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 ‘The Mysterious Origins of Supermassive Black Holes‘ by Nathan Secrest.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited (details about the event: Tuesday 23 April 2013: 1st talk at 7PM, same talk at 7:45PM, observing starts at 7:30PM until 9PM)!  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

A little about the upcoming talk:

Supermassive black holes reside in the centers of nearly every galaxy in the Universe.  Where did they come from?  What is their relationship with their host galaxies?  What can they tell us about the early Universe?  The talk will discuss our understanding of how supermassive black holes relate with their hosts, and what they can tell us about the conditions of the very early Universe.

And the speaker:

Nathan Secrest is a graduate research assistant at George Mason University.  He began his studies at George Mason in 2011 after graduating from the University …

*********  April 16th Update  *********

The Observing Session scheduled for Tuesday, April 16th has been postponed due to weather to Tuesday, April 23.  More updates will be posted soon!

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 ‘The Autism-Vaccine controversy in the Media‘ by Professor Chris Clarke.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited (details about the event: Tuesday 2 April 2013: 1st talk at 7PM, same talk at 7:45PM, observing starts at 7:30PM until 9PM)!  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

A little about the upcoming talk:

High profile risk controversies dominating today’s news often feature lively debates about scientific evidence – what “the data” suggest or refute. Research has focused on the challenges of communicating risk information via news media, including the concept of “false balance,” in which an issue supported by an overwhelming amount of evidence is presented alongside other perspectives with comparatively less/no support. Falsely balanced coverage may …

UPDATE:  The rest of our spring schedule has been updated – check it out! http://observatory.onmason.com/2013/01/26/spring-schedule-up/

The next talk of the semester 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 ‘The World of Lichens’ by Manuela Dal Forno.  Come to the lobby of Research Hall at George Mason University.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Tuesday 19 February 2013: 1st talk at 6PM, same talk at 6:45PM, observing starts at 6:30PM until 8PM 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.  Just keep an eye out for weather – the talk will be postponed to the following tuesday if observing has to be cancelled because of weather – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

Now a little bit about the talk and our speaker!

Lichens are the resulting thallus of a symbiotic association between a fungal partner (the mycobiont) and one or more photosynthetic partners (the photobiont). This means that lichens …

The next talk of the semester 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 ‘The Implications of Finding Life Elsewhere’ by Michael Summers.  Come to the lobby of Research Hall at George Mason University.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Tuesday 12 February 2013: 1st talk at 6PM, same talk at 6:45PM, observing starts at 6:30PM until 8PM 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.  Just keep an eye out for weather – the talk will be held even if observing has to be cancelled because of weather – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

Now a little bit about the talk and our speaker!

Recent planetary research has shown that environments which are habitable for simple bacteria are numerous, even in our own solar system.   And studies of Earth history have shown that life originated on Earth almost immediately after it became habitable.  Our scientific capability for direct …

The last talk of the semester 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 ‘The Nose Knows: Pheromone Communication in Mammals’ by Marieke Kester.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Tuesday 11 December 2012: 1st talk at 6 PM in Room 163 in Research Hall, same talk at 6 :45 PM, observing starts at 6:40PM until 8PM.  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.  Just keep an eye out for weather – the talk will be held even if observing has to be cancelled because of weather – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

Now a little bit about the talk and our speaker!

Mammals use scents to communicate about territory, aggression, and reproduction.  Come find out what pheromones are, what glands produce pheromones in various animