I have a ton of information from today’s lectures, but I’m going to take it easy and just show you this picture that we¹ took. We went into the image lab and manipulated it today. Then tonight, we went onto the roof and looked at it with a telescope. It looks astonishingly close to this — though the colors are quite as pretty.

1. Meaning the astronomers who were running the telescope at WIRO [↩]

Check out Frequently Asked Questions in Cosmology.

The Milky Way.

Almost everything we see in the night sky belongs to the Milky Way. Since we are inside, we only see the one band. From outside, our Milky Way might very look like our cosmic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy.

If you dare, read “Galaxy 666″ Widely regarded as one of the worst SF novels ever written.

There are a lot of these things out there, but it took us awhile to figure out what they are. The first time someone tried to understand the structure of the galaxy, was in 1785. William Herschel based on optical observations. If we just count stars, assuming that the uniform stellar density, we get a shape a little like a platypus viewed in profile. Herschel’s immediate model is that the galaxy was a flattened disc. The shape of the Milky Way was believed to resemble a Grindstone with the sun close to the center.
Continue reading Launchpad Day 5: Galaxies (Mike Brotherton)

We’re still looking for volunteers to help out with the SFWA’s Table in the Dealer Room at Denvention3. Now that the preliminary schedule is out, I figure it should be easier for folks to look at their plans and see if there’s a time when you can volunteer.

In particular, we need help on Thursday. I, personally, need someone to cover my shift Thursday at 1:00 because I’ve been scheduled for a signing that I wasn’t expecting. I’ll pick up a different shift, but I don’t want to leave a hole there.

Just as a reminder, here’s what we’re asking folks to do.

* Job Title: SFWA table representative
* Estimated Time Required: 1-2 hours per shift, 34 shifts needed
* Job Description:
o Help SFWA by being a spokesperson at World Con.
o Set up and staff a booth to draw in new members.
o Be willing to answer questions and be friendly.
o Sell books and other printed material. Attract people to the
Table: tell them that the most wonderful stories in the world are sitting on the table and they’ll never forgive themselves if they pass it by. As a salesperson should, be outgoing & friendly.
* The membership committee will supply you with brochures and a list of talking points. Benefits: Visibility at con, good way to meet new people
* Skills required: Friendly., All Workers must be paying members of the convention. (Sorry, no freebies for working the Table.)

If you’re willing to help, please email me with how many shifts you are willing to take and a list of your conflicts (panels, meetings, departure date). You can also volunteer to take a specific time, but those will go on first come basis. Glenn Gillette, our table czar, will get you set up with a time slot.

Many thanks!

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I’m heading for Laramie, WY today for LaunchPad Astronomy workshop. Mike Brotherton has posted our schedule.

Here’s what’s happening on day one. You can pop by his site to see what the rest of the week holds for me.

Thursday, July 31

9:30 AM Coffee, Juice, Continental Breakfast
10:00 AM Welcome and introductory remarks from the instructors (MB, JV, JO), Astronomy pre-test and pre-workshop questionnaire, Lecture/discussion: Scales of the Universe (Brotherton)
12:30 PM Lunch
1:30 PM Activity/Discussion: Seasons and Lunar Phases, Public Misconceptions (Verley)
3:45 PM Afternoon break/snacks
4:00 PM Lecture/Discussion: Solar System Tour (Oltion)
6:00 PM Dinner break
8:00 PM Bad Astronomy Movie Night (Armageddon tentatively scheduled)

Um… pre-workshop questionnaire? Yoicks!