 |
Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. |  Member Astronomical League |
 Member International Dark-Sky Association |
| Monthly Meetings 2004 |
|||
| 29°39' N, 82°21' W Altitude: 50 Meters (more or less) |
Updated Nov. 16, 2004 | ||
| (Click logo for home page) | Founded: September 1987 |
| Club Address |
Club Info |
Club Meetings |
Star Parties |
Special Events |
Club News |
Astro News |
What's Up |
UF Ast Dept |
Astro Links |
| Meeting Schedule | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
Location
POWELL HALL EXHIBITION CENTER
of the Florida Museum of Natural History
Located near S.W. 34 Street &
Hull Road intersection
(Western edge of UF campus
in UF's Cultural Plaza)
Gainesville, Florida USA
[Directions and Map]
NOTE: Powell Hall is located in the UF cultural complex that includes the Phillips Center for Performing Arts (CPA) and the Harn Museum of Art. Also across the street is the SW Recreational Center. Unless the CPA is holding a performance on the evenings when the AAC meets at Powell Hall, parking should not normally be a problem.
However, if an event is also happening at the CPA, people attending AAC events at Powell Hall should plan accordingly (arrive early! ).
Check the UF Calendar of Events to see when performances are scheduled at the CPA.)
At the present time there are no known conflicts with AAC meetings and the CPA during the first half of 2004. (The CPA 2004/2005 schedule will not be published until spring 2004.)
- All monthly meetings are free and open to the public (but why not become a member!)
- Check detailed schedule for any changes in time or location
- The AAC Executive Council also meets the first Tuesday of the month
Speaker Schedule
(Click on date to see details)
Date (2004) Guest Speaker Title or Topic January 13 Mr. Matthew Terry Stalking the Fires of Creation: Gould's Belt & the Astrophysics of Our Part of the Milky Way February 10 Dr. Howard L. Cohen Crossing the Sun: Transits of Venus— One of Nature's Rarest Curiosities March 9 Dr. Ata Sarajedini The Eating Habits of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies April 13 Dr. Remi Trujillo From Galileo's Telescope to the Hubble Telescope May 11 Dr. Fred Hamann Twinkle, Twinkle, Huge Explosion: The Story of Gamma-Ray Bursts June 8 Dr. Ali Nayeri Universe with Extra Dimensions? July 13 Mr. Tandy W. Carter Will There Be Astronomy Tonight? August 10 Women of AAC Women in Astronomy September 14 Dr. Vicki L. Sarajedini The Universe Through the Eyes of Hubble October 12 Mr. Matthew Terry CSI in the Sky: The Case for the Stone Age Mega Comet November 9 Dr. Charles M. Telesco In Search of Distant Worlds December 11 None (Holiday Party) Help Celebrate Our 17th Anniversary
Details of 2004 MeetingsTuesday, January 13, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EST
Speaker: Matthew Terry (Amateur Astronomer from the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club)
E-Mail: matthew.terry6 at verizon.net
Title: Stalking the Fires of Creation: Gould's Belt and the Astrophysics of Our Part of the Milky Way
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Mr. Terry's presentation will explain how the Sun lies within a structure at the inner edge of the Orion arm of our galaxy known as Gould's Belt. It is apparently the remains of a once gigantic molecular cloud which underwent a recent starburst episode, and its visible remnants form a great zone, or belt, of stars encircling the sky. Although noted by Ptolemy and Sir John Herschel, who correctly intuited its structure, today this great expanse of stars and star formation is named for the important 19th century American astronomer Benjamin Gould, who drew professional attention to it in the 1870's. The implications of the Solar System's recent passage into the region of the Belt range from the intellectual: providing a nearby stage upon which to observe the astrophysics of starburst regions of galaxies, to the existential: the potential for disruption of the Oort cloud significantly increases the dangers of a new mass extinction event: ours!!
