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Journal of the Amateur Astrono mers Association of New York April 2011 Volume 59 Number 4 ISSN 0146-7662

EYEPIECE
than 1,200 "active planetary candidates." "We have a handful in the habitable zone and this is only from the first four months of Kepler data," Dupree said. "Of the dwarf stars, about 19% of them have planets, with orbital periods less than 125 days. There are mor e pla nets around smaller stars than larger stars and this will tell us something about the for mation of planets. This is already challenging what we know. Theor etically nothing really works at this point." "The first five planets we ha ve found are close in but they are ver y ver y massive." These are "the easy ones, the big ones." All are hot pla nets with orbits between 3.2 and 4.9 days. Four are larger than Jupiter, and the fifth is about four times the mass of Earth. Kepler continued on page 9

AAA Gets Update on Kepler Search for Earthlike Exoplanets
By Lynn Darsh
"Is Earth unique?" The Kepler Space Telescope's mission is to find the answer, according to Dr. Andr ea K. Dupree, senior astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, part of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. Speaking on "Searching for Exoplanets with Kepler" at the AAA's annual John Marshall Memorial Lecture at the AMNH March 4, Dupree said that she and her collea gues are searching for planets that could ha ve liquid water. "We don't want it to be too hot, we don't want it to be too cold, we wa nt it to be just right, and with a sufficient mass ...so ther e would be some atmospher e." The .95-meter Kepler telescope, launched in March 2009, searches a 100-square-degree field in Cygnus, between Deneb and Vega, looking along the Orion spur and slightly above the plane of the Milky Way for a distance of about 3,000 light-years. This field includes older stars that are slightly metal-poor. Some have traveled from other birthplaces, but, Dupree said, "The orientation and positioning of the satellite and the CCDs was exquisitely designed to avoid all the very bright stars." A large array of CCD detectors, with 95 megapixels, images 156,000 target stars ever y 30 minutes, and collects additional data on a set of 512 additional targets ever y minute. Kepler's instruments are sensitive enough to pick up variations in the light output of a star as small as 80 parts in a million. Kepler does its work in a heliocentric orbit so the Earth cannot block the view. The mission, designed to last for more than thr ee and a half years, released the first 90 days of data last June. On February 1 of this year, the second data release of four months of observations included the discovery of 15 extrasolar planets and more

Asimov Panelists Plumb Extra Dimensions, Universes
By Evan Schneider
Math structure connects quantum mechanics and gravity in the development of string theory, taking us to the possibility of extra dimensions, a panelist at the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate declared last month. Addr essing the debate at the AMNH March 7, which had the theme of "The Theor y of Ever ything," Brian Greene, Columbia professor and noted theor etical physicist, noted that although conceptual, M-Theor y considers 10 physical dimensions plus a time dimension as the cornerstone of string theor y. We're moving towards unifyAsimov Panel continued on page 9


What's Up
By Tony Hoffman The Sky for April 2011
Lord of the Rings. Saturn is at its best this month, shining at mag 0.4, in Virgo. It lies above Spica in early evening, between the stars Gamma and Theta Virginis. On April 3, it's opposite the Sun, visible all night. Its rings have opened so they're tilted 9 degr ees to our line of sight. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is an easy target even for small scopes, and Rhea, Tethys and Dione can be seen on good nights in my 4-inch scope. So can Iapetus, at least for part of its orbit; it's best in early April. April's Constellations. The brilliant winter stars are beginning to slip into the sunset. Orion and Canis Major disappear in the twilight by month's end, with Taurus soon descending to join them. Gemini and Auriga linger above the sunset glare, while Perseus and Cassiopeia swing down into the northwest. Leo stands near the meridian in the early evening. This is the best time of year to observe spring's trove of galaxies, from Leo to the Virgo Cluster, from Ursa Major to Canes Venatici. The Big Dipper swings high in the northeast, followed by Arcturus. The stellar circlet of Corona Borealis rises below Bootes, and Hercules climbs into the northeast. Hydra, an indistinct constellation except for Alphard, the bright orange star that marks its head, is sprawled across the souther n sky. The parallelogram of Corvus the Crow lies below Vir go. The two brightest planets are in the morning sky this month. Jupiter is emer ging from the dawn glare and can be seen at the end of the month to the lower left of Venus, which blazes at mag -3.9. On April 30, a thin crescent Moon joins Venus, Jupiter and Mercury, which will be better for viewing in May. Mars lies near Jupiter, but this ma g-1.2 planet will be hard to pick up in twilight. April 3 New Moon at 10:32 a.m.; Saturn at opposition. April 11 First-quarter Moon at 8:05 a.m. April 17 Moon at perigee, 222,507 miles from Earth, 2 a.m.; Moon lies near Saturn; Full Moon at 10:44 p.m. April 19 Mercury lies less tha n a degr ee from Mars (but is lost in twilight). April 22 Lyrid meteor shower peaks. April 24 Last-quarter Moon at 10:47 p.m.
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Jovian Great Red Spot Fades; South Equatorial Belt Revives
By Joseph A. Fedrick
I watched Jupiter as it set earlier each night during March. I could clearly see, even with my 60mm refractor at 100x, that the S outh Equatorial Belt has grown darker in the past several months. As this belt has darkened, the Great Red Spot faded. During summer and fall, I could easily see the Great Red Spot with my refractor, but on March 1 and 3, when the spot should have been near the Jovia n meridian, I could barely see a disturbance in the South Equatorial Belt, wher e the spot should ha ve been. Views of Jupiter on the Internet, taken with much larger telescopes, show the spot has faded and become surrounded by a ring of dark clouds extending from the South Equatorial Belt. As of March 3, Mercury ha dn't appeared below Jupiter. But clearing weather in midMarch enabled seeing Mercury align with Jupiter before Mercury vanished into the solar glare in late March. Saturn has been rising earlier each night and in early March, with my 60mm r efractor, I barely glimpsed some slightly whitish streaks on it, perhaps from a stormy disturbance that erupted in December. This winter's prolonged snow pack finally mostly melted by early March. With less light from str eetlights reflected onto the sky, it's become darker, enabling me to see as ma ny as eight stars in the Pleiades March 1. Venus rose later and was low near the horizon at dawn in March. Its shrinking dazzling disk displayed a gibbous phase in my 60 mm r efractor at 50x and 100x. The S un displayed a triangular grouping of sunspots in early March. Except for the appearance of occasional large dark sunspots associated with coronal mass ejections and aurorae, the solar disk hasn't been very active. . Cirrus clouds in the mor ning sky March 4 caused a halo to for m around the Sun. The halo had two bright perihelia at 22 degr ees right and left of the Sun and an arc of light above it. Jupiter will re-emer ge in the spring, when it will be joined by Venus, Mercury and Mars.


