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A new and useful computational tool
by Richard Tenney 19 May '09

19 May '09

In case you haven't seen this yet (it was featured on NPR's science Friday last), this is a fabulous concept and a very useful web-based tool: http://www.wolframalpha.com/ Try typing in "beta centauri" for starters... Enjoy, /R

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AstroFest
by Joshua Furner 13 May '09

13 May '09

As part of our 2009 International Year of Astronomy celebration the BYU Astronomical Society and the BYU Department of Physics and Astronomy will host Astrofest on Saturday May 16 from 10 am to 4 pm. Come and join us for a day of fun astronomy activities for kids and adults of all ages at Brigham Young University (BYU). Activities will take place on the terrace in the BYU Wilkinson Center and in the Eyring Science Center at BYU, as well as some activities located outside between the two buildings. The event is free and open to the public. You can come and go as you want between 10 am and 4 pm. Activities include free planetarium shows, a spectroscopy and light show, a stellar atmospheres and gases show, and astronomy and physics demonstration shows. In addition, kids will have the opportunity to make and launch their own rockets, bake cookies in a solar oven, take a tour of the solar system, and build their own planisphere to take home so they can find constellations in the sky throughout the year. Outside we will have solar telescopes set up for viewing the Sun and a tepee where you can learn more about the Native American view of the heavens. Astrofest will host a large variety of astronomy related activities for kids of every age from 3 to 103. Bring your family and friends and enjoy the festivities. While you are here, also take time to check out the schedule of our monthly public lecture series as well as other astronomy activities that will be going on throughout the year. If you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to participate as a volunteer or presenter for Astrofest, please contact Dr. Denise Stephens at (801) 422-2167 or email her at denise_stephens(a)byu.edu. Another note, the BYU Astronomical Society will be using a Lunt LS60THa/B1200 Hydrogen alpha solar telescope that it purchased recently for solar observing. It really is worth a look. There will be a star party following Astrofest from 8-11pm on BYU campus. There is still a need for volunteers. For more information see http://www.physics.byu.edu/clubs/astrosoc/iya.aspx or contact Heather at denebstarlight(a)yahoo.com or for star party information contact me at joshuajf(a)byu.edu Thanks Joshua _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail® has a new way to see what's up with your friends. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/WhatsNew?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutor…

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Sunday night bolide
by Richard Tenney 05 Apr '09

05 Apr '09

I no sooner stepped out my parent's front door in American Fork (which faces Mt. Timp to the East) to head home when the sky lit up with a fabulous bolide dropping over 30 degrees to fall behind Mt. Timpanogos. As it fell, it left a bluish-white 10-degree train, and began to fragment just before it disappeared behind the mountains, reminiscent of a falling firework, the fragments looked like trailing sparks. It appeared to be probably 3 times as luminous as venus. Fabulous sight, even my 87-y.o. dad with his macular degeneration was able to see it fall. Anyone else catch sight of it at 10:04 pm tonight?

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BYU Astrofest, Saturday 16 May
by Richard Tenney 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

BYU AstroFest From: "Heather Jones" <denebstarlight(a)yahoo.com> To: uvaa(a)mailman.xmission.com BYU will be hosting AstroFest on May 16, 2009, in celebration of The International Year of Astronomy. This free event will include planetarium shows, evening star parties, demonstrations, interactive activities, and displays for all ages! If you would like to get involved in AstroFest please contact me by e-mail; my address is: denebstarlight(a)yahoo.com Thank you! Heather P. Jones

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Fw: BYU Astronomical Society March 20th Star Party
by Richard Tenney 09 Mar '09

09 Mar '09

I'm leaving for Sweden on Thursday and won't return until the 24th, but I'd like to encourage all of you to come participate. This is a very fun group, and the turnout at the last one of these that I helped with was fabulous. -Rich --- On Sat, 3/7/09, Joshua Furner <joshua_furner(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > From: Joshua Furner <joshua_furner(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: BYU Astronomical Society March 20th Star Party > To: retenney(a)yahoo.com > Date: Saturday, March 7, 2009, 8:17 PM > This is Joshua Furner from the BYU Astronomical Society. > > > > We are having our closing star party for this semester on > March 20th (8-11pm) at the Big Springs park site. We would > like to extend an invitation to your Society members to join > us. > > > > We will be providing 6 telescopes, 10 pairs of binoculars > (for the live planetarium) hot chocolate, cookies as well as > an information table for fliers. There will be live > planetarium shows under the stars with 3-4 prepared > presentations. > > > > If you have any members who might bring a telescope or > would like to give a 20-30 min. green laser style star talk > please have them contact me. > > > > > > Thank you, > > > > Joshua > > > > > > Information can be found at > > > > http://www.physics.byu.edu/clubs/astrosoc/starparties.aspx > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Windows Live™ Contacts: Organize your contact list. > http://windowslive.com/connect/post/marcusatmicrosoft.spaces.live.com-Blog-…

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OT: Darwin Bicentennial week
by Richard Tenney 09 Feb '09

09 Feb '09

For those interested in the topic, there are a series of lectures this week at BYU on Darwin, interestingly enough. Probably at least a few (if not all) have some LDS-themes, given the location (and some of the lecture titles). You can see the agenda here: http://sciencebysteve.net/?p=654 I'm planning on being at most (if not all) of them. There is also a lecture at U of U Wednesday, 7:30 PM in the Biology Auditorium (where the usual F.O.S. lectures are held titled: "Darwin Day Celebration: Exercise and the Evolution of Humankind"; more info here: http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=020409-2 /R

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Fw: Black Jasper APC Green Laser just $24.50!
by Richard Tenney 05 Feb '09