About the Speaker: Mr. Terry has been an active amateur astronomer since seeing the Moon rise in eclipse and Comet Hyukatake. He is a charter member of the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club's Mirror Lab with long-time interests in the history of science in general and in cosmology, astronomy, anthropology, and military history in particular. See his home page.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EST
Speaker: Dr. Howard L. Cohen, Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: cohen@astro.ufl.edu
Title: Crossing the Sun: Transits of Venus — One of Nature's Rarest Curiosities
Note: This presentation is essentially a repeat of the talk Dr. Cohen gave at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the evening of the 2003 May 15 total lunar eclipse. Few AAC members were able to see this presentation. (They were too busy that night helping out with club and Museum activities!) Since Dr. Cohen's talk was extremely well received by the public, the AAC asked him to repeat this presentation for the club in 2004.
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: In 2004, on the eighth day in the month of June, the planet Venus will cross or "transit" the Sun's face, one of the rarest of all planetary alignments—only 81, in fact, occur in the 6,000 year period from -2000 to +4000. Just six transits of Venus have occurred since the invention of the telescope and only four have ever been observed by humans. More than one hundred twenty years have passed since the last&$151;none took place in the last century but two fall in the beginning years of the 21st century! Then over one hundred years will again pass before this remarkable event happens once more.
This multimedia program tells the odysseys of astronomers and explorers who journeyed to distant lands in quest of an event that few humans have ever witnessed. Learn why transits of Venus became a major scientific goal of the last four hundred years and what resulted—a quest that became the "holy grail" of astronomy.
And find out what opportunities exist in your lifetime to observe a sight so rare that no one who is now alive has ever seen this event!
(This program is suitable for a general audience. No knowledge of astronomy is necessary!)
About the Speaker: Dr. Cohen was an Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Florida for the past thirty-five years. He helped found the AAC in 1987, was the AAC's neweletter editor for several years, and has served as vice president. He is an accomplished public speaker who has frequently given talks for the Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. and other organizations. His "down-to-earth" presentations use lively computer displays, which he has perfected through years of teaching at the University. Dr. Cohen now has emeritus status at UF and currently serves on the AAC Excutive Board.
As a teacher Professor Cohen has taught more than 15,000 students basic astronomy and science. He has also helped pioneer the use of multimedia for teaching astronomy at the University of Florida. During the 1960's he was a visiting astronomer at Lowell Observatory doing photometric work on the Sun and binary stars. He was also active in their public outreach programs. A favorite activity was introducing visitors to Lowell's unique history and facilities.
Research interests have spanned a variety of projects including eclipsing binaries and star clusters, lunar and asteroid occultations, eclipses and calendars. During the 1980s Dr. Cohen was first to test a prototype of a new Air Force ground-based electro-optical deep-space surveillance system (GEODSS) for the detection of asteroids and comets.
During the late 1980s Dr. Cohen was also a technical consultant, speaker and regional sales manager for Meade Instruments, Inc., a leading manufacturer of astronomical telescopes for the serious amateur. He also arranged and presented dozens of Meade telescope training workshops for store personnel
More recently, he helped the AAC conceptualize a series of large, sky murals for the lobby of a local movie theater owned by Eastern Federal Corp. In addition, he helped design an astronomical theme for a Tampa, Florida transportation plaza. In 1998, Dr. Cohen became a consultant to the Gainesville Art in Public Places Trust to help a Florida artist and the AAC design, build and erect a scale model of the solar system along a one-mile stretch of road in Gainesville.
Dr. Cohen has traveled to seven total and annual solar eclipses and helped organize and lead a successful Caribbean eclipse cruise tour in 1998, an exciting African Eclipse Sun Safari in 2001, and a sensational Australian Eclipse Tour in 2002.
Dr. Cohen is currently planning several other tours with Continental Capers Travel & Cruises including a trip to Greece and Turkey to view the 2004 transit of Venus. (His February talk to the AAC concerns this unusual event!)
Tuesday, March 9, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EST
Speaker: Dr. Ata Sarajedini, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: ata@astro.ufl.edu
Title: The Eating Habits of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Professor Sarajedini will explain that our galaxy, the Milky Way, and our closest large neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31=NGC 224), are both in the process of distorting and devouring smaller dwarf galaxies that are in orbit around them. They have been engaged in this galactic digestion for the past 10 or so billion years – slowly assimilating satellite galaxies that venture too close to their central cores. Through a process such as this, smaller galaxies are combined to form more massive ones like the Milky Way and Andromeda. This talk will review some of the scientific evidence that supports this picture of galaxy formation and evolution and is suitable for a general audience.
