orbiting it for the past four years. Observe the rings as they become almost edge on to our view
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 Sangre telescope is scheduled to leave Santa Barbara on March 14. Less than two weeks to go! March 24 is set for lifting the scope into the dome and beginning the set up. Some folks are arriving for the Star Gaze as early as March 29. There is a lot of prep work to do for the Mid-South so if you are free during the school spring holidays March 8-16 and would like to help get the 20” and 32” telescopes reinstalled, please contact me.
We are preparing to activate the non-profit status of the Rainwater Astronomical Association. This has been in an inactive mode for the past 9 years since we got our charter and EIN. If you have experience in this and could help with advice and the forms, please let me know. We’d like to get all the state process finished before June and begin the process of getting IRS tax exempt status well under way during the summer.
Before and during the Mid-South we plan to get visiting staff of the Las Cumbres observatory together with potential local partners with begin to begin organizing a consortium of telescope users and area support entities.
ASTRO NEWS: If you have info or links you’d like to share, let us know.
A new issue of Astronomy in the Classroom has some marvelous information on light pollution and activities to understand and mitigate this problem. http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/74/74.html
Reality strikes on Mars Gullies: A year or so ago images of new gullies on Mars slopes raised hopes of recent flowing water on the red planet. Sorry about that. A new study implies that the flow isn’t water. http://www.universetoday.com/2008/03/01/mars-gullies-produced-by-dry-granular-debris-and-not-by-recent-water-flow/
A new mechanism is put forward to explain how stars much more massive than the Sun can form.
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/02/29/massive-stars-need-their-smaller-siblings-to-grow/
If you have broad band internet there is a neat simulation showing the process.
New radar maps of the Moon’s polar regions have the best resolution ever seen. A movie showing the Moon’s wobbling can be downloaded http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/29feb_radarmoon.htm?list899987 A
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