A Message from AAA President Richard Rosenberg
Hello members: Spring is her e, so all our observing sessions will be going this month, including the High Line (ever y Tuesday beginning in April), Brooklyn Heights (April 13), Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park (to be deter mined). Note we ha ve moved fr om Cadman Plaza to the Brooklyn Heights promenade, at the end of Montague Street. We expect a large incr ease in pedestrian traffic as a result. The Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) will take place on April 16 and 17 at State University of New York in Suffern, N. Y. This has become the biggest astronomy expo anywhere, with many vendors offering gr eat equipment at bargain prices. In between shopping, you can catch a talk by spea kers such as Alex Filippenko, Bob Ber ma n and Heidi Hammel. For mor e info, go to http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf/index.html. Member Stan Honda has taken wonderful ima ges of the Space Shuttle Discover y's last launch. You can find these on our website at http://aaa.org/stslaunch2011. Jason Kendall has finished his class on astrophysics to much acclaim from students. We hope to have another class (on a different topic) later this spring or in the fall. Watch for an observing session at Ward Pound Ridge for the class. Wendy Freedma n, dir ector of the Carnegie Observatories, will be giving the Ba mpton Lectures. These talks will be presented on April 5 at the Hayden Planetarium, and April 7, 12 and 14 Columbia University. For more infor mation, go to http://ircpl.org/ba mpton-lectures/. If you'r e interested in joining the club's board of directors, ther e's still time. Contact me a nd I will put you in touch with Marcelo Cabrera, chair of our nominating committee. Our annual meeting will be held on Wednesda y, nity Center, 120 Warren St. Please come for an hour of business meeting, I will give a report on the state of the and members of the board of dir ectors will be elected. C Rich Rosenberg, president@aaa.org, (718) 522-5014 May 18 at 6:30 p. m. at headquarters, Downtown Commusocializing and food, followed by the business meeting. At the club, those who run club activities will report on the past year ome and rub shoulders with your fellow members!

AAA Lecturer April 1 to Discuss Using Space to Regreen the Earth
Dr. Greg Matloff, professor of astronomy at New York City College of Technology (CUNY), will addr ess the AAA Frida y, April 1 on "Regr eening the Earth Using Space Resources." The fr ee public lecture begins at 6:15 p. m. in the Kaufmann Theater of the AMNH. "I will discuss use of solar-system r esources to improve life on Earth, especially methods of diverting threatening asteroids. I will outline mining these objects for material that can be used to construct solar -power satellites to bea m ener gy to Earth or to build sunshades at Earth-Sun L1 to fight global war ming." Matloff's latest book, "Paradise Regained, " co\authored with Les Johnson of NAS A and artist C Bangs, is on regreening the Earth using solar -system resources. Matloff is an expert in possibilities for interstellar propulsion, especially near-Sun solar-sail trajectories that might ultimately enable interstellar travel. He's a consultant with the NAS A Marshall Space Flight Center, a Hayden Associate of the AMNH and a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. He's authored or co-author ed such books as " Solar Sails," "Living Off the Land in Space," "Deep-Space Lecture continued on page 14
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AAA's Astrophysics for Amateurs Class is a Great Success
By Evan Schneider
On January 25, in the first session of a weekly class that ended early last month, AAA board member and NASA/JPL Ambassador Jason Kendall took an intrepid class of 50 club members on a journey into the complex world of astrophysics. As a teaching guide, "Astrophysics is Easy, An Introduction for the Amateur Astronomer " by Mike Inglis, the class text, was used to frame Jason's lectures. Understanding astrophysics begins with understanding our physical limitations and capacity for deductive r easoning. As earthbound astronomers, our ability to observe is limited to light we gather through ground-based telescopes, technology in the sky and unma nned space missions. Gathering light and understanding how it interacts with matter is key to developing mathematical formulas that explain how the universe works. Understanding the components of light provides us with methodologies to classify stars, galaxies and other celestial bodies. Astrophysics provides perspective. Measuring a star's light must be understood in context with its distance. A star may be bright because it's near or bright because it's large but far away. The Stellar Parallax, an angular measurement of a star observed from two locations in Earth orbit, provides a formula to calculate these distances. With distance established, further star classifications can begin. Note that calculations shift dra matically as we observe stars farther away. This may skew observations, calculations and classifications. Classifying stars through color (the Wien Law) provides insight into a star's temperature (low temperature is red to infrared, hotter blue to ultraviolet). Calculating luminosity and temperature, mathematics then allows deter mination of size and mass of a star. Astrophysics at work again! Spectroscopy, creating a spectrum to identify the ma ny elements within each star, is the next step. Different spectra help astronomers classify a star by its composition and life cycle. With these data, there's enough infor mation to understand a star's evolution.
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But for astrophysicists, understanding individual stars is just the beginning of understanding the universe. How ma ny kinds of stars are ther e? How are stars classified? We need the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a graphic plot of known stars developed in 1911, to understand star classifications. Utilizing luminosity, spectral type, surface temperature and absolute magnitude (calculated and classified through the observation of light and applied math), 90% of stars are placed on the H -R dia gram along the Main S equence. The r est are off the Main S equence. All stars can be identified as gia nts, supergiants, red/white/brown dwarfs, etc. We now have our basic understanding of stars and how they fit into the universe, but what about the space between stars? In the future collision of the Milky Way and Andr omeda galaxies, scientists hypothesize that distances between stars in both are so gr eat there ma y not be any star collisions. Matter occupying space between stars is called the Interstellar Medium, a composition of gas and dust. Scientists calculate that only 4% of the universe is comprised of "ordinary" matter (the rema ining being 23% dark matter and 73% dark ener gy). In seeking to better understand the universe, we should remember we're only focusing on understanding a small part of what surrounds us. Woven throughout the class was Jason's innate ability to reduce complex calculations to an understanding of basic principles. When discussing solar dyna mics, for exa mple, he explained a complex for mula calculating temperature by stating, "Temperature is a measurement of the movement of particles in the medium it's in." Understanding matter on an atomic and subatomic level provides deeper knowledge of the universe, and the basic forces of nature. Gravity, electroma gnetic interaction, and wea k and strong nuclear forces all work to affect who we are and what we observe. "As physical beings, electroma gnetic interactions keep us together," Jason observed. Thinking about ourselves held together this way was a little unner ving to the class. Class continued on page 13


