June 1: Star Trek - First Contact

 

On June 1, 2012, 50 people came to see "Star Trek: First Contact" as the first film in our summer Science Fiction Film series. The movie stars the cast of the television show "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and its plot centers around a group of cybernetic machine-human hybrids attempting to assimilate humanity in a grab for galactic domination. These alien "Borg" go back in time to stop the event called, "First Contact" where human beings first contact alien life forms after inventing faster-than-light travel.

After the movie, PhD candidate in Astronomy, Joshua Schroeder, described for the audience three scientific ideas related to the movie: the Copernican Principle, the Drake Equation, and General Relativity in the context of time travel to the past. The attendees generally reported enjoying the movie and had many questions about Schroeder's critique.

May 11: The Immortal Quantum

Our final speaker of the spring was PhD candidate, Cameron Hummels, who traced the path of energy through the Universe from the Big Bang to everyday processes here on Earth. In his usual enthusiastic style, Cameron reviewed the different forms energy can take using both himself and an array of props to demonstrate his points. Laying down the gauntlet for future speakers, Cameron capped his discussion of the conservation of energy with the legendary physics pendulum demo in which he released a x pound weight, attached to the ceiling of the lecture hall, and shut his eyes tightly as it swung away and then back to within millimeters of his chin. A great time was had by all 250+ audience members.

The skies mostly cooperated for visitors to observe some familiar targets such as Mars, Saturn and the Mizar and Alcor star system in the handle of the Big Dipper. Back indoors, graduate student Yuan Li led a discussion on brown dwarfs in the solar neighborhood and graduate student Jana Gcrevich ran our 3D Astro Wall.

On a closing note, Cameron is one of the founders of our outreach program. It's his blood, sweat, and tears that got his fellow graduate students and members of the department motivated to share their knowledge of the Universe with the public, teachers, and students of New York City. Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for the world of astronomy), Cameron is graduating this summer and leaving Columbia for the southwest where he will begin a post-doc at the University of Arizona on galaxy evolution. We wholeheartedly thank him for all his hard work and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Our summer event series kicks off Friday, June 1st. Stay tuned for more details…

--Summer

April 27: How is a Hubble Image Made?

The beautiful pictures of our universe provided by the Hubble Space Telescope are some of the most inspiring in Astronomy. This past Friday, PhD student Christine Simpson explained to attendees how these images are made. Explaining the basics of the telescope, CCDs and the color-assignment process, everyone could walk away with a deeper appreciation of these images.

In response to requests from several audience members, Christine has provided the following links related to her talk: Hubble’s Hidden Treasures contest and contest submissions to date; a nice explanation of the meaning of color in Hubble images; and an article from Sky & Telescope that describes Hubble image processing.

After the talk, some stayed to hear about Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. The cold weather also provided clear skies for observations on our roof. Columbia students helped visitors observe Saturn, the Moon, and the Mizar-Alcor star system in the Big Dipper's handle. Visitors were also able to experience our 3D wall. Our next lecture of the semester is May 11th. We hope to see you there!

 --Lauren

April 13: History of Astronomy and Navigation

On April 13, 260 people crowded a lecture hall in Pupin Physics Laboratories to hear Brandon Horn, graduate student in the Department of Astronomy, gave a lecture on the history of astronomy, navigation, geodesy, and photometry. Wowing the crowd with a zooming presentation, Brandon gave us a tour of major astronomical discoveries starting with the size of the Earth and moving all the way up to the expanding universe. People stayed after the talk to ask questions and explore the universe of Astronomy Picture of the Day in the lecture hall while others headed up the roof for a beautiful, clear view of the heavens.

On the roof, five volunteers helped visitors look at Mars, the Moon, the globular cluster M3, and the Orion Nebula. We were very fortunate to have such a clear view of the night skies and the huge number of visitors seemed to attest to how exciting it was to be able to use the observatories to their fullest capacity. Additionally, visitors who wanted to avoid the crowds could catch a show in our 3D theater where graduate student Yuan Li showed some videos about black holes and pulsars that the audience enjoyed. In all, a fun time was had by all.

