2ND UPDATE!: The Observing session and talk scheduled for December 9th has been postponed to December 16th due to severe weather. The new details about the event: Monday 16 December 2013: Talk at 7 PM. Same talk at 7:45PM   Observing starts at 7:30PM until 9PM. Arrive at the lobby of Research Hall.

The next talk as part of George Mason Observatory’s ‘Evenings Under the Stars’ series (where you’ll also get to look at awesome galaxies, stars, planets and more through our 0.8 meter telescope!) will be ‘Radio Astronomy’ by Derek Fertig.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Monday 9 December 2013: 1st talk at 6:30PM, same talk at 7:15PM, observing starts at 7PM until 9PM   Directions to GMU and Research Hall here: http://eagle.gmu.edu/map/fairfax.php   Zoom in to find Research Hall next to engineering building and York River Rd.  Keep an eye on twitter for updates – Just keep an eye out for weather – the event may be postponed or cancelled due to bad conditions – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

About the talk:

Radio Astronomy began serendipitously in the early 1930s. Since then, it has been a critical resource in our growing understanding of the universe around us, with radio telescopes observing everything from nearby asteroids and our local solar system, to exotic stars, the Milky Way and beyond. It has made great contributions to understanding the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. This talk will discuss the history and future of radio astronomy, including the amazing facilities and the science discovered using them.

About the speaker:

Derek Fertig is a fourth year PhD student at George Mason University after graduating from University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a Bachelors in Physics. He received his Masters in Applied Physics and Engineering from GMU in 2012. His current research focuses on the gaseous and stellar components of interacting galaxies through a multi-wavelength approach, utilizing some of the facilities mentioned in the talk. His main goal is understanding how galaxy-galaxy interactions affect a galaxy’s gas reservoir, which is critical to the star formation and evolution of the galaxy. He is studying under the guidance of Dr. Jessica Rosenberg.