At the Space Center to Photograph Discovery's Final Flight
By Stan Honda
One of the most exciting and terrifying parts of my job as a photographer is watching ima ges appear on the computer screen from a compact flash card in a remotecontrolled ca mera at a space-shuttle launch. Did the ca mera fire? Did I get the pictur e? Is the exposure correct? Was the composition good? Was the ca mera aimed properly? Was it worth the hours of work? I was at Kennedy Space Center February 24 to photograph shuttle Discovery's last flight for Agence FrancePresse, the French news agency I work for. This is the 10th shuttle mission I've cover ed. I joined Bruce Weaver, a freelance photographer, who wor ks for AFP during shuttle activities and helps coordinate coverage. The media center is across from the huge Vehicle Assembly Building, wher e the shuttle's prepared and where the giant Saturn V rolled out during the Apollo program. The closest we can shoot the launch is from manned positions three to four miles awa y. But photographers are allowed to set up remote-controlled ca meras inside a safety perimeter just over a mile fr om the pad. Early on February 23, one day befor e the launch, the wire-service pool gathered for a 6 a.m. security check by dogs. We were allowed anywher e inside the safety perimeter to place cameras. Bruce put his ca meras up first, placing his customma de box holding two ca meras and a sound trigger on each tripod. Made of thin pr essed wood, the box holds one ca mera horizontally and another vertically, with the top extending out to for m a hood. This protects the cameras from most weather; a removable back allows access to the equipment. Gene, the driver, combined sound meters and a relay to produce a sound trigger. We spliced together cords so two ca meras can wor k off one trigger. The sensitivity can be adjusted. Once the sound r eaches a certain level, a circuit closes and the ca mera fires. As the shuttle rises and the sound level drops, the ca mera stops. It's a simple solution to the problem of firing the ca mera. I put a camera in a marsh about thr ee-quarters of a mile southwest of the pad, wearing waders since the swa mp is often under a foot of water. Aiming the ca meras in the box is tricky. I first pointed the vertica l camera at the pad. Then I leveled the box, using the virtual horizon built into the ca mera. I loosened the scr ew, securing the horizontal camera, and rotated the camera until it aimed properly. It takes a lot of readjusting to get horizontal and vertical ca meras properly set. I've put a 35mm lens on the horizontal camera and a zoom lens at about 100mm for the vertical shot. We were allowed a quarter-mile from Pad 39A to place ca meras, as close to the shuttle as any civilian is allowed. I decided to put a tripod with four cameras at a spot about 800 feet from the shuttle at a point wher e we wer e looking up at the gantry and vehicle. I put a 16mm fisheye lens on a horizontal ca mera and a 50mm on a vertical. Sand bags on the tripod legs are mandatory; NAS A doesn't want cameras flying around the pad from the blast. We wrapped each ca mera in plastic bags, remembering to cut a hole for the lens. In all, we put out 17 remote ca meras. I shot with thr ee Nikon D3 ca meras attached 400mm with a 1.7x converter, making it a 680mm; 200 zoom cla mped to the railing in front of me, with a hand remote cord; and a wide-a ngle lens on ble-top tripod behind me, fir ed by a radio trigger. to a a 70 fired a ta -

The launch was beautiful. Two minutes into flight, a sma ll puff appeared as I peer ed through the telephoto. Then two small orange lights began moving left and right. More than 28 miles up, 25 miles down range and at Mach 4, the solid rocket booster separated. A small white dot--the shuttle and its main engine--continued into space. After sending our pictures, we collected the remote cameras. It usually takes 1Ѕ-2 hours to get the all clear to proceed inside the safety perimeter. I had my computer so I could view and send photos, using an air card from the field. The computer opened the ima ges on the screen. Rows of pictures appeared, a good sign because Launch continued on page 13
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Review: Pluto as the Watchman of the Solar System
By Thomas Haeberle
Who watches the watchman? Astronomers and scientists, that's who, hoping to learn mor e about " Pluto, the Sentinel of the Outer Solar System," the title of Barrie W. Jones' fine new book (Cambridge, $35.99). This account explores the bodies at the end of the solar system and describes its most significa nt member. This is nothing like Neil deGrasse Tyson's book, "The Pluto File, " a humorous look at his decision to demote Pluto and the public's perception about the planet that's not. This book takes the subject of dwarf planets and their kin ver y seriously. My first thought was, "Oh no, another book cashing in on Pluto," but it was very thought provoking and r efr eshing. The book is intelligently crafted and full of facts, and Jones' boxed texts are relevant for "those wishing to go deeper" into the subject matter. None of these sidebars require math skills beyond high-school algebra. The author's most in-depth equations deal with spectral analysis of planetary bodies. There are exceptional cha rts and figures, such as one showing comparative radii of spherical bodies of the solar system and another explaining why Pluto and Neptune, with over lapping orbits, can't collide. There's a quick run through of planet hunting and discovery, including David Jewitt's and Jane Luu's discover y of 1992 QB1, the object that fulfilled the prophecy of Kenneth Edgeworth and Gerard Kuiper. Jones confesses to not liking the ter m Kuiper Belt objects because it robs Edgeworth of his contribution of their existence. Yet, to abbreviate, he uses the ter m KBOs anyway because of its popularity. Curiously, Pluto's "rival" Eris and its discover er, Mike Brown, are scarcely mentioned. Jones explains in detail the r easoning for the new planetary classification. He lea ds up to concluding that based on Pluto's composition, diminutive size and the company it keeps, its demotion was inevitable. "Ther e is a dramatic distinction between the planets and the dwarf planets in ter ms of size," even when compared to Mercury, the smallest of the "large" planets. Jones dislikes this new " dwarf" class. He would pr efer a distinction as classes of "large" and "small" planets.
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An over view is given of the International Astronomical Union's 2006 decision to demote Pluto, and what didn't happen three years later. The issue of classification was brought up again by a gr oup of a mateur astronomers but was quickly quashed. "So now we are left with a fla wed, incomplete classification system for planets. Any definition should apply to other star systems. This would include defining bodies unlike those in our solar system." There's much discussed about the New Horizon mission due to arrive at Pluto in 2015. The mission's primary objective is to study the geology of Charon and Pluto as well as the latter's atmospheric escape rate and potential to precipitate. The fact that Pluto was ignored during the golden age of unma nned exploration was solely due to its small size and isolation. As our knowledge of the outer solar system gr ew, so did our interest in sending a spacecraft to Pluto. The fact that Pluto is so like Triton and that Triton might be a captured moon of Neptune is intriguing to scientists and begs the question: Is Pluto a twin of Triton and does it have geysers too? "It is reasonable [to assume] that New Horizon will yield a cornucopia of new data on Pluto" -- and other small planetary bodies? Regrettably, ther e's a lackluster ending in the chapter "Gateway and Beyond." I was hoping for a more exciting possibility for the rejected planet, but the author concludes that Pluto wouldn't make a useful launch platfor m to the stars after all, except for astronauts possibly erecting a large robotic telescope that can be remotely operated after huma ns have left. The "further reading" section lists key scientific papers, books, Inter net links and magazines that enable readers to explore various topics in greater detail. This isn't just a book about Pluto; Jones covers a range of astronomy topics. Sidebar texts tend to draw you in and are themselves very intriguing to the point they become distracting. Despite the demotion of Pluto, Jones shows it's still and always will r ema in of inter est as one of the largest known objects orbiting beyond Neptune.