About the Speaker: Professor Sarajedini received his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale in 1992, and did postdoctoral research at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory as well as at the University of California in Santa Cruz. He was on the faculty of Wesleyan University until joining the astronomy faculty at the University of Florida in 2001 along with his wife, Dr. Vicki L. Sarajedini, who is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Astronomy. Dr. Sarajedimi research interests include stellar populations, galaxy formation, chemical enrichment in galaxies, and blue straggler stars.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Remigio ("Remi") Trujillo, Post Doctoral Associate, Department of Physics, University of Florida
E-Mail: trujillo@qtp.ufl.edu
Title: From Galileo's Telescope to the Hubble Telescope
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: An historical survey of several important telescopes is presented. Their contributions and importance, as well as the technological achievements of their times is also discussed. Why different kinds of telescopes, sizes and designs? All this is discussed and answered. The talk concludes with a slide show of the best astronomical pictures taken with the best telescopes (including some amateur telescopes!)
About the Speaker: Dr. Trujillo is an AAC member and a past program chair and secretary of the club. He is also the founding member and organizer of AAC's Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) group. (This workshop is a hands-on event that helps amateur astronomers develop astronomy-related items and accessories.) Dr. Trujillo wanted to be an astronomer but was sidetracked and, instead, became an atomic and molecular physicist (see below). Astronomy and telescope making is an avocation that he pursues during his free time. Dr. Trujillo is also the 2003 recipient of the AAC's annual service award.
Dr. Trujillo is a member of the Physics Department's Quantum Theory Project at the University of Florida. His research deals with the problem of energy deposition of charged particles as they pass through material media. Details about his research can be found here (pdf file). Dr. Trujillo last spoke to the AAC in April 2003 about the Amateur Astronomer.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Fred Hamann, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: hamann@astro.ufl.edu
Title: Twinkle, Twinkle, Huge Explosion: The Story of Gamma-Ray Bursts
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Gamma-ray bursts were discovered in the 1960s by US spy satellites looking for Soviet nuclear weapons tests. After some years, the defense department finally told astronomers about the celestial sources, which led to intensive studies that included several dedicated NASA satellite missions. Today, scientists think they know what gamma-ray bursts are, and they have come to realize that these bursts can help us understand the formation of stars and galaxies out to the farthest reaches of the observable universe. In August 2004, NASA is expected to launch another dedicated satellite mission, which will be coordinated with a network of earth-bound telescopes around the globe, to study these amazing objects.
About the Speaker: Dr. Hamann received his Ph.D. at the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook in 1987. He had appointments as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena and the Ohio State University. Subsequently, he was a research scientist working with a Hubble Space Telescope instrument team at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Hamann joined the faculty at UF in 1999. Fields of research include quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGN), pre- and post-main sequence stars, elemental abundances and chemical enrichment in galaxies and AGNs (Active Galactic Nuclei), star formation and galaxy evolution at high redshifts, and spectral diagnostics of astrophysical environments.
Professor Hamann last spoke to the AAC in February 2001 on Quasars, Black Holes and the Birth of Galaxies, a talk enthusiastically received by those fortunate enough to hear him speak.
Tuesday, June 8, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Ali Nayeri, Post Doctoral Associate, Department of Physics, University of Florida
E-Mail: nayeri@phys.ufl.edu
Title: Universe with Extra Dimensions?
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: The idea of extra dimensions goes back to Kaluza and Klien in 1920's when they tried to unify gravity with electromagnetism. In modern days, however, extra dimensions are necessary to have a self-consistent combination of the quantum mechanics and gravity in the most fundamental theory of physics, i.e., string theory. This theory—and all of its variant forms—needs at least 10 dimensions (6 extra dimensions) to achieve its goals. If string theory is correct and final answer to fundamental questions of physics then it is better to describe the real universe. But direct observation of the universe reveals only 3 (space) + 1 (time) dimensions which is more compatible with our common sense. On the other hand, standard cosmology fails to explain the exotic features of the dark energy, dark matter, big bang singularity etc. This may suggest we should look for alternative explanations of the universe. In this talk I will argue how universe with extra dimensions can provide us a new window to possible solutions of the cosmological problems.
