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SLAS General Meeting Tuesday night
by Lowell Lyon 27 Mar '06

27 Mar '06

Hello everyone: Please leave yourselves plenty of time to find the Kennecott Building parking and arrive at the James C. Fletcher Building for "Physics Family Fun Night". I would like to actually start the meeting 10 minutes early at 7:20pm to allow "Mr. Wizard" alias Zigmund Peacock to have plenty of time for his science fun. Thank you and we'll see you Tuesday evening!! Lowell Lyon

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SLAS Blast - Special Lecture Friday April 14th
by Lowell Lyon 20 Mar '06

20 Mar '06

Hello Everyone: Here's a little bit of extra information about the upcoming Special Lecture on Friday April 14th at 7:00PM. The presentation will be at the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Auditorium on the University of Utah campus. This room is also used for the Frontiers of Science Lecture Series. The Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building is just west of the U of U bookstore. For a map, click on http://www.map.utah.edu, click on "Buildings" and then scroll down to "Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology......". Robert K. Wilson, Project Manager for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California will be the guest speaker. This event is cosponsored by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society and the University of Utah Physics Department. Talk Title: The Spitzer Space Telescope: Exploring the Infrared Universe Mr Wilson will present an overview of the Spitzer Space Telescope and its Infrared view into the Universe. Spitzer, the last of the Great Observatories and the Infrared sibling to Hubble, Chandra, and Compton was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 25 August, 2003. During its mission Spitzer has and will continue to explore the Infrared Universe. Spitzer has used its infrared detectors to pierce the dusty darkness enshrouding many of the universe's most fascinating objects, including brown dwarfs, planet forming debris discs around stars and distant galaxies billions of light years away. Spitzer has done this by measuring the heat from these faraway objects, giving scientists a view of the birth of distant solar systems by penetrating the dust which has obscured these objects since man began to study the skies, the direct measurement of light from planets outside our solar system, discoveries of solar systems swirling around "puny failed stars" known as brown dwarfs and the discovery of some of the ingredients for DNA and proteins in the terrestrial planet zone of nearby stars. Spitzer has secured its place in planetary science history and continues to provide new views into the Cosmos not previously available to man. Mr Wilson will provide an overview of "this fantastic little observatory that could" and the science that it has and continues to flow from it.

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Fwd: [Utah-astronomy] http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
by Richard Tenney 14 Mar '06

14 Mar '06

--- Wade Starks <StarksWC(a)ldschurch.org> wrote: > Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 08:53:39 -0700 > From: "Wade Starks" <StarksWC(a)ldschurch.org> > To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > Subject: [Utah-astronomy] > http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ > > Anyone interested in participating in find stardust > particles may preregister at > this site. They are hosting a stardust at home site > which will allow volunteers > from the general public to view individual aerogel > cells for evidence of the > particles, using a web based "microscope". Go to > this site to find out more > about the program. > > Wade > http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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SLAS Blast - March 28th General Meeting of SLAS
by Lowell Lyon 09 Mar '06

09 Mar '06

Hello everyone: Please note the Microsoft Word attachment regarding the March 28th general meeting of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society. Please use this flyer as you wish to distribute to family and friends who may want to attend our "Physics Family Fun Night" at the University of Utah. There is handicap parking immediately adjacent to the James C. Fletcher Building. This event is also on the SLAS website at http://www.slas.us. Look under the "Events" link and see the details of our March meeting . A preview of the April meeting is also on the website. Please also check out the SLAS website for the three national park public star parties in May at Great Basin National Park, June at Bryce Canyon National Park and in August at Capitol Reef National Park. Lot's of VERY dark skies!!! Thank you, Lowell Lyon

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Reminder, tomorrow night (8 March), 7:30 pm, U of U, Frontiers of Science Lecture
by Richard Tenney 07 Mar '06

07 Mar '06

--- James DeGooyer <jdegooyer(a)biology.utah.edu> wrote: > Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2006 09:13:06 -0700 > To: office(a)science.utah.edu > From: James DeGooyer <jdegooyer(a)biology.utah.edu> > Subject: Frontiers of Science March 8 > CC: mortensen(a)science.utah.edu > > Dear Frontiers of Science patron: > > You are cordially invited to attend the upcoming > Frontiers of Science > lecture on Weds, March 8, 7:30 PM, featuring John W. > Valley, > professor of geology at Wisconsin-Madison. > See the official U. of U. press release at > http://www.utah.edu/unews/releases/06/feb/hades_earth.html > > Professor Valley will give a live radio interview on > KCPW 88.3 and > 105.3 FM on Weds, March 8, at 9:10 A.M. Tune-in! > > Frontiers of Science lectures are always free and > open to the public! > Mark your calendar and we'll see you there! > > -- > James R. DeGooyer > Public Relations Specialist > College of Science > 1430 E. Presidents Cir. Rm. 220 > Salt Lake City, UT 84112 > Ph. (801) 581-3124 > Fax (801) 585-3169 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Special Guest Lecture
by Lowell Lyon 02 Mar '06

02 Mar '06

Hello everyone: I just wanted to give everyone a brief heads up about an exciting special guest speaker lined up for Friday evening, April 14th. Please check out the SLAS website for this date at http://www.slas.us. Thank you. Lowell Lyon

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Next Frontiers of Science Lecuture Wed. 8 March 2006 7:30 p.m.
by Richard Tenney 27 Feb '06