A Roundup of Newly Published Books on Astronomy
By Dan Harrison
"Massive: The Missing Particle that Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science" by Ian Sample (Basic Books, $25.95) discusses the genesis of the Large Hadron Collider and probes what one observer calls "its most famous particulate quarry," the Higgs Boson particle. Sample, a Guardian science correspondent, raises the question of what gives objects mass and explains current theory behind this question, a theory based on the mysterious Higgs Boson. Another mysterious particle is the neutrino. In "Neutrino," by Oxford physics professor Frank Close (Oxfor d University Press, $18.95), the author probes what he calls "the commonest and weirdest" of all the things that make up the universe." He notes that neutrinos are "so shy that half a century after their discovery, we still know less about them than all the other varieties of matter that have ever been seen." Ar e you Galileoed out? Think there's no room for yet another biography of the gr eat man? Think again. There are not one but two new bios. One is "Galileo: Watcher of the Skies" by David Wootton (Yale University Press, $35), professor of history at the University of York in Britain. "Our task--our impossible task--is not just to read what Galileo wrote, but also to rediscover what he thought," the author says. "To do so, we need to catch the echoes of long-lost conversations." The other title is "Galileo" by J. L. Heilbron (Oxford University Press, $34.95), emer itus professor of history at U Cal Berkeley. "I've tried to bring together not only his well-known work on astronomy and mathematics, but also his less known work on literary matters. Before he was a mathematician and long befor e he was a martyr, he was a literary man." And he adds: "At the ver y end of my book, I offer a suggestion which will end the Galileo affair to ever ybody's satisfaction in no less than another 400 years." Two other seminal figur es in the history of astronomy are the subject of "Discoverers of the Universe: William and Caroline Herschel" (Princeton University Press, $29.95) by Michael Hoskin. The book sheds light on a productive but complicated r elationship, setting their numerous scientific achievements in the context of their personal struggles, larger -tha n-life a mbitions and bitter disappointments. Hoskin is a fellow at the University of Cambridge. Also from Princeton are two mor e titles. "Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond our Solar System" ($24.95) is by University of Toronto astrophysics professor Ray Jayawardhana. The author recounts stories of the scientists and the breakthroughs that have usher ed in this new age of exploration. He revea ls how technology is rapidly advancing to support dir ect observations of Jupiter -like gas giants and super Earths, and how astronomers use biomarkers to seek possible life on other worlds. Joshua S. Bloom, associate professor of astronomy at U Cal Berkeley, has authored "What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts?" ($27.95). In recent years, gamma -ray bursts have gone from being little understood to being revealed as playing a role in diverse phenomena. "Moon: A Brief History" by Ber nd Brunner (Yale University Press, $25) is a cultural examination of our nearest celestial neighbor through history, science a nd literature, from ancient times to the pr esent. The Moon's effects on life on Earth are included. Vintage photos and illustrations pepper the book. "Visions of Mars: Essays on the Red Planet in Fiction and Science" (McFarland & Compa ny, $49.95)-edited by Howard V. Hendrix, George Edgar Slusser and Eric S. Rabkin--contains 17 essays exploring the evolving scientific understanding of Mars, and the relationship between that understanding and the r ole of Mars in literature, the arts and popular culture. Essays in the first section exa mine approaches to Mars by scientists and writers Jules Verne and J.H. Rosny. Section Two covers the uses of Mars by such writers as Wells, Burroughs and Bradbury. The third section looks at Mars as a cultural mirror in science fiction. Essayists include writers, scientists and literary critics. Hendrix teaches English at Cal State Fresno. Slusser is professor emer itus of comparative literature at U Cal Riverside. Rabkin is professor of English la ngua ge and literature at the University of Michigan.
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When a Loved One Decides to Go Against Society's Grain
By Ron McCullough
Having heard about "Starry Messenger" from two sources, one personal and one through the AAA, I decided to catch the play about Galileo, which ran at the Theater for the New City recently. A trellis of greener y spotted with large five-pointed stars and round lanterns symbolizing moons or planets border ed the staging, and a spiral pattern of speckled light projected onto a purple floor gave one the impression of a spiral galaxy. An antique telescope stood humbled in isolation in the center of the circular audience's scrutiny, as if it were on trial and surrounded by its accusers. The play opened with church bells chiming as Galileo stood at center stage. Four people stood off from him at the four cardinal points of the compass. The scene ended without any words or movements from a ny of the characters, leaving me perplexed as to its meaning. The play then depicted Galileo in a series of scenes, interacting with various characters. First was Galileo's assistant and mentor ee, Benedetto Castelli, as Galileo revealed Jupiter's moons to him. Ambitious and anxious for Galileo's discovery to put an end to the church, Castelli is also concer ned for Galileo's safety. But the desire to challenge the church incr eases steadily, outweighing his concer ns for Galileo's well being. Cardinals Borgia and Zacchi next confronted Galileo. They wer e wonderfully contrasted: a thin pointed-nose cynic and a portly priest apparently self-satisfied with gluttonous overindulgences. The final thr ee characters wer e Galileo's illegitimate children. Much of the play is about the love Galileo had for them, they for him and how they wer e affected by Galileo's refusal to repudiate his statement that Earth isn't the center of the universe. Galileo's son, Vincenzio, was portrayed as a selfcentered individual whose only concern was petitioning for legitima cy so he could advance his career and social status, and how Galileo's refusal to repudiate his work da maged this effort.
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Galileo's daughters wer e in a convent, but any similarities end ther e. Celeste was her love and church. She b didn't reverse all but consumed by the conflict between belief in her father and her vows to the elieved the plague would come if Galileo his position.

As palpable as was the mutual love and r espect between Galileo and Celeste, the relationship between him and his second daughter, Arcangela, was viscerally ominous. Arcangela suffer ed from dementia, possessed by a demon that only allowed her to communicate in a litany of disjointed prophetic words and phrases: sub-atomic, black holes, Pluto, electrons, Big Bang, E=MC2, and the like. Galileo is naturally confounded by these wor ds and why Arcangela ties a Pandora's box of releasing evil that can't be undone to his refusal to reca nt. Ther e was little science in "Starry Messenger." It only stated that Galileo supported the theory that Earth moves and isn't the center of the universe. Instead of being about science, the play was a glimpse into how personal lives are impacted and threatened when a loved one goes against society's grain. The play ended as it began: Galileo standing at the center, with Celeste, Arcangela, Vincenzio, and the assistant Benedetto standing at the cardinal points of the compass, again with no movement and no dia logue. It was just as puzzling, until a few weeks later it dawned on me. It wasn't Galileo in the middle of compass points. He repr esented Jupiter and the four people around him wer e the moons. They pulled on him with a n emotional force as strong as gravity, while he stood steadfast in his resolution, a giant, holding them in orbit around him.

