Thursday, March 4, 2010

March 1, 2010 meeting minutes

Chicago Trip
We are hoping to go April 2nd - 4th, which is Easter weekend. The price for lodging is estimated at $70 for the first night and $40 for the second night plus money for food and entertainment. Museum admission is covered. We have 14 people signed up so far and Dr. Fleisch is holding 8 double-occupancy rooms.

Cleveland trip
So far, it's looking like we'll be going to Cleveland the weekend of April 17. More details to follow as we get closer.


Gaby demonstrated the Galaxy Zoo and Solar Stormwatch websites. These websites allow anyone on the internet to contribute to real, fascinating scientific research. Both are free, and no programs need to be downloaded. As Dr. Fleisch pointed out boredom and time on your hands can lead to some fascinating discoveries.
* www.GalaxyZoo.org
* www.SolarStormwatch.com


Murchison Meteorite. This large meteorite was found to contain non-terrestrial organic material, a good piece of evidence toward life on other planets.


The Wow! signal. In 1977, the Big Ear radio telescope picked up a shockingly strong radio signal that lasted 72 seconds. The signal very closely resembled a man-made radio signal, giving scientists reason to believe that this might have been our first evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence!


Saturday, January 30, 2010

Our first meeting of the Spring 2010 semester will take place on Feb.1 at 9:30pm in room 319 BDK!!!

We'll discuss upcoming activities, talk about recent news in Astronomy, hand out t-shirts and learn about the "WoW!" signal.

See you then!

Friday, January 8, 2010

400 Years of the Telescope. The movie.

400 Years of the Telescope is a documentary that came out in light of the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy. The movie portrays the evolution of the telescope - from Galileo's observations to the Hubble telescope and new multi-mirror telescopes projects in progress - and also tells how our perception of the universe and the sky changed over time.
I truly enjoyed watching the DVD. Besides an educational value, this movie shows some of the most remarkable images taken here, on Earth, and remotely.