Archive for month: March, 2016

Earth Hour, 19 March 2016, 8.30 p.m. Local Time

March 19, 2016/0 Comments/in AAAP News /by DeSantisK

On 19 March 2016, 8.30 p.m. local time, Earth Hour sweeps across the globe, as people turn out their lights for one hour. Pittsburghers are called to turn off non-essential lighting for one hour beginning at 8:30 p.m. Earth Hour has become a worldwide call to “shine a light on climate action.” From astronomy there is shared interest in reduction of light pollution which also saves evergy. There is also interest to see if there is a noticeable difference in the sky during Earth Hour.

Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh is a strong supporter of dark sky conservation and encourages light pollution education. Light pollution not only takes away the stars and interfers with vision and sleep, it is also an economic drain. Please look ahead to International Dark Sky Week, April 4-10, 2016. For more information visit http://darksky.org/.

Carnegie Science Center “Space Out! (Astronomy) Weekend ” March 19 & 20, 2016

March 19, 2016/0 Comments/in AAAP News /by DeSantisK

Carnegie Science Center ” Space Out! (Astronomy) Weekend “

March 19 & 20, 2016

Guests please come out and enjoy Astronomy Weekend included with your Carnegie Science admission. AAAP Members, please participate in 2016 Carnegie Science Center “Space Out! (Astronomy) Weekend” volunteering with the AAAP on Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, with the AAAP displays and potentially your telescope. Enjoy fellowship with AAAP members and the Science Center. Telescopes are set up both outside and inside along with astronomy displays in the lobby. It is a great way to outreach for our club and to support the Carnegie Science Center. See club officers for more information and AAAP Facebook and detailed information in the AAAP March Guide Star Newsletter. Members volunteering will have their admission and parking compted.

Respectfully submitted, Kathy DeSantis

March AAAP Meeting, 7:30 PM, Friday, March 18, 2016, Carnegie Science Center, Dr. Carles Badenes , Binary White Dwarf Mergers

March 17, 2016/0 Comments/in AAAP Monthly Meetings, AAAP News /by DeSantisK

Kick-off Carnegie Science Center “Space Out! (Astronomy) Weekend*” at the AAAP March Meeting, 7:30 PM, Friday, March 18, 2016, Carnegie Science Center. The featured guest speaker is Dr. Carles Badenes from the University of Pittsburgh. Previously another program was announced, but upon that presenter’s unavailibilty AAAP has the good fortune of host Dr. Badenes.

Dr. Badenes will talk about binary white dwarfs and what happens when they merge. A team of astronomers led by Carles Badenes helped to clarify the origins of an important type of exploding star utilizing data from a little-known feature of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) .