Contacting the AAA
General club matters: president@aaa.org. Membership business, such as dues and change of addr ess: members@aaa.org. Eyepiece: editor@aaa.org. Lectures: lectures@aaa.org. Classes: classes@aaa.org. Seminar: seminar@aaa.org. Observing: president@aaa.org. Please visit us on the web at www.aaa.org.


Kepler continued from page 1 It will take time to find a possible "Goldilocks planet." The Kepler tea m estimates the geometric probability of a planet being in the correct plane to transit its star from Kepler's vantage point is 0.5%-10%. Many stars must be observed, almost continuously, for three years, to discover terrestrial planets in habitable zones or show that terrestrial planets are rare. The size of this habitable zone changes. "When stars are very hot, the habitable zone is further out. And simply observing a transit is just the beginning. When one observes a transit, a lot mor e needs to be done to verify that it is not something else. Ther e could be another star in the field that produces the signal mimicking a transit." Kepler also measures radial velocities of a star to confir m it's moving in a way that agrees with the transit. Dupree described the "exciting" Kepler 10 system that has at least two planets. "The transit tells us the size of the planets. Then we measur e radial velocity to determine a planet's mass. With this knowledge, we know the radius and the mass, and it turns out it is a planet which is rocky, just like Earth. It has a period of about .84 days. It has a radius about 1.4 times the radius of Earth and a mass 4.6 times Earth's. This rocky planet...is locked into the host star. One side is very hot--1,800 degr ees, the temperature of molten la va--and the other is ver y cold." Kepler 11 is a star with six planets. If the six wer e placed in our solar system, they'd be within Venus' orbit. "They'r e bigger and mor e massive tha n Earth, and mor e massive tha n Kepler 10, which is the rocky planet. So they'r e probably a mixtur e of things, wher e they have hydrogen and helium, and maybe some are a little bit rockier than others." The common transiting method of finding exoplanets is far mor e successful (122 planets found) than the other direct techniques of ima ging and coronagraphy, and the indir ect planet finding techniques of astrometry, pulsar timing and gravitational microlensing. Another indir ect planet-finding technique, radial velocity, has found more than 400 extrasolar planets by measuring changes in a star's velocity caused by the gravitational tug of a planet, and is being used with Earth-based telescopes to confir m Kepler's findings.

Asimov Panel continued from page 1 ing mathematical perspectives, but are only in the theoretical stages of understanding the relationships of various string theories and how they relate to our universe, Greene said. Six theoretical physicists, astrophysicists and cosmologists constituted the panel. Discussion revolved around understanding the universe on macro and micro levels, how adva nces in technology and math have expanded early theories into obser vable models and how string theor y will help explain unsolvable problems. "As we look farther back to see imprints in the cosmic microwave backgr ound," stated Katie Freese, University of Michigan theor etica l physicist, "we can observe quantum fluctuations and inflate them to look at interactions of elements on an atomic and subatomic level." Explaining how these building blocks of the universe evolved provides a way to support mathematical theories predicting quantum mecha nical and general gravitational reactions, she added. Einstein waded into these waters, and general relativity evolved into special r elativity, opening our vision of interrelationships between space and time. Some of his work continues through string theory, the core of the debate. Janna Levin, professor of physics and astronomy at Columbia, added her perspective of using mathematics to describe space/time. "Speed may be the answer to pushing matter into another dimension," she explained. Levin theorized that extra dimensions predate string theor y. Panelists agreed that science produces mathematical models. Scientists then seek observable proof to va lida te theories. These theories develop into laws, which explain the "what" of the universe, but not the "why." Theor etical physicist Lee Smolin, a researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo, both in Waterloo, Ont., believes we'r e heading toward "multiverse" models which will change the way we understand our universe. Asimov Panel continued on page 14
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Briefs: Possibly More Than 50 Billion Planets in Milky Way
Scientists estimate there are 50 billion or mor e planets In the Milky Way. At least 500 million are in the not too-hot, not-too-cold zone wher e life could exist. The numbers wer e extrapolated from early results of NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope. Scientists took the number of planets they found in the first year of searching a sma ll part of the night sky and then ma de an estimate on how likely stars are to have planets. Kepler has found 1,235 candidate planets, with 54 in the zone wher e life could possibly exist. Its main mission is not to exa mine individual worlds, but give astronomers a sense of how ma ny pla nets, especially potentially habitable ones, are likely in our galaxy. They would use the one-fourhundredth of the night sky Kepler is looking at and extrapolate from ther e. Scientists figured one of two stars has planets and one of 200 stars has planets in the habitable zone. That's a minimum because these stars can have mor e than one planet and Kepler has yet to get a long enough glimpse to see stars further out from a star. To estimate the total number of planets, scientists then took the fr equency observed alr eady and applied it to the number of stars in the Milky Way. For many years, scientists estimated 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, but last year that was upped to closer to 300 billion. A new instrument will help Kepler confir m and characterize potential alien planets. It's a new precision spectrograph instrument, HARPS-North. HARPS stands for High-Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher. It's designed to detect the tiny radial velocity signal induced by planets as small as Earth if they orbit close to their star. Kepler provides the size of a planet, based on the a mount of light it blocks when it passes in front of its star. Scientists now need to measure planetary masses. That will allow them to distinguish rocky planets and water worlds from ones dominated by atmospher es of hydrogen and helium. HARPS-N will partner with Kepler to characterize worlds enough like Earth they might support life as we know it. First measurements are expected in a year. NASA's Messenger spacecraft made history March 17 when it beca me the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around Mercury. The spacecraft will soon begin mapping Mercury and studying the planet's composition, geology and tenuous atmospher e. The Messenger (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) Mission launched in August 2004. During the past 6 1/2
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years, Messenger has been a solar -system wander er, completing 15 orbits of the Sun and traveling about 4.9 billion miles. During this time, it made one flyby of Earth, two of Venus and thr ee of Mercury, primarily to slow the probe down in preparation for the orbitalinsertion ma neuver. Messenger also took pictur es and did science work during these close encounters. Its Mercury observations wer e the first spacecraft data returned from the planet since NASA's Mariner 10 probe made three flybys in the mid-1970s. Messenger will scrutinize Mercury from a highly eccentric orbit for the next year: as close as 124 miles and as far away as 9,300 miles. The overall goal is to use an increased understanding of Mercury to learn mor e about how our solar system, and solar systems in general, for med and evolved. NASA pulled the plug on the WISE spacecraft (Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer) in F ebruary. The spacecraft will rema in in hibernation without ground contacts, awaiting possible future use. WISE launched in December 2009 for a 10-month mission to collect data to be stitched together into a composite map of the entir e sky. The spacecraft surveyed the cosmos in infrared, allowing it to peer through layers of dust to capture photos of previously unseen objects in unprecedented detail. In addition to asteroids and comets, WISE is designed to detect the faint glow of distant objects, such as brown dwarfs. WISE scanned the sky one-and-a-half times, taking about 1.8 million ima ges, including stars and galaxies. It spotted 19 previously unseen comets and mor e than 33,500 asteroids, including 120 near -Earth objects. In September, WISE ran out of coolant to chill its infrared detectors. Without coolant, WISE operated on two of its four detectors, detecting objects in the solar system. An expedition to see if some form of life ever existed on Mars and a journey to Europa to study its underground ocea n should be NASA's highest-priority missions in the next deca de, a Nationa l Research Council report asserts. "Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022" warns, however, that budget woes might delay some or all of these missions. Sample r eturn is viewed as key to gauging possible past life on Mars. The third priority for a large-scale mission would be the Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission, the first Continued on page 11


