“Experience the Universe at Charlie Elliott”
Join us for our next meeting at 6:00 p.m., Saturday, May 3rd, 2014 at the
Charlie Elliott Conference Center, Room B! Questions? Contact one of our officers.
MEETING AGENDA
Black Holes!
In modern science fiction, black holes are typically imagined as massive cosmic sink-holes voraciously consuming any spacecraft that ventures too close. As Dr. Bentz will explain, the black holes of “science fact” are much more intriguing than any black hole portrayed in science fiction.
In the late 1790’s, John Michell of England and Pierre-Simon Laplace of France independently suggested the existence of an invisible star, a star so massive with a gravitational field so strong that it’s own light would be unable to escape. In 1915, Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicted the existence of black holes. In 1967, an American theoretical physicist applied the term “black holes” to the then-theoretical objects. Only recently has technology been developed that allows us to detect and measure black holes, including the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy with four million times more mass than our Sun in less space than our own solar system occupies!
Join us on Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. for an enlightening and engaging talk about black holes by Dr. Misty Bentz, Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Georgia State University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Book Review
Dr. Jack Fitzmier will be continuing his series of book reviews. Jack is an entertaining and engaging public speaker and always manages to find great reads!
What’s up!
Charlie Elliott Astronomy Observing Supervisor John Towne will be giving a short presentation of what you can expect to see in the April sky with binoculars and small telescopes as well as the monthly Charlie Elliott Observing Challenge.
Sunset Time Alert
While we would love for everyone to stay for the entire meeting, we realize that some folks prefer to leave a bit earlier so as to set up their equipment at the observing field before dark. If the meeting runs longer than planned, a “Sunset Time Alert” will be announced.
“Observing after the meeting”
All are invited to the observing field immediately after the meeting (weather-permitting). As always, everyone is welcome.
Place: Jon Wood Astronomy Field at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center
|
