LECTURES & TALKS

Astro Talks live discussion on "COVID-19 and the future of Astronomy and global Space Exploration" by four members of Nalanda College Alumni Astronomical Society live from four ආදී නාලන්දීය තාරකාවිද්‍යා සංගමයේ සාමාජිකයින් විසින් රටවල් හතරක සිට "කෝවිඩ්-19 හා ගෝලීය තාරකා සහ අභ්‍යාවකාශ විද්‍යා ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ අනාග⁣තය" පිළිබඳ සජීවී සාකච්ඡාව.

The Houston Astronomical Society's Novice Chairperson Debbie Moran shares her presentation titled "All About Telescopes," which is meant as a primer about telescopes, the various styles of telescopes available to amateur astronomers, common accessories to use with them, and some opinions on the pros/cons of the various designs.

In this episode we go over all the answers from the first Scavenger Hunt! We also delve into a few observational targets, including Venus in the Pleiades (April 3rd in the evening), and the Orion Nebula. We also found out that everyone's favourite constellation is Orion! Tell us what yours is in the comments! To join in the chat, ask questions and answer polls, you can register to join future sessions below. https://zoom.us/webinar/register/9115858629874/WN_kGvVp9EvTaSReiWsPbqTig

Once a month, SAGANet (www.saganet.org) and the NASA Astrobiology Program host a program called "Ask an Astrobiologist", where the public is invited to interact with a high-profile astrobiologist, who replies to Twitter, Facebook, and chat questions live on video. Each session lasts about an hour. Hosted by Dr. Sanjoy Som (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) Featured Guest: Dr. Colin Goldblatt (University of Victoria, British Columbia) Directed by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program) Illustrations by Aaron Gronstal (NASA Astrobiology Program) Music & Animation by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program)

When I spoke with David Kipping at Cool Worlds on my livestream, something went wrong on my end that prevented David's audio from coming through the stream clearly. I tried to improve the audio as best I could and edit out the time spent troubleshooting. If you haven't subscribed already, please check out Cool Worlds at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGHZpIpAWJQ-Jy_CeCdXhMA 🔔 Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/christianready?sub_confirmation=1 🖖 Share this video with a fellow space traveler: https://youtu.be/hedfJ4VRtcc 🔴 Watch my most recent upload: https://goo.gl/QbRcE2 🚀 Help me improve the channel by joining the community on Patreon https://patreon.com/launchpadastro 🚀 Check out Launch Pad merchandise! https://teespring.com/stores/launchpadastro Disclaimer: Some of these links go to one of my websites and some are affiliate links where I'll earn a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. 🐟 From out of town? Help translate this video! - [link to translate] 🧭 References: [references here, otherwise delete] ✅ Let's connect: For business inquiries - chris AT christianready DOT com Twitter - @launchpadastro Instagram - @launchpadastro Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LaunchPadAstronomy/ Discord - https://discord.gg/yChAuUe 📭 c/o Christian Ready P.O. Box 66 Westminster, MD 21158 United States Earth

Have you ever wondered about what life on a space satellite must really be like? And how hard it must be to make repairs if things go wrong? Kathryn’s book ‘Handprints on Hubble’ is available now: https://geni.us/H6Tz Watch the Q&A: https://youtu.be/mHDd9Bo7NQ4 From living in zero gravity to spacewalking hundreds of miles up in the sky, it’s hard not to daydream about the mind-boggling experiences astronauts must have on a daily basis. In this talk retired astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan shares stories from her years spent working on the Hubble Space Telescope and other satellites, revealing the hidden engineers who were behind this technological marvel. Kathryn D. Sullivan is a NASA astronaut (retired), former Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and an inductee in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Kathryn received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1973 and a doctorate from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, in 1978. While at Dalhousie she participated in several oceanographic expeditions that studied the floors of the and Pacific oceans. This talk was filmed in the Ri on 6 March 2020. --- A very special thank you to our Patreon supporters who help make these videos happen, especially: Alan Latteri, Andrew Downing, Andrew McGhee, Anonymous, Dave Ostler, David Crowner, David Lindo, David Schick, Greg Nagel, Jan Bannister, Joe Godenzi, John C. Vesey, Kellas Lowery, L S, Lasse T. Stendan, Matt Townsend, Osian Gwyn Williams, Paul Brown, Rebecca Pan, Robert Hillier, Robert Reinecke, and Roger Baker. --- The Ri is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe Product links on this page are affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.