Briefs: How Much Dark Matter Is Needed for Stars to Form?
Continued from page 10 to explor e the inter nal structure and composition of an ice giant. On medium-size missions, the committee recommended two extra missions for its New Frontiers program, which explor es the solar system with frequently launched, mid-size spacecraft. The r eport lacked recommendations for small missions. The committee also urged NSF to complete the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope to detect hazardous near -Earth objects and help analyze main-belt asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects and comets. A new study has pinpointed the lower limit of dark matter needed to ignite a frenzy of star formation: a mass equal to 300 billion Suns. Dark matter is a vital ingr edient for galaxies in star formation. The 300 billion solar masses' worth of dark matter is 10 times less than the amount previously estimated. If one starts with too little dark matter, a developing galaxy would peter out. If ther e's too much, gas doesn't cool efficiently to for m one large galaxy, and you end up with lots of smaller galaxies. But if you have the just the right amount of dark matter, a galaxy bursting with stars will pop out. Such galaxy characteristics as brightness and stellar mass are directly related to the size of their dark matter halo. Scientists studied a patch of sky the size of the Moon in Ursa Major to make their discover y. This wedge of sky is ideal for studying objects outside our galaxy because of low dust conta mination from the Milky Way. Several space telescopes have viewed a gia nt ring of black holes across differ ent parts of the light spectrum. Two interacting galaxies, known collectively as Arp 147, about 430 million light-years away from Earth, set the stage for the view. Arp 147 contains leftovers from the collision of a spiral and elliptical ga laxies that unleashed an expanding wave of star formation. The wa ve of stars creates the ring effect. But these stars are short -lived, lasting no more than a few million years befor e they explode as supernovas or collapse into black holes. The black holes pepper the ring, with their powerful X-ray emissions appearing as bright pink specks. A Japanese spacecraft has spotted two huge holes in the Sun, gateways for solar material and gas to spill into space. These are gaps in the magnetic field that make a hole through the corona, allowing gas to escape. In the ima ge, one coronal hole appears near the top center of the Sun while another, a polar coronal hole, is visible near the bottom of the view. The holes appear darker than other parts of the Sun because they're relatively cool compared with active r egions nearby. Researchers studying new images of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have spotted ripples of instability along their flanks similar to those on the edges of Earth's clouds or in ocea n waves. The observation may provide insight into why CMEs appear to both rotate and be deflected from following a straight path from the surface of the Sun. If instabilities for m on just one flank, they may incr ease drag on one side of the CME, causing it to move slower tha n the rest of the CME. A telescope in Hawaii has set an asteroid-hunting r ecord: 19 discover ed in one night, the most by a single telescope. Two asteroids' orbits will bring them extremely close to us in the next 100 years. By taking numer ous ima ges, then comparing them to find moving asteroids in deep space, astronomers picked up 30 potential asteroids January 29. They then spent three nights searching for the asteroids. Supermassive black holes gobble up material so gr eedily they fling away huge amounts of perfectly good "food," a new study suggests. Researchers studying a faraway galaxy detected a huge amount of gas and dust spewing from the super massive black hole at its core. This exodus is depriving the black hole of the food it needs to continue growing, and it's limiting the galaxy's ability to churn out new stars. The galaxy is Markarian 231, about 600 million light-years from Earth, in the direction of Ursa Major. In the final stages of a violent mer ger with another galaxy, it's gobbling dust and gas so voraciously it's spawning a powerful quasar. Gas and dust are streaming from the galactic cor e for at least 8,000 light-years in all dir ections, at mor e than 2.2 million mph, accelerated by the quasar's immense power. The outflow is removing gas from Mrk 231's inner regions mor e than 2.5 times as fast as stars can for m. A telescope that will be one of the largest in the world Continued on page 12
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Briefs: Pre-Solar System Dust Grains Bounced Around
Briefs continued from page 11 has been given the gr een light to be built atop Mauna Kea. The University of Hawaii will build and operate the $1.3 billion Thirty Meter Telescope. The multi-year vetting process took the project's cultural and environmental impacts into account. The new scope will work in a range of wavelengths, from ultraviolet to mid-infrared. Its 98-foot-wide primary mirror will give the scope nine times the power of today's most powerful scopes in the optical/infrared. An adva nced adaptive-optics system will provide ima ges mor e than 12 times sharper than the Hubble's. The new instrument could start making observations around 2020. Dust grains that eventually coalesced into our solar system's planets bounced around over vast distances nearly 4.6 billion years ago, a new meteorite study suggests. Scientists studying a tiny chunk of a meteorite say it likely for med close to the Sun, was ejected near today's asteroid belt, then returned to the scorching inner reaches thereafter. Scientists investigated a pea -size piece of the Allende meteor ite that landed in Mexico in 1969. The bit they looked at is a calcium-aluminum-rich inclusion, or CAI. CAIs often get fused into larger meteorite pieces such as Allende. Scientists believe CAIs wer e among the first solids to condense from the swirl of gas and dust as the planets wer e for ming. The tea m measur ed concentrations of two oxygen isotopes in the space rock's various la yers. Concentrations of oxygen-16 and oxygen-17 varied from place to place while the solar system was forming. So by analyzing their relative abundances in differ ent parts of the CAI, the tea m was able to learn much about its extensive travels. The south polar region of Saturn's moon Enceladus churns out far mor e heat than Yellowstone National Park, a new study finds. Using Cassini data, researchers deter mined the far southern reaches of Enceladus produce about 15.8 giga watts of heat-generated power, roughly equivalent to the output of 20 coal-fired power plants. That's 2.6 times the output of all hot springs in and around Yellowstone, and 10 times mor e tha n scientists had predicted. The new find adds evidence for the likelihood of a liquid-water ocean under Enceladus' icy shell. But researchers aren't sure wher e the heat is com12

