Astronomy Day 2024

Our official flyer

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Program information

See below for program info.

Specific times and rooms will be posted soon.

Kevin Cole:  DART, Hera, and Planetary Protection. 

With the success of NASA's DART Mission, we will look at what Planetary Protection is and what more we can learn about diverting asteroids with the upcoming ESA Hera mission to Dimorphos and the new NEO Surveyor Mission.

Dean Mikolajczyk:  Can We Have a Global Space Program? 

Today we see the development of numerous space programs throughout the world.  In addition to the U.S. Russia, and China, there's also Japan, Brazil, UAE, India, and others all of whom are sending probes into the solar system.  Can we combine all our national resources into one global space program?  Join us for an interesting discussion.

Jackie Cooney:  The Evolution of Planetary Cartography

A look at where we have been and where we are going.  We will be exploring the rocky planets through the maps created by different people for different purposes.  Follow along as we look at the increasing complexity and usefulness of different mapping capabilities as data from satellites become more sensitive and widely available to the public. 

Jeff Schmitz:  The Mathematics of Intelligence  

How might we define life in a way that is independent of biology and chemistry? To recognize a signal from intelligent life we need to understand intelligence and communication. Both "intelligence" and "life" could be "functions" which might be used to develop practical procedures to identify life and intelligence.

Jim Kovac:  Extreme Exoplanets -- Part 2

As the catalog of confirmed exoplanets has grown, astronomers have recognized the wide range of projected environmental characteristics that render these worlds truly unique and challenging for life as we know it.  Join the continuing exploration as we examine bizarre exoplanets that differ significantly from our home world.

Dale Deluttri:  Astro Tourism: A Meridian Line in a Church in Rome

When my wife and I traveled to Rome, we happened on an astronomical item in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels and Martyrs: a 300-year-old meridian line. This presentation describes the meridian line and how it was used to determine the exact length of the year and to compute the date for Easter Sunday.

Robert Karas: “OUR BEAUTIFUL BLUE PLANET EARTH"

The program presents the origin of our planet from primordial gas clouds, the structure of Earth, the origin of life on Earth, the extinction of past dinosaurs, and the naturally occurring changes that take place over time.