About the Speaker: Dr. Nayeri received his Ph.D. from Inter-University Centre of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), India, in 1999. He was appointed as a Postdoctoral associate at MIT Department of Physics for two years and another year at MIT Center for Theoretical Physics as a Postdoctoral fellow. In 2002, Dr. Nayeri was selected as the UF Institute for Fundamental Theory prestigious Postdoctoral Associate. His main fields of research include early universe and inflation, semi-classical theory of gravity, and alternative cosmologies. Recently, he has been working with Alan Guth (MIT) on cosmological implications of the extra dimensions and brane world scenarios.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Members' Business Meeting Starts 7:00 p.m. EDT)
Speaker: Tandy W. Carter
E-Mail:
Title: Will There Be Astronomy Tonight?
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Mr. Carter's presentation will explain how to determine if there will be astronomy by looking at the clouds. Mr. Carter will also touch on how different aspects of meteorology will affect observing that evening.
About the Speaker: Mr. Carter earned his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Auburn University in 1950. Next, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from the United States Naval Post Graduate School in 1960. During his career in the US Navy, Mr. Carter had tours of duty as a meteorologist at NAS Sand Point Washington, Fleet Weather Central/Joint Typhoon Warning Central, Guam, and Fleet Weather Central NAS Alameda, California. (Mr. Carter's son, Tandy Carter, Jr., is an active member of the AAC.)
Tuesday, August 10, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Members' Business Meeting Starts 7:00 p.m. EDT)
Speakers: Women of AAC: Marian Cohen, Lucille Heinrich, Brittany Loftus, Joanne Malles, Pam Mydock, Luz Marie Trujillo & Ann Welsh
E-Mail:
Title: Women in Astronomy
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: At this meeting we celebrate "women in astronomy awareness month." A distinguished panel of women amateur astronomers will present a program dedicated to the contributions made by women in the field of astronomy. The program will include an historical overview of women in astronomy as well as contemporary women astronomers. The presentation will highlight the contributions made by these women as well as some of the obstacles faced by women in this profession. The program will end with some lighthearted entertainment and refreshments will be served.
About the Speakers: TBA
Tuesday, September 14, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Members' Business Meeting Starts 7:00 p.m. EDT)
Speaker: Dr. Vicki L. Sarajedini, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: vicki@astro.ufl.edu
Title: The Universe Through the Eyes of Hubble
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Over the last 14 years, astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope to make discoveries that have changed the field. The amazing resolution of HST has allowed us to see details in planets, star clusters and galaxies not possible from the ground. In this talk, Dr. Sarajedini will present an overview of the Hubble Space Telescope's design, history and recent astronomical discoveries.
About the Speaker: Professor Sarajedini received her Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Arizona in 1997. From 1997 to 2000 she was a post-doctoral researcher at both the University of California (Lick Observatory) and Wesleyan University. Dr. Sarajedini joined the astronomy faculty at the University of Florida in 2001 along with her husband, Dr. Ata Sarajedini, who is also a professor in the Department of Astronomy. (Dr. Ata Sarajedini spoke to the AAC this past March about the "The Eating Habits of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies.") Dr. Sarajedini primary research area is the optical and variability studies of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at moderate to high redshifts through their morphological characteristics, spectroscopic signatures and variable nature. This includes low-luminosity AGN from the local universe to a red-shift of about one, variability studies of Active Galaxies, the morphologies of low-luminosity AGNs (LLAGN) and quasar (QSO) host galaxies, and X-ray and IR observations of Seyfert galaxies.
In April 2004 NSF awarded Dr. Vicki Sarajedini a $500,000, five year CAREER award. She belongs to an elite group of Florida astronomy faculty who have also won CAREER awards over the last six years. This record is outstanding and unmatched by any other astronomy department in the United States.* (AAC members may remember that Dr. Sarajedini's accomplishments were presented at our "Women in Astronomy" program last month.)