ing from. The new results make Enceladus a more attractive candidate to support life as we know it. Voyager 1 last month performed a precision ma neuver to gear up for new studies of the solar wind. The spacecraft, launched in 1977 and cruising toward the edge of the solar system, rolled itself 70 degr ees counterclockwise, then held the position for more than two hours. The goa l was to start positioning the probe, the most distant spacecraft, to study how charged particles streaming from the Sun behave deep in space. It was the first such roll-a nd-stop move for Voyager 1, or its sibling Voyager 2, also launched in 1977, since 1990. However, the craft have perfor med rolls, without any stops, regularly to help calibrate instruments and take data on the Sun's magnetic field. The craft are traveling through a turbulent region of the solar system known as the heliosheath. It's the outer shell of a bubble around our solar system created by the solar wind. Astronomers believe the solar wind banks as it approaches the outer edge of this bubble, wher e it runs up against the interstellar wind. Last June, when Voyager 1 was 10.6 billion miles from the Sun, data showed net outward flow of the solar wind was zero. That zero reading has continued since. Scientists don't think the wind has disappeared in that area, but likely turned a corner, in line with predictions. A NASA probe speeding toward Pluto hit a major checkpoint March 19 when it crossed the orbit of Uranus. The New Horizons spacecraft encounter ed Uranus' orbit while flying 1.8 billion miles from Earth. The spacecraft is expected to reach Pluto and its moons-Charon, Nix and Hydra--in July 2015, after which it might encounter smaller bodies in the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons launched in January 2006. It has traversed 20 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, including a 2007 flight through the Jupiter system for a gravityassisted speed boost. New Horizons is currently in electronic sleep mode, and since Uranus was 2.4 billion miles from the spacecraft when the probe crossed the planet's orbit, scientists didn't take pictures of the gas giant during its pass. This month, scientists will begin searching for potential flyby targets in the Kuiper Belt. The next planetary milestone for New Horizons will be to cross Neptune's orbit on Aug. 25, 2014, 25 years after Voyager 2 made its exploration of the planet.


Youngster Finds Supernova
It may have hovering over a cocious 10-year person ever to reported. only appeared as a tiny, glowing spot distant galaxy, but the sight ma de a pre-old amateur astronomer the youngest have detected a supernova, space.com

Paper-Mill Worker Builds Homemade Planetarium
A Wisconsin paper- mill worker who once dr ea med of being an astrophysicist has brought the stars within his grasp, building an elaborate planetarium in his own backyard. Frank Kovac, 45, spent 15 years building his planetarium in the small norther n Wisconsin community of Monico, CBS News reported. The spher ical structure is 22 feet across and weighs two tons, and is the world's largest rolling, mechanical, globe planetarium. Kovac couldn't affor d a projection system that mimics the rotation of the Earth, so he spins the planetarium itself, using an electric, variable-speed motor controller. He ha nd-painted 5,000 stars on the ceiling, giving each its proper location and brightness. "I took luminous paint and painted every star you would see in the night sky," Kovac told CBS News. Years ago, Kovac wanted to be an astrophysicist, but college math proved too much for him. So he took a job at the local paper mill, according to CBS News. Although Kovac still works at the mill part-time, he devotes much of his time a nd ener gy to the Kovac Planetarium, which opened to the public a few years ago.To be a planetarium director, you need college, " Kovac told CBS News, "but if you build your own, you can run it!" Class continued from page 4

Kathryn Aurora Gray of Freder icton, New Brunswick, Canada discover ed the supernova explosion in gala xy UGC 3378, within the faint constellation of Camelopardalis. The galaxy is about 240 million light-years away. "I'm really excited. It feels really good," she told the Toronto Star. Gray made the discover y January 2 using ima ges taken of UGC 3378 New Year's Eve. The supernova was then verified by Illinois-based amateur astronomer Brian Tiema n and Arizona-based a mateur astronomer Jack Newton, who then reported it to the Inter national Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Gray reported the supernova under the supervision of her father, Paul, who's made six super nova discoveries, and fa mily friend David Lane, who's found three others. The photos of UGC 3378 wer e taken using a telescope belonging to Lane. A new super nova revea ls itself as a bright point of light not in previous observations. Since a supernova can outshine millions of ordinary stars, it's often easy to spot one with a modest scope, even in distant galaxies. Despite being the discover er of this one, Gray didn't get to bestow a name on the object, which is known simply as Supernova 2010lt. Launch continued from page 5 it meant the ca mera fired on time. We waited outside the pad for the okay to head inside. Once inside, we picked up the closest tripod. The fisheye lens was coated with something; it could be just moisture. We pulled the disks out and ima ges appeared on the computer. Relief! The ca meras fired. That spot produced dramatic shots. To see Stan Honda's photos, go to www.aaa.org and click on gallery.

No study of the universe would be complete without a discussion of neutron stars, the speed of light and black holes. We visited the Crab Nebula, 6,500 light -years away, whose neutron-star explosion in 1054 A. D. was so bright it was visible in da ylight and lit the sky enough to read outside at night. Light thr own off by this star wasn't fr om the star itself, but from rapid expansion of its ma gnetic field. As it approached the speed of light, light emitted. The class' discussion of black holes involved the principles of relativity, the space/time interval and the curvature of space. Given the nature of these complex concepts, I recommend independent study and, some day, joining your fellow AAA members in one of the club's 13 classes.