05 Feb '09

--- On Wed, 2/4/09, JasperLaser.com <no-reply(a)jasperlaser.com> wrote: From: JasperLaser.com <no-reply(a)jasperlaser.com> Subject: Black Jasper APC Green Laser just $24.50! To: "Richard Tenney" <retenney(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 8:44 AM Get an APC for $24.50 at the Basement Dear Richard, The Jasper APC is back in black and cheaper than ever in our super-secret bargain basement. How low can it go, you ask? $24.50 low. And you've got to admit, that's a great price for a green laser pointer with APC technology and guaranteed to emit the legal maximum of 5mW. Come to think of it, it's an unbeatable price, so why are you even bothering to read the rest of this message? Click on over to the JasperLaser.com/Basement, where no discount codes are required to buy your $24.50 APC. There is no link to The Basement from our homepage; and we've only told our previous customers like you about its existence. But while you're there, cruise over our main page to check out our other cool products. Buy as many as you like, but act fast because the item will be pulled soon and without notice. This is a deal that's simply too good to pass up, so visit the Basement now before it's too late! Sincerely, The JasperLaser.com Team JasperLaser.com, 9811 W Charleston Blvd, Suite 2-786, Las Vegas, NV 89117 | main line: 877-388-7362 | visit us online at: www.JasperLaser.com

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Frontiers of Science Lecture, U of U, tomorrow (Thurs.) 7:30 p.m.
by Richard Tenney 28 Jan '09

28 Jan '09

Frontiers of Science Lecture: Low-cost Plastic Solar Cells Lecturer: Alan J. Heeger, professor of physics, University of California, Santa Barbara Date: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009 Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Auditorium, University of Utah FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Nobel Laureate Alan J. Heeger, professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will discuss the development of low-cost, highly efficient plastic solar cells during a free public lecture at the University of Utah. The cells, made from organic materials, exhibit the highest energy-conversion rating for such devices. The development of renewable energy sources is one of the greatest challenges facing society because the supply of expendable resources, such as fossil fuels, is dwindling while the global demand for energy is growing. Solar energy is abundant and renewable, and can provide a significant contribution to future energy needs. "The challenge is clear: we must create the scientific foundation and develop the technology to enable the low-cost fabrication of large areas of high efficiency solar cells," says Heeger. Heeger will describe the discovery of ultrafast photo-induced electron transfer as the foundation of a technology for low-cost solar cells. The crucial initial charge separation by electron transfer from polymers to nearby fullerene molecules occurs one hundred times faster than the first stage of photosynthesis in plants. The important electron charge collection is accomplished through the self-assembly of specialized nanomaterials. "I am excited to have led a research team that created a new low-cost ‘tandem' organic solar cell with 6.5 percent efficiency, the highest record for solar cells made with organic materials. This technology is now under active development toward commercialization, and is expected to provide a major contribution to meeting the energy needs of our planet in the future," says Heeger. Heeger obtained his B.S. with high distinction from the University of Nebraska in 1957 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1961. He is currently a professor of physics and materials engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and served as director of the Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids from 1982 to 1999. In 2000, Heeger shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Hideki Shirakawa and Alan G. MacDiarmid for "the discovery and development of conductive polymers." Heeger is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. He has four patents issued, nine patents pending and some 750 publications to his credit. He is one of the most highly-cited scientists in his field. The Frontiers of Science lecture series celebrated its 40th year in 2007, making it among the longest-running lecture series at the U. The series is co-hosted by the College of Science and the College of Mines and Earth Sciences.

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Fw: [Utah-astronomy] Excellent shuttle/ISS pass this evening
by Richard Tenney 21 Nov '08

21 Nov '08

--- On Fri, 11/21/08, Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> wrote: > From: Patrick Wiggins <paw(a)wirelessbeehive.com> > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Excellent shuttle/ISS pass this evening > To: "utah astronomy listserve utah astronomy" <utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Date: Friday, November 21, 2008, 4:38 PM > 6:09 rising in the SW > 6:12 pretty much straight overhead > 6:14 fading low in NE as it passes into the shadow of the > Earth > > patrick > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com > Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

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Fw: Astronomical Calendar
by Richard Tenney 20 Nov '08

20 Nov '08

Astro "spam" that might be of interest to some of you... /R --- On Thu, 11/20/08, Tilly <tilly(a)universalworkshop.com> wrote: From: Tilly <tilly(a)universalworkshop.com> Subject: Astronomical Calendar To: retenney(a)yahoo.com Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008, 3:38 PM Hi Richard, I hope your astronomy club is flourishing! Here is an offer for your members. You probably know of the annual Astronomical Calendar, which Guy Ottewell started in a small way when Kohoutek's Comet loomed in 1973 and which has grown to be a book of 84 atlas-sized and richly illustrated pages, used by 20,000 in over 100 countries. The 2009 volume is even better, to meet the challenge of the UN's International Year of Astronomy (whose logo Astronomical Calendar 2009 is privileged to bear). Our modern age of astronomy began in 1609, with Galileo's thrilling discoveries through his first telescope - as well as his friend Kepler's publication of the famous "three laws" of planetary motion in the same year. Guy's cover painting for Astronomical Calendar 2009, the extensive "cover painting story", and several other features scattered through the book, bring alive the events and revelations of those exciting and dangerous times. You can see more about the contents of the Astronomical Calendar at www.universalworkshop.com. You will receive a 20% discount for an order of 5 or more copies of Astronomical Calendar 2009. There will still be a charge for shipping, but our standard shipping rate is economical. Just telephone, and mention promotion code CFS05. The offer expires on Dec. 31, 2008. Sincerely Tilly Lavenás tilly(a)universalworkshop.com Universal Workshop P.O. Box 102 Raynham, MA 02767-0102 www.universalworkshop.com 800-533-5083/1-508-802-5660

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