27 Feb '06

Frontiers of Science Lecture A Cool Early Earth This event will feature John W. Valley, professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His presentation will focus on the climate and geology of the young planet Earth, and how life grasped a beginning on the planet. Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2006 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Auditorium, University of Utah campus 275 South 1430 East Admission: FREE and open to the public! Contact Info: (801) 581-6958 jdegooyer(a)science.utah.edu www.science.utah.edu Frontiers of Science lecture: A Cool Early Earth with Professor John W. Valley When the Earth was formed, some 4.5 billion years ago, it was an inferno of boiling metals, minerals and gases. Red-hot oceans of molten rock, massive meteorite strikes, and even brimstone in the atmosphere justify calling this time period the Hadean. These extreme conditions had to subside before continents could form, before the dense atmosphere could pool as liquid water, and before the first primitive life could survive and evolve. But when was the end of the hellish Hadean period? Evidence from rocks has placed the Hadean boundary at about 3.8 billion years ago. The oldest sedimentary (low temperature) rocks and hints of life are dated to 3.8 billion years, and the earliest known fossils are 3.5 billion years old. Recently, however, the discovery of crystals of the mineral zircon, as old as 4.4 billion years old, from isolated localities in northwestern Australia has provided evidence that the Hadean ended far sooner than previously thought Â perhaps by 400 million years! These zircons are exceptionally robust, and were separated from parent rocks by chemical weathering, dispersed across the Earth as wind-blown dust, and deposited in sand and gravel bars that are now solid rock. They carry chemical clues in the form of mineral inclusions, trace elements, and isotopes of uranium, lead, oxygen, and hafnium. The study of these tiny Âtime-capsulesÂ is driving new technology and each new result is avidly debated. While extreme opinions exist on both sides, a moderate suggestion is that small continental land masses existed by 4.4 byr, that oceans hospitable to life existed by 4.2 byr, and thus the Hadean ended before 4.2 byr. This concept of a cool early Earth represents a major departure from traditional ideas of how the Earth evolved. Valley earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geophysics at the University of Michigan , Ann Arbor in 1977 and 1980, respectively. He spent three years at Rice University in Houston as an assistant professor before accepting a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. He was promoted to a full professor in 1989, and is currently the Charles R. Van Hise Professor of Geology and Geophysics at UW-Madison. Professor Valley was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 1992, and a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America in 1993. He is now the President of the Mineralogical Society of America. He has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and Associate Editor of the American Journal of Science. In 2003, Valley received the N.L. Bowen Award, presented by the American Geophysical Union for his work on zircons from early Archean rocks of northwestern Australia. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Fwd: Directions for Tues. evening lecture downtown SLCC
by Richard Tenney 27 Feb '06

27 Feb '06

In case any of you are interested in attending the SLAS meeting tomorrow night with Dr. Palen (UVAA "members" are always welcome!), here are some specific directions: --- Lowell Lyon <bolide(a)sisna.com> wrote: > From: "Lowell Lyon" <bolide(a)sisna.com> > To: "Richard Tenney" <retenney(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [slastronews] News, 27 FEB 2006 > Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 09:15:55 -0700 > > Rich: > > The downtown campus of Salt Lake Community College > is in an office building > on the east side of Main Street between 1st and 2nd > South. The exact > address is 115 S. Main. Take the elevators to the > second floor, turn to > your left and you can't miss it. Many of us park at > the ZCMI Center parking > garage just a half block north. Hope this helps. > Thanks and look forward > to seeing you there. > > Lowell > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Richard Tenney" <retenney(a)yahoo.com> > To: <patrick(a)slas.us> > Cc: "Lowell Lyon" <bolide(a)sisna.com> > Sent: Monday, February 27, 2006 8:34 AM > Subject: Re: [slastronews] News, 27 FEB 2006 > > > > Patick > > > > Where exactly in the SLCC downtown building is the > > meeting? Or is it a one-room schoolhouse? Sorry, > > I've never been there, have no idea what to > expect. > > > > Thanks, > > Rich > > > > --- Patrick Wiggins <patrick(a)slas.us> wrote: > > > >> SLAS Meeting Tomorrow > >> > >> SLAS's monthly public meeting will be held > tomorrow > >> (Tuesday) beginning at 7:30 p.m. Dr. Stacy > >> Palen from Weber State University's Ott > Planetarium > >> will be the featured speaker. Her talk is > >> entitled "Dark Energy, The Accelerating Universe > and > >> the Cosmological Constant". > >> > >> The meeting will be held at the Salt Lake > Community > >> College's downtown building. > >> > >> http://slas.us/location.htm > >> +++++ > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam > protection around > > http://mail.yahoo.com > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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SLAS general meeting Tuesday, February 28th
by Lowell Lyon 26 Feb '06

26 Feb '06

Hello Everyone: At the general meeting this Tuesday, a special guest speaker will be announced for Friday, April 14th at the University of Utah. The project manager for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope will be presenting a free pubic lecture to be sponsored by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society and the University of Utah Physics Department. Also, SLAS has official word that the group campsite at Capitol Reef National Park is reserved for a weekend in August. The exact dates will also be announced at the general meeting on Tuesday. Kim Hyatt also will be announcing a star party at Great Basin National Park for Memorial Day weekend. Please arrive early to get good seats for our guest speaker, Dr. Stacy Palen. Thank you!! Lowell Lyon

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Important new site
by Richard Tenney 24 Feb '06

24 Feb '06

I've been meaning to post this for a while... The Jan. '06 issue of S&T made mention of this, and I've now added a link from the UVAA webpage for it, but in case you missed it, Anthony Arrigo (of Utah Skies fame) has opened up a new online business for selling dark-sky friendly lighting. In the past, anytime IDA advocates would sell a contractor or city official on the idea of installing good outdoor lighting, we were left in the lurch when asked where someone could actually purchase such lights. No more! Anyway, he's not paying me to write this, I just felt compelled to share in case you want to be the first on your block to have a "proper" porch light! :o) You know, practice what you preach! Anyway, check it out: http://www.starrynightlights.com/ -Rich __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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