Recent Posts

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=2138

Perhaps several people take one or two planetary nebula and tell the history, science and art it.   Maybe do several (3-5) in one meeting.

Always looking for more ideas and variations on themes.

Bruce...

Dr. Dearborn will present 3-D hydrodynamic simulations of pair-instability supernova (PISN) explosions. He will follow the evolution of a 50 solar mass and a 65 solar mass helium-burning core from the main sequence to a pre-explosion evolved phase.

Dr. Mark Bottorff of Southwestern University will discuss the range of star types that may reside within a star cluster.  He will illustrate the regions of the HR diagram occupied and discuss the life cycle of the members of star clusters.

Members,

   The following linked article details some findings regarding significant leakage of IR radiation from some inexpensive green laser pointers.  We all know of the dangers of the green laser light emitted but many may be unaware of significant leakage if dangerous invisible IR laser light from inexpensive, poorly constructed units.

   The article also presents a simple testing procedure which may be set up at home using relatively common equipment.  This test will detect the presence of unwanted IR leakage from green laser pointers.

NIST Technical Note 1668
A Green Laser Pointer Hazard
http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=906138


John

Follow Mars Rover Curiosity on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/marscuriosity

  A video covering the Mars Rover program will be shown.

Club President Bruce Campney will present "20 Things You Never Knew About Radiative Recombination", a collection of interesting factoids.  The presentation will vaguely follow the monthly inside-cover articles of Discover Magazine.  The topic was chosen by members in an experimental topic-generation exercise during a meeting several months back.  If well received, we will likely have similarly formatted programs from time to time in the future.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128584733

THis is the link to the preview story last weekend.   Listen Saturday morning 7-9 am or wait a few hours and listen on the web.

From the transcript:
After almost 30 years, the U.S. Space Shuttle program is drawing to a close, though a Senate panel approved a plan this week that would extend it for another year. Therell be one, maybe two or more last missions before the shuttles go off to museums and the U.S. manned space program prepares for what may be next.

Commander Mark Kelly will captain the Endeavour Space Shuttle STS-134, now scheduled to launch next February. Next Saturday we'll take a ride with him in the space shuttle simulator. The SIM's a replica Endeavour that shakes, rattles, rolls and roars as in actual flight while sophisticated graphics flash by in the windows - Cap Canaveral, clouds of smoke, flashes of light and finally stars. If you've never lifted off in a rocket before, the SIM seems utterly real.

...


Bruce