*The NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program offers this prestigious award to new faculty members who are most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. CAREER awards held by current or past UF astronomy faculty include:
- Dr. Elizabeth A. Lada (1998) — followed by a PECASE, the Presidential award (1999)
- Dr. Richard Elston (2000) — followed by a PECASE (2001); Dr. Elston unfortunately passed away 2004 January
- Dr. Fred W. Hamann (2000)
- Dr. Steven S. Eikenberry (2000) — while at Cornell
- Dr. Ata Sarajedini (2001)
- Dr. Jonathan Williams (2002) — now at the Institute for Astronomy, Honolulu
- Dr. Vicki L. Sarajedini (2004)
Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Members' Business Meeting Starts 7:00 p.m. EDT)
Speaker: Matthew Terry (Amateur Astronomer from the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club)
E-Mail: matthew.terry6 at verizon.net
Title: CSI in the Sky: The Case for the Stone Age Mega Comet
Location: Powell Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: Mr. Terry will present hard science gathered over the last 60 years showing that between five and ten thousand years ago a huge comet was captured by Jupiter into a short period Earth-crossing orbit, in the plane of the ecliptic, and then fragmented like a giant Shoemaker/Levy-9 into hundreds of lesser comets, which were once an awe inspiring mystery to our ancestors, but are today almost completely gone. In addition to the forensic astronomy, which includes Comet Encke, the 1908 Tunguska bolide, the Zodiacal Light, and more, there are contemporaneous "eyewitness" accounts of these comets, as encoded in the mythology, art, and megalithic monuments of prehistoric man. Based on the books The Cosmic Serpent and The Cosmic Winter, by British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier, he will present a re-interpretation of many details of these things, including the pervasive belief in celestial catastrophe, within the perspective gained by the mega comet hypothesis. Mr. Terry will also offer original speculation as to the role played by the comet swarm in the rise of civilization itself. Today, undiscovered remnants of the swarm still threaten us, and he'll look at what amateur astronomers can do, even without a telescope, to literally help save the world.
About the Speaker: Mr. Terry has been an active amateur astronomer since seeing the Moon rise in eclipse and Comet Hyukatake from the country. Before the good gear arrived he was more of the armchair variety, with long-time interests in the history of science in general and in cosmology, astronomy, anthropology, and military history in particular. With an article on Gould's Belt sold to Astronomy, and an observer's book self-published, he has begun to pursue writing about astronomy as much as doing it! As a charter member of the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club's Mirror Lab, he's an amateur telescope maker/mirror maker, having a particular passion for extreme bino-scopes, with an 8-in. f/12 "planetary" and a 10-in. "travel-bino" completed, although the 16-in. ultra light is still having problems! His educational credentials and nominal career are as a classical guitarist, and music is a great love, but he regards his role as homemaker for his wife of 21 years and their three children as his real avocation. It certainly keeps him busy.
Mr. Terry last enchanted the AAC at his talk given early this year about "Stalking the Fires of Creation: Gould's Belt and the Astrophysics of Our Part of the Milky Way." This talk should be equally exciting.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004, 7:30 p.m. EST (Members' Business Meeting Starts 7:00 p.m. EDT)
Speaker: Dr. Charles M. Telesco, Professor of Astronomy, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
E-Mail: telesco@astro.ufl.edu
Title: In Search of Distant Worlds
Location: Powell Hall (Lucille T. Maloney Classroom), UF Campus, Gainesville FL
Preview: There are many ways to search for other worlds out among the stars. One way is to look for the fingerprints of planets in the disks of gas and dust that have been found to orbit many stars. Planets have formed in these disks, and they are still embedded and continue to orbit there. Dr. Telesco will describe how we are imaging them, and what the images of the disks can tell us about these worlds. In the process, he will describe the role that the University of Florida is playing in this exciting field of discovery.