--Josh

March 30: Space Rocks in the Neighborhood

During our last public outreach night, Columbia Astronomy Professor, Greg Bryan, took a break from his normal schedule of simulating the processes of cosmic galactic evolution to inform us about objects a little closer to home. In his talk entitled, ''Space Rocks in the Neighborhood: The Dangers of Near Earth Objects,'' Prof. Bryan discusses the forces governing the orbits of near-earth objects (NEOs) and how many have impacted the Earth in the past. He explained that there are different types of NEOs depending on whether they cross the Earth's orbit or circle just inside or outside of it. What makes these objects dangerous is that for many asteroids and a few comets larger than a 1 kilometer (~.6 miles) across, real catastrophic damage can be done, with many global causalties.

Prof. Bryan also described the ranking system for potential threats by NEOs which is based on the size of the approaching object and the "projected" distance from impacting Earth. He pointed out that the key to adverting disaster by impact is to know the orbits of all concerning NEOs well in advance of a potential impact. If the orbits are known, then various efforts can be utilized to nudge the object out of an impacting trajectory towards Earth. While new telescopes and surveys have greatly expanded our knowledge of these potential "doomsday" rocks, only a complete survey of these objects, with multiple snapshots (to determine orbits), can help us prepare to deflect them out of harm's way.

Finally, Prof. Bryan pointed out different methods that can be used to deflect the objects in orbit ranging from painting the rock in a highly reflective coating such that photon pressure from solar rays can slowly push the rock away to detonating a nuclear warhead next to it to give it a more pronounced and immediate impulse away from a harmful trajectory towards Earth. You can read about NASA's Near Earth Object Program at their website and explore the near Earth environment for yourself, virtually of course, at the Minor Planet Center.

It seems that many people are concerned about our ability to track and advert a catastrophic impact, considering we had 260+ people in attendance. Even though the weather wasn't cooperating that evening, many people remained to enjoy our post lecture activities by either staying in the lecture hall and discussing the science in Astronomy Picture of the Day images, led by undergrad Jose Montelongo, or watching 3-D astronomy shows, run by graduating grad student, Jana Grcevich.

Our next public outreach lecture is on Friday, April 13th and is entitled "Where the Ocean Meets the Sky."

--Duane

March 16: Our Galactic Neighborhood

On March 16 at 8 pm, 190 visitors joined us in Pupin Hall to hear from Dr. Gurtina Besla, an expert in predicting the past and future trajectories of galaxies interacting with our own Milky Way galaxy with special emphasis on the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. She showed us results from her research that have yet to be released indicating the exact manner in which the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy will interact and merge with our own galaxy eventually forming a new galaxy: "Milkomeda". Attendees were wowed by the ability for theoretical astrophysicists like Dr. Besla to predict the future of our galactic environment up to 8 billion years from now.

After the amazing lecture, visitors were treated to glimpses from our 3D Wall, a discussion of Astronomy Pictures of the Day, or a tour of our rooftop telescope facilities. Unfortunately, the clouds and haze prevented us from having a view of the heavens this week, but we cross our fingers for future Public Observing nights, the next one scheduled for March 30. Join us then!

--Josh

March 2: To the Moon on a Budget

On Friday, March 2nd Columbia Professor Arlin Crotts discussed the history and status of the exploration of the moon. Starting with robotic and manned missions in the 1960's, Prof. Crotts explained how America's space program was a symbol of national pride and a major "battlefield" in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. In the 1970's and 1980's, after the Apollo program was shutdown, there was a long lull in lunar exploration, leading to major scientific questions, which are only beginning to be answered now due to a resurgence over the last decade in the number of robotic missions to the Moon. Prof. Crotts proceeded to give the current status of NASA's investment into lunar science, as well as the status of some private ventures to send robotic missions to reach the Moon. The talk concluded with some of the ideas from Prof. Crotts's upcoming book on lunar exploration, about how future lunar missions may not only be scientifically beneficial but also profitable.

The lecture was followed by some excellent questions from the 85 attendees, especially by several keen younger audience members. Unfortunately, the weather did not permit observing with our telescopes, but we gave tours of our Rutherford Observatory, showed 3D movies with our 3D projector, and showed Cosmic Collisions, an astronomical movie put together by the American Museum of Natural History.

--Jeff