Last night, Friday September 18, we had a great lecture by Maureen Teyssier about what extraterrestrial life might have in common with us. She detailed the chemistry necessary for life as we understand it, as well speculated on how the environments of other lifeforms might affect them.
Unfortunately, the weather started out pretty crummy at the beginning of the night with clouds covering the sky. At 9:00 however, the clouds thinned, and we were able to set up 4 of the telescopes on the roof to look at various targets. We viewed Jupiter, Albireo, Alcor & Mizar, and the Double Cluster. Because some thin cloud remained, we were unable to look at any fainter targets.
At the same time, keeping in line with the "life in the universe" theme, Andrew Brown ran a slideshow on the possibilities of life on Jupiter's moon, Europa. We also showed a space shuttle launch video, some time-lapse photography from the summit of Mauna Kea (one of the biggest observatories in the world), and took questions from the audience on a variety of astronomical topics.
Thanks to all of the 125 attendees who showed up, and I hope we'll see you next week!
--Cameron
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