About the Speaker: Dr. Telesco joined the University of Florida (UF) faculty as an astronomy professor in early 1995 after 13 years at NASA where he developed infrared cameras for use at observatories around the world. Prior to that he was at the University of Hawaii, MIT, and the University of Chicago where he received his Ph.D. from the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics in 1977. After coming to UF, Dr. Telesco founded the UF infrared instrumentation program (Infrared Astrophysics Group or IAG), which is now one of the world's top laboratories for the development of infrared cameras and spectrographs for use at many of the world's largest groundbased telescopes. He and his team, which includes UF graduate students and engineers, use these instruments to study a broad range of astrophysical phenomena, but Dr. Telesco is particularly interested in the study of disks around stars. These disks are complex environments where dust and gas are transformed into planets that, in turn, influence the shape of the disks themselves. It is the search for those planetary fingerprints in disks that Dr. Telesco finds the most fun.
Dr. Telesco was recently featured in a UF Spotlight Story. He and his team specialize in the design and construction of cutting edge infrared cameras and spectrometers, which have been used on some of the largest telescopes in the world to understand the formation and evolution of stars and planets. They are currently active participants in helping to build CanariCam, a new instrument for use on the Gran Telescopio Canarias, which will be the world's largest telescope, under construction in Spain's Canary Islands.
Telesco and his team have also provided a mid-infrared camera, T-ReCS, to be used at the Gemini South telescope high in the Andes mountains of Chile. Gemini South, and its twin, Gemini North on Hawaii island, are the National Science Foundation's flagship astronomy projects. T-ReCS is already doing ground breaking research for UF and the international astronomy community.
The Infrared Astrophysics Group is a part of the University of Florida Astronomy Department. Examples of advanced instruments that Dr. Telesco has helped design, build and operate include OSCIR (a mid-IR imager/spectrometer), which was used to discover a possible planet-forming disk around the star HR4796A, a mid-IR imager/spectrometer) called T-ReCS that has imaged carbon dioxide frost on Mars, and CanariCam (a mid-IR imager/spectrometer/polarimeter/coronograph). The latter, as mentioned previously, is a first generation instrument for the large Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) that will offer imaging capability as well as spectroscopy, polarimetry and coronography in the mid-infrared spectrum.
Note: The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC), is a high performance, segmented 10.4 meter telescope currently under construction in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. (Since 2001 UF has been a participant in the GTC project.) When the GTC sees first light 2005, this 10.4 meter telescope will rank among the largest in the world. This telescope is currently being installed in one of the best sites of the Northern Hemisphere: the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain).
Saturday, December 11, 2004, 6:00 p.m. EST (Dinner served at 6:30 p.m.)
Last Year We Celebrated Our 16th Anniversary—This Year We Celebrate Our 17th
What: Good Food · Games · Traditional Astro Slide Quiz · Lots of Prizes · Sci-Fi Space Music · IMAX Movie!
Speaker: None but lots of fun!
Title: "Holiday Potluck Party" and Celebration of AAC's 17th Birthday!
Time: 6:00 p.m. (Dinner at 6:30 p.m.)
Location: Home of Mark & Cindy Barnett, 3111 NW 18 Place, Gainesville, Florida, (352) 373-2244
Maps to Barnett Residence: 640x512 [Col, B/W], 800x640 [Color, B/W], 1024x768 [Color, B/W]Preview: AAC will hold its annual December holiday party — a potluck dinner.
Note: There will be no regular Tuesday meeting or Star Party in December
If you did not sign up at the November meeting, see below.
Example Foods to Bring — Club Buys Drinks and Paper Products:
Main dish, wings, ham rolls, cheese & crackers, finger sandwiches, salad, chips, dessert or other (please designate)
If you missed signing up at the November meeting: Please respond to Annie Welch at outreach@floridastars.org or call (352) 378-4316. Please indicate:
Please be sure you arrive with your potluck item before 6:30 p.m. (and bring serving pieces)
- Food item you will bring
- Number of adults and children (give ages) who will attend.
- Contact phone number
 |
Return to AAC Home Page |
 |
For comments and suggestions send e-mail to webmaster@floridastars.org © Copyright 2000-2004 Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. |
