Agenda
Day
Month
Week
February – May 2012
The Astronomy Club invites the Huron Community to attend Family Astronomy night next Thursday, 1 March. We are planning various activities that should be of interest to everyone in the Huron community. We will have activities for young kids, lectures by some professional astronomers. If there are clear skies, we expect members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will bring their telescopes and let us have a deep peek into the sky. Please RSVP so we know how much hot chocolate to prepare!
Bring your binoculars!
Keep looking up!
Featured Events:
- A lecture by Huron Parent and Astronomy Professor Yanqin Wu: Twinkling stars, how many planets do you have?
- A lecture by Astronomy Professor John Percy: How stars die. (Professor Percy is also the honorary co-organizer of the Family Night event. Thanks!)
- Paper craft activity: build your own model of the Subaru Telescope.
- Small Silent Auction with proceeds to Huron Parent Council.
- Toronto RASC members will bring their telescopes to the Huron field and share deep peeks into the night sky (depending upon cloud cover). President Ralph Chou will attend the event!
- Amateur telescope demonstrations by Khan Scope Centre!
Gravity: From Falling Apples to Ripples in Spacetime
SpEC binary black hole simulation – Image Credit: Harald Pfeiffer (CITA)
April 5th, 2012, 9:10pm
Speaker: Ilana MacDonald
Location: MP 102, 60 St. George street
Sign up for the Planetarium Show!
The force of gravity is something that each and every one of us experiences all the time. It’s what keeps us from flying into space off the surface of the earth, and what keeps the planets in orbit around the sun. In this talk, we shall explore the concept of gravity, starting with humanity’s earliest theories about how the this force works and ending with my current research on the ripples in space-time caused by inspiralling binary black holes. We will discuss the theories of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, the renaissance scientists Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler, and the revolutionary physicists Newton and Einstein. We will see that the evolution of the concept of gravity is closely tied with the history of science and astronomy.
Ilana MacDonald is a PhD candidate in the fourth year of her doctoral studies in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. With her supervisor Prof. Harald Pfeiffer of CITA, she studies the gravitational waves, that is, ripples in space-time, given off by binary black holes. She is also very involved in Astronomy public outreach at UofT, helping organize public lectures, and giving planetarium shows to the public. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting and riding her e-bike all around the city (though not at the same time).
(Content taken from http://www1.astro.utoronto.ca/~gasa/public_talk/iWeb/Entries/2012/4/gravity.php)
In April, the club plans to organize a visit to the David Dunlap Observatory. With the telescope housed there, Toronto astronomer Tom Bolton confirmed the existence of the first black hole, called Cygnus X-1! It’s going to be awesome.
The DDO. (Photograph by John Goodyear.)
(We hope to organizer a caravan of cars departing from Huron at 6pm. DDO staff will guide on a tour and tell us about the telescopes and more between 7pm and 9pm.)
A visit to the David Dunlap Observatory!
In April, the club plans to organize a visit to the David Dunlap Observatory. With the telescope housed there, Toronto astronomer Tom Bolton confirmed the existence of the first black hole, called Cygnus X-1! It’s gonna be awesome. (Photograph by John Goodyear.)
Please RSVP by clicking here and filling out the form.
April 21, 22 – Lyrids Meteor Shower. The Lyrids are an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at their peak. These meteors can produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The shower usually peaks on April 21 & 22, although some meteors can be visible from April 16 – 25. With no moon to get in the way this year, this really should be a good show. Look for meteors radiating from the constellation of Lyra after midnight.
May 5, 6 – Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Eta Aquarids are a light shower, usually producing about 10 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower’s peak usually occurs on May 5 & 6, however viewing should be good on any morning from May 4 – 7. The full moon will probably ruin the show this year, washing out all but the brightest meteors with its glare. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation Aquarius. Best viewing is usually to the east after midnight, far from city lights.
