| 2006 December 6 December 6 Meeting "How astronomers Learn About the Stars" by Dave Wood What is a star made of? How big is a star? How hot is a star? How fast is moving? Astronomers can determine these things and many others about stars (and galaxies and nebulae) by measuring the properties of the light emitted. We can observe the direction, color, and intensity of the incoming light. Dave described how we can learn so much about the stars from these measurements of starlight. November 1 General Meeting "Solar System Water District" by Don Wilson Don took us on a journey through time, space and energy to show how, when and where water in its many forms is distributed throughout the entire solar system as a dynamic process in equilibrium and producing life. critiqued his recent participation in the “Twilight Zone”: COSMO 2006, where top cosmologists and particle physicists from around the world met at their tenth annual Conference on Particle Physics and the Early Universe. October 4 General Meeting Star Party at Orchard Creek Lodge The Star Party was cancelled due to cloudy weather. The following presentations were given instead of the Star Party: 1. Demonstration of the shifting of the path of the sun (ecliptic) between seasons - John Combes 2. This is an event t 3. viewing September 6 General Meeting "The Outer Solar System – Pluto and Beyond" by John Combes John started by taking a look at Pluto to see why it is the odd-ball of the nine planets. He descried the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud and the kinds of objects that lurk in these outer zones and the effect some of them have on the inner zone of the Solar System. August 2 General Meeting "The Spacetime Fabric of the Universe - A Glimpse at Our Current Understanding". Dr. Harry Houpis This is a topic that is one of the “hot frontiers” of current research interests. Another way of stating the topic is that space and time are fused into a “canvas” upon which the Universe plays out its evolution. However, there is much debate about exactly what the “canvas material” is and how it interacts with the material components of the Universe. Harry discussed just a few items which illuminate the problems with our current “canvas” picture of the Universe. The presentation was followed by a planetarium show featuring the summer sky. July 5 General Meeting "Many Moons and their Mysteries" by Nina Mazzo Our solar system has 9 planets. However, it also has 141 moons varying from icy fragments to complex worlds with volcanoes, oceans and atmospheres. Nina presented a tour of these mysterious micro worlds. June 7 General Meeting "Comet Hunting" by Don Machholz Don is a Colfax resident and amateur astronomer who has discovered 10 comets. This most recent discovery, Comet Machholz (c/2004 Q2) was discovered from his backyard in August of 2004. The comet was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye in January 2005. Don presented a description of his comet hunting career, his ten visual comet discoveries, and the path he has taken to get to this point. May 3 General Meeting "Online Astronomy Resources" by John Flaherty In this presentation the vast array of Astronomy resources available in an online astronomy course was demonstrated. These resources included animations, images, web sites, interactive tutorials, and films. These resources will made accessible at no cost to members via their home internet connection. April 5 "Star Party at Orchard Creek Lodge" Due to the weather, the star party was not possible. John Combes presented a demonstration on "The Size of the Solar System" which was followed by the video "Cosmic Voyages." March 1 General Meeting "Fact, Fiction, Faith or Fraud?" Don Wilson presented a cursory reality check of presently high profile cosmology subjects from the dark side. Don's presentation discussed the nature of the very mysterious Dark Energy and Dark Matter; the Dark Age elusiveness; and dark holes (from monstrous Black Holes at galactic centers to time travel microsized Wormholes). February 1 General Meeting "The Gas Giants of the Solar System" by John Combes The solar system is comprised of five components; the Sun, terrestrial planets, asteroids, gas giants, and the icy objects far beyond. This presentation discussed the four gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and why they are that way as compared to the inner terrestrial planets. January 4 General Meeting "The Cosmic Distance Scale" by Dave Wood How do we know the distance to remote galaxies? By a series of stepping stones and extrapolations from basic triangulation of the nearest stars, via galactic clusters, cepheid variables, supernovae, and red shifts. Dave described how we evolve from reliably known distances (by triangulation) to estimates of distances to the most remote galaxies in the universe. |