Asimov Panel continued from page 9 S. James Gates Jr., particle physicist and John S. Toll Professor and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, called his view of the universe "supersymmetrical." Gates' recent theories have identified computer codes in the mathematics of string theor y. Computer drawings wer e displayed above panelists. When Gates revealed their significance, the for ms took on new mea ning. Moderator and Hayden Planetarium dir ector Neil deGrasse Tyson noted ther e's been considerable deba te about what dir ection string theory will take. Einstein accomplished so much in a short time on his own, he said, yet a large number of theoretical physicists haven't moved his work along at the same speed. In defense of the rate of discovery and development of new theories, Marcelo Gleiser, professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College, stated that although he doesn't see how we can unify string theor ies, "It's the accuracy of instruments that deter mine results, and new technologies will reveal other things and change existing theories." Gleiser spoke recently at the AMNH about his book, "A Tear at the Edge of the Creation." His wor k involves deter mining how funda mental particles interact, bringing the four forces of nature--gravity, electroma gnetic interaction, and wea k and strong nuclear force--into a single force. The book argues that in a supersymmetrical universe, it's asymmetry that provides nature with the ability to evolve. Smolin echoed these thoughts, agreeing that in particle physics, "Gravity is symmetrical but primor dial gravitational wa ves evident during Big Bang inflation are asymmetrical from quantum gravity (as opposed to symmetrical modes--ener gy density fluctuations in plasma). String theory is being sought in the CMB. Looking far enough back may hold the key to making mathematical connections missing in current assumptions and calculations. In mapping details of the lite will bring us closer to this ing developed mathematically measur ement of the universe's
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is being combined with other theories in an attempt to explain our universe and to explore the possibility of multiple dimensions and universes. Quantum mechanics' consideration of subatomic particles' interactions and general gravitational theories must be combined to build a unified string theory. AAA board member Shana Tribiano asked: "Forgetting the Xenon dark-matter search experiment (aiming at building the next-generation dark-matter detector) and the Large Hadron Collider and space/time discoveries, what else would you measur e to support string theor y?" The question was directed to Gleiser, who asserted a method to measur e gravitons, a hypothetical elementary particle that mediates the force of gravitation in the framework of quantum field theory, should be pursued to prove the r elationships of gravity and photons. Seeing the particles would add further support to current theor ies and mathematics of string theory. The debate ended with musings of the likelihood of success in 10 years. All panelists ventur ed an opinion, but it was Greene who was the most reserved. "Hold until 2020. I guess we'll have to wait. Lecture continued from page 3 Probes," "More Telescope P ower," "Telescope Power ," "The Urban Astronomer" and "The Starflight Handbook." In addition to his interstellar-travel research, Matloff has contributed to SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), modeling studies of huma n effects on Earth's atmospher e, interplanetary-exploration concept analysis, alternative ener gy, in-space na vigation and the search for extrasolar planets. Matloff is a graduate of Queens College and holds M. A. and Ph.D. degrees from NYU. The fina l lecture in the AAA's 2010-11 series will be on Friday, May 6. NASA's David Thompson will speak on "Exploring the Extreme Universe with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope."

CMB, the Planck satelgoal. String theory is bethrough observation and expansion. String theory


Events on the Horizon April 2011
M: me mbers; P: open to the public; T: bring your telescopes, binoculars, etc.; C: cancelled if cloudy; AMNH: For ticket information, call (212) 769 -5200 HQ: at AAA headquarters, Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. For directions to AAA observing events, check the club's website, www.aaa.org. Friday, April 1, 6:15 p. m. AAA lecture, FREE, P Dr. Greg Matloff, professor of astronomy in the physics department at New York City College of Technology, will speak on "Regr eening the Earth Using Space Resources" in the Kaufmann Theater of the AMNH. Saturday, April 2, 7:30-11 p. m. Observing at Great Kills Gateway National Park, Staten Island, P, T, C Next date: May 7. Tuesdays April 5, 12, 19, 26, 7:30-9:45 p. m. Observing at the High Line, Manhattan, P, T, C Next dates: Tuesdays in May. Tuesday, April 5, 7 p. m. Hayden Planetarium presentation, P, AMNH In "The Size and Age of the Universe," the first of the Ba mpton lectures, Wendy Freedma n will describe how Edwin Hubble discover ed galaxies and the Universe's expansion, how astronomers measure distances to gala xies and how the Hubble measur es the universe. Thursday, April 7, 6:30-8:30 p. m. Recent Advances in Astronomy Seminar, M, HQ NYU, 726 Broadway, 6th floor conference room. Next date: May 5. Thursday, April 7; Tuesday, April 12; and Thursday, April 14, 6:30 pm Davis Auditorium, Schapiro Hall, Columbia University, 530 W. 120th Street, P Ba mpton lectures continue. Wendy Freedma n will discuss "Much More Than the Eye Can See," "A Runaway Universe" and "Giant Telescopes of the 21st Century." Info: http://ircpl.or g/bampton-lectur es/ Friday, April 8, dusk-10 p. m. Observing at Carl Schurz Park, Manhattan, P, T, C Next date: May 6. Fridays April 8 and 22, 8-11 p. m. Observing at Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan, P, T, C Next dates: May 13, 27. Monday, April 11, 7:30 p. m. Hayden Planetarium lecture, P, AMNH MIT professor Linda Elkins-Tanton will present "A Hitchhiker's Guide to Habitable Planets in Our Galaxy." Wednesday, April 13, dusk-10 p. m. Observing on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at the end of Montague Street. P, T, C Friday, April 15, 8-10 p. m. Observing at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, P, T, C Next date: May 13. Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17 Annual Northeast Astrono my Forum and Telescope Show at State University of New York, Suffern, N. Y., sponsored by Rockland Astronomy Club. 8:30 a. m. -6 p. m. Saturday, 10 a. m.-6 p. m. Sunday. Vendors, speakers, workshops, observing, planetarium shows, classes for beginners, events for kids. Preceded by Northeast Astro Imaging Confer ence April 14 and 15. Info: http://rocklandastronomy. com/neaf. Tuesday, April 26, 6:30 p. m. Hayden Planetarium presentation, P, AMNH "Exoplanets Revea led" with Emily Rice. Exopla nets wer e first discover ed in 1995, but only indirectly. Since then, astronomers have obtained actual images. Saturday, April 30, 10-noon Solar Observing at Central Park, P, T, C At the Conservator y Water. Next date: May 28.

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AAA Annual Meeting May 18 All Members Are Welcome!
In accordance with the AAA bylaws, the annual meeting will be held Wednesday, May 18 at headquarters, Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. 6:30 p. m.: social gathering with buffet. 7:30 p. m.: annual meeting. The 7:30 p. m. meeting will include elections to fill vacancies on the AAA board of directors. Nominations, besides those made by the nominating committee, may be presented to the AAA president or to the recording secr etary no later than seven days befor e the annual meeting. Each such additional nomination requires the signatures of at least 18 AAA members.

David Greenberg Dies at 69; Led AAA Lecture Committee
David Greenberg, a for mer AAA board member and for mer cha irma n of the association's lecture committee, died March 4 at his home in Mount Kisco, N. Y. He was 69. A native of Maywood, N. J., Greenberg graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University. He received his M.A. from NYU's Courant Institute and his Ph.D. from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, wher e he was a teaching fellow. Greenberg worked for IBM until his retir ement in 1993. Under an IBM faculty-loan program, the compa ny Amateur Astronomers Association PO Box 150253 Brooklyn, NY 11215 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED paid full salary to employes who spent a year teaching in the community. Greenber g taught remedia l math and an advanced math course at City College. After leaving IBM, Greenberg worked as a New York state court-system analyst. In 2001, he returned to teaching as an adjunct professor of math at Pace University, wher e he taught until his death. Greenber g is survived by his wife of 43 years, the former Gail Dreier; a daughter, Cassandra; a son, Larry; a brother, Lewis; a sister, Mona Shapiro; and one grandson.

First Class
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