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International Year of Astronomy 2009
Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire
IYA 2009 is an effort to help promote and gain interest in the field of astronomy. Throughout the year, the UNH Physics Department will participate in IYA2009 to help bring astronomy to the New Hampshire community. A series of lectures given by UNH faculty, staff, & students will be held about once a month during the school year on a wide range of astronomy topics. Below is the list of speakers and topics; the current list is tenative, please check back regularly for updates.
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These lectures are free to the public and will be held on Saturdays in DeMeritt Hall (UNH-Durham Campus), room 112. Time 3-4 PM
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Saturday, December 5th 2009
TBD
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Saturday, November 7th 2009
Eberhard Möbius, UNH Physics Professor and Dept. Chair, will discuss:
Astronomy with Neutral Atoms
IBEX Catches the Interstellar Wind and Images the Solar System Boundary
400 years after Galileo pointed a telescope at celestial objects for the first time, we have now added neutral atoms to our astronomical toolbox with the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), which was launched October 19, 2008. Two energetic neutral atom cameras have taken the first global images of the interaction of the solar system with its neighborhood. They are catching the interstellar wind of neutral H, He, and O atoms that blows through the solar system with a speed of 60,000 miles/hour that arises from the Sun’s motion through the neighboring interstellar gas cloud. They also return stunning images of the heliospheric boundary region, where the solar wind is slowed down by the interstellar medium, with bright features that nobody had predicted. The heliosphere, surrounds our solar system like a protecting bubble against high-energy cosmic rays from distant regions in the Milky Way. IBEX’s exciting results will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun’s interaction with its galactic neighborhood and of the heliosphere’s ability to shield the solar system.
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Saturday, October 3rd 2009
Richard Woolf, UNH Physics Graduate Student, and John Gianforte, UNH Physics Instructor will discuss:
Is The Sky Really Falling? Sorting Out End of the World Scenarios
The Universe is truly an amazing place that we live in. However, popular media outlets, such as television, radio, and the Internet, lead us to believe otherwise and bombard us every day with current doomsday prophecies. The Sky Guy and UNH Physics Instructor, John Gianforte, intends to expose these fallacies and debunk the bad science that is out there today. But in the vastness of space there are a few things that we should keep our eyes on. A comet impact or a gamma-ray burst from a nearby stellar explosion, if they
were to occur, would have dire consequences. However, compared to some other places and different times
in the universe, we appear to live in a more benign environment. UNH Physics graduate student, Richard
Woolf, will discuss the hostile universe we live in, what can (and cannot) be done to prevent disasters from
above, and how concerned our civilization should be about these events occurring.
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Saturday, September 19th 2009
James Connell, UNH Physics Professor will discuss:
The Evolving Universe: Origins of the Elements
People tend to think of evolution in biological terms. In fact, the whole expanding Universe is evolving and has since it began with the Big Bang. One aspect of this evolution has been the creation of the elements, starting with the "primordial soup" in the Big Bang and continuing to this day. The heavy elements on Earth, including those in everyday objects, and in our bodies, were created billions of years ago in stars. Those stars enriched the interstellar medium from which our Solar System formed. As Carl Sagan was fond of saying, "we are made of star stuff." We will take a look at where and how this "star stuff" came to be.
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Saturday, May 16th 2009
John Gianforte, UNH Instructor will discuss:
The Search for Other Worlds
As the number of known bodies in our own solar system grows as new objects are discovered, astronomers are also busy discovering planets that orbit stars other than the Sun. Did you even
know that planets exist outside our own solar system? It’s not just science fiction any longer,
these planets really exist and they are called extrasolar planets, or exoplanets. And, since 1995,
astronomers using several different ingenious techniques have discovered over 340 extrasolar
planets, with more being added every month. John’s talk will bring you up to speed with how
astronomers have been finding these distant worlds, who has been finding them, and what some
of these worlds are like. He will also cover some brand new missions that have been launched
recently to aid astronomers in their quest to be the first to find Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-
like stars. Join us on to find out the answers to some of these intriguing questions.
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Saturday, April 18th 2009
Mark McConnell, UNH Physics Professor will discuss:
Earth Attacks! A History of Martian Exploration
Since the "discovery" of Martian canals in 1887, Mars has fascinated mankind. Although we now know that Martian canals are not real, the true nature of Mars is perhaps more intriguing
than any science fiction story ever suggested. Here we recount how our understanding of Mars
has evolved since the invention of the telescope, with particular emphasis on the exploration of
Mars by robotic spacecraft. Along the way, we will see how Mars has played a major role in
science fiction. We also will look ahead to future robotic missions and the plans for human
exploration of the Martian surface.
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Saturday, March 7th 2009
George Clark, UNH Physics Senior will discuss:
Sunspots, Flares, and the Northern Lights
Violent, explosive storms, known as solar flares, are produced on the Sun’s surface and when
they erupt, energy equal to more than a million atomic bombs is ejected into space. This ejected
material takes the form of high-energy particles from the Sun’s atmosphere. Sometimes Earth is
in the impact zone of these violent events. Like a massive hurricane slamming into the coast, this
cloud of debris will slam into the Earth potentially damaging spacecraft, communication systems
(both ground-based and satellites), and more. Although these flares produce pretty colors in the
sky (the northern lights), their electric and magnetic energy should not be underestimated. To
survive as a technological society we need to know when the next solar storm will take place so
we have time to react, potentially saving us millions of dollars. Come join on us on this turbulent
journey from the solar atmosphere to our home planet.
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For more information email:
unh (dot) observer (at) unh (dot) edu
Or call us at: 603.862.3996
Our newsletter can be found here: UNH Observatory Newsletter
Last updated November 2nd 2009
~RSW
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