One of our longtime members passed away recently, Bill Papke. Continue reading “In memoriam: Bill Papke”
Lick Observatory on budget chopping block
Last month something near and dear to many of us — Lick Observatory perched atop Mt. Hamilton in hills of east San Jose — was placed on the UC’s chopping block. From the KQED article (linked below):
On top of Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose, the Lick Observatory is home to the oldest professional telescope in California. Continue reading “Lick Observatory on budget chopping block”
Talk on Science and Turmoil at Lick Observatory Wednesday, Feb 26, at Foothill College
This Wednesday, February 26, at 7 pm, Alex Filippenko will give a free, richly illustrated, nontechnical talk on “Exploding Stars, New Planets, Black Holes, and the Crisis at Lick Observatory” in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College, in Los Altos. Members of our section remember fondly his outstanding talk at our Section Meeting several years ago. Alex will also address the recent fiscal crisis at Lick Observatory that threatens its future.
Traffic gets somewhat heavy near campus around that time, so you might want to arrive early.
For more information about the lecture, see
http://www.foothill.edu/news/newsfmt.php?sr=2&rec_id=3270 .
Foothill College is just off the El Monte Road exit from Freeway 280 in Los Altos. For directions and parking information, see
http://www.foothill.edu/news/transportation.php .
For a campus map, see
http://www.foothill.edu/news/maps.php .
Note that parking costs $3.
Come to Our Spring Meeting! April 11 & 12, 2014
Registration is now open here. We encourage advanced registration; you can now pay online (including membership dues if you own them). With our new registration system, you can add one to three events to your “cart,” then check out in one step (yes, you need to add the free events in order to register for them–we need to know how many are coming).
We are polishing the details on our upcoming April Meeting. We will have events on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. Friday will see a workshop by the two biggest names in the business plus a hotdog social, and Saturday will feature top-notch speakers David & Christine Vernier, Pascal Lee and Douglas Stone, all at the brand-new Exploratorium! Continue reading “Come to Our Spring Meeting! April 11 & 12, 2014”
“What is color?” The 2014 Flame Challenge
The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University is challenging scientists to take part in the 2014 Flame Challenge and answer a vibrant question asked by 11-year-olds from around the country:
What is Color?
The Flame Challenge is an international contest started by Alan Alda that asks scientists to communicate complex science in ways that would interest and enlighten an 11-year-old.
If you are a scientist, or a teacher of 11 year olds, join the fun!