This is the live stream for the Virtual WAS Monthly Meeting.  The meeting will start at 8:00 PM EDT. Hope you can join us!  If you log in to Youtube you can join the chat and send us questions, which we will answer during the show.

In this video, Keith Latiolais shows you how to set up an 8" Celestron Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope (SCT) on a German Equatorial Mount (GEM). Keith also takes you through the entire setup process, including the 2 star alignment process and polar alignment. Finally, he give you a few bonus "tips" to help make your observing experience easier, and more enjoyable. From the March 6, 2020 meeting of the Memphis Astronomical Society. http://www.MemphisAstro.org https://www.facebook.com/groups/memphisastro/ https://twitter.com/society_memphis

Title: The rise of the Milky Way Date: 05.11.2019 Abstract: Most of what we know about star and planet formation has been secured from spatial 2D observations of the local Galactic neighborhood, collected over the last 70 years. During this time we have established a series of ground truths developed around a poorly understood structure called Gould’s Belt. In this framework, we use Orion as the template for massive star formation and Taurus for low-mass star formation, but we do not know if these two clouds are related, nor why different clouds have different star formation yields. In this talk I will report the 3-D structure of all local cloud complexes (d less than 2kpc), using accurate distances. find a narrow and coherent 2.7 kpc arrangement of dense gas in the Solar neighborhood that contains many of the clouds thought to be associated with the Gould Belt. This finding is inconsistent with the notion that these clouds are part of a ring, disputing the Gould Belt model. The new structure comprises the majority of nearby star-forming regions, has an aspect ratio of about 1:20, and contains about 3 million solar masses of gas. Remarkably, the new structure appears to be undulating and its 3-D distribution is well described by a damped sinusoidal wave on the plane of the Milky Way, with an average period of about 2 kpc and a maximum amplitude of about 160 pc. Our results represent a first step in the revision of the local gas distribution and offer a new, broader context to studies on the transformation of molecular gas into stars.

This is the FULL talk I gave at AAS in Honolulu, titled "Combining Kepler & TESS: 10 Years of Stellar Flare Studies from Space". This is a classic AAS-style talk - 5 minutes. Barely enough time to get into any real detail, mostly good for advertising a single result or idea. This video was filmed at the 235th American Astronomical Society Meeting, January 2020. #AAS235. Part of the Astro Vlog's mission to show life as a scientist is to share the lectures and presentations I give as part of this job. I hope you enjoy this unedited look at a scientific conference! MUSIC: “Scientology” by David Miner https://www.youtube.com/daveminer87 Created LIVE on his Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/davidminer VLOG GEAR: Nikon D7500 Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 Nikon 70-300mm AF-P VR Takstar SGC-598 LINKS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jradavenport Academic: http://jradavenport.github.io Code/Research: https://github.com/jradavenport Blog: https://www.ifweassume.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/jradavenport YT: https://www.youtube.com/james-davenport

http://www.fordastronomyclub.com Astronomy For Everyone is a TV series of monthly TV shows developed by members of the Ford Amateur Astronomy Club (FAAC) targeted to beginner and intermediate audiences as well as all amateur astronomers and sky observers. Please click SHOW MORE. The Ford Amateur Astronomy Club (FAAC) meets monthly in Dearborn, Michigan, provides public outreach sessions, holds night-time observing sessions (Star Parties) in and around South Eastern Michigan, has established observing locations with State and Local park authorities, we share mentoring and more. To see an overview of all of the Astronomy For Everyone programs, please visit: http://www.fordastronomyclub.com/AFE/AFE.html You are welcome to explore our website at: http://www.fordastronomyclub.com This episode covers Starlink Satellite Constellation

Host: David Charbonneau Abstract: Comparative planetary science, as typically practiced over the past few decades, has looked for connections in physical processes between very small numbers of planets. However, due to the exoplanet revolution, and in particular for transiting planets, we can use the astronomical perspective to look for trends in planetary structure and physical processes that can only be seen with a large sample size. This work complements the pursuit of more detailed science questions that can be asked in the solar system. I will discuss modeling work that we have done to address several exoplanet topics, including the "evaporation valley" for sub-Neptunes and super Earths, the giant planet mass-metallicity relation, connections with atmospheric characterization for these planets, and the long-standing issue of the radius anomaly of hot Jupiters. Event Status: Active

ASIAA Lunch Talk Series, March 2, 2020. Can the building blocks of planets — planetesimals — form in protoplanetary disks that are turbulent? Min-Kai Lin, an Assistant Research Fellow at ASIAA, presents his latest research on this issue, based on his recent papers, "Dust settling against hydrodynamic turbulence in protoplanetary discs" (in MNRAS) and "How efficient is the streaming instability in viscous protoplanetary disks?" (in ApJ). Check it out. Min Kai Lin has his own YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC10aaCIciDvr6gC5StZ0vNg. and Website: https://minkailin.wixsite.com/minkailin.

Nestor Espinoza, Space Telescope Science Institute Is the Solar System we call home special? Three decades of advances in astronomy have revealed that our home planet is only one small dot in a vast sea of planetary systems in our galaxy. These extra-solar planets—or exoplanets—have been discovered by the thousands, and are challenging our understanding of how planetary systems form and develop. But what are they made of? And how did they get there? We don’t have the answers yet, but we do have some important clues. Join us on this cosmic voyage across our galaxy to explore new worlds beyond our wildest dreams. Recorded live on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. More information: www.stsci.edu/public-lectures

Part of the DAS In Reach sessions: Tony Gojanovic presents: Computational Astronomy "An Amateurs Odyssey into the World of Astronomical Data" Visit our website for upcoming events: https://denverastro.wildapricot.org/ --------- Notes: Astronomy Sites (Some good sites to get started that are free): Astronomy Simulations: https://astro.unl.edu Citizen Science: https://Zooniverse.org Global Observatory Network: https://lco.global Space Science: https://www.nasa.gov Source for Cas A information: King, Bob, “Seeking Cas A, the Ghostly Remains of a Mysterious Supernova,” Sky &Telescope, November 28, 2018, https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/cas-a-supernova-remnant/ Source for Quasar Information: King, Bob, "Twinkle, Twinkle Quasi-Star — 12 Quasars for Spring Evenings," Sky & Telescope, April 3, 2019, https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/12-quasars-for-spring-evenings/ "Washed Out Astronomy," http://washedoutastronomy.com/washedoutastronomy.com/content/3c-273-quasars-are-easy/index.html --------- Come and join us: The Denver Astronomical Society (DAS) promotes the enjoyment and understanding of astronomical phenomena, history and lore by providing educational and observing opportunities for our members, education to the general public, and outreach activities at the University of Denver’s Historic Chamberlin Observatory, schools, and nature centers.

#SETI #Cosmology #Radioastronomy The Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination is proud to welcome James Benford ('69) and Paul Davies to UC San Diego on January 30th to discuss new ideas in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The life of Earth has been evident in our atmosphere’s spectral lines for over a billion years. The oxygen, which is due to life, can be observed over interstellar distances, thousands of light years. Over this long time, many stars have swept near our solar system and Earth. If extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) on such nearby stars sent probes to observe our ecosystem, where in the Solar System should we look? The Moon is the obvious, closest place. Another is the newly discovered class of co-orbital objects, a logical place to locate for observing Earth. These objects approach Earth very closely every year at distances much shorter than anything except our Moon. They are an ideal way for ETI to watch our world from a secure natural object that provides resources an ETI might need: materials, a firm anchor, concealment. They would likely be robotic probes, like our own Voyager and New Horizons probes. They would remain there after exhausting their energy supply. Studying the Moon and co-orbitals could be termed extraterrestrial archeology. For the Moon, we can use the photographic mapping of the Moon’s surface by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Co-orbitals have been little studied by astronomy and not at all by SETI or planetary radar observations. This discussion describes a strategy of looking for ETI artifacts. It proposes both passive and active observations by optical and radio listening, radar imaging and launching probes. We might even broadcast to them. But what if we find nothing there? That gives us a profound result: no one has come to look at the life of Earth, so the probability of ETI’s existence will be reduced. On that other hand, perhaps other civilizations are simply not as curious as we are. James Benford is President of Microwave Sciences, Inc. in Lafayette, California, which does contracting and consulting in High Power Microwaves and space applications of such technologies. His interests include high power systems from conceptual designs to hardware, microwave source physics, electromagnetic power beaming for space propulsion, and experimental intense particle beams. He has a PhD in Physics in plasma physics (UCSD 1969). He is an IEEE Fellow and an EMP Fellow. He has taught 25 courses in High power Microwaves in 9 countries. He has written 10 books. He is the lead author of High Power Microwaves, 3rd Edition, a widely used textbook. He co-edited Starship Century, dealing with the prospect of star travel, an anthology of fact & fiction. See jamesbenford.com for papers on these topics. Paul Davies is Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. His research spans cosmology, astrobiology and theoretical physics. He has made important contributions to quantum field theory in curved spacetime, with applications to inflationary cosmology and black holes. He was among the first to champion the possibility that microbial life could be transferred between Mars and Earth in impact ejecta. He also runs a major cancer research program funded by the National Cancer Institute. He is the author of 28 books, including most recently The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence and The Demon in the Machine: How Hidden Webs of Information Are Finally Solving the Mystery of Life. Brian Keating is a Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of physics at the Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences (CASS) in the Department of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. He is a public speaker, inventor, and an expert in the study of the universe’s oldest light, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), using it to learn about the origin and evolution of the universe. Keating is a pioneer in the search for the earliest physical evidence of the inflationary epoch, the theorized period of expansion of space in the early universe directly after the Big Bang. Physicists predict that this evidence will reveal itself as a particular pattern in the way CMB light is polarized; this pattern is referred to as a B-mode pattern. https://briankeating.com/

Watch Dr. Manan Arya from JPL talk about recent advances in origami engineering and its application to unfoldable spacecraft structures. This lecture took place at the Keck Institute for Space Studies (Caltech) on February 12, 2020.

Ever think to yourself, “What makes this machine work?” Well, look no further! In this talk, Chris goes over the arcane art of software engineering and how it is utilized to transform the individual pieces of a telescope into a working machine. Christopher Contaxis is the father of one, avid amateur astronomer, and long-time software engineer. He has been writing software for 23 years-everything from video games, web sites, and telescope control systems, as a former LSST Software Engineer working on the primary/tertiary mirror control system. His mission as an engineer is to reach the simplest solution to the problems that need solving and demystify the process of software development for those who are curious.

"Changing the Solar System Economy Paradigm" From the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, held at the University of Southern California from October 17-20, 2019. The four-day International Mars Society Convention brings together leading scientists, engineers, aerospace industry representatives, government policymakers and journalists to talk about the latest scientific discoveries, technological advances and political-economic developments that could help pave the way for a human mission to the planet Mars. Conference Papers and some presentations will be available on www.MarsPapers.org For more information on the Mars Society, visit our website at www.MarsSociety.org

"To Be, Or Not To Be? Mankind's Exodus to the Stars" From the 22nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, held at the University of Southern California from October 17-20, 2019. The four-day International Mars Society Convention brings together leading scientists, engineers, aerospace industry representatives, government policymakers and journalists to talk about the latest scientific discoveries, technological advances and political-economic developments that could help pave the way for a human mission to the planet Mars. Conference Papers and some presentations will be available on www.MarsPapers.org For more information on the Mars Society, visit our website at www.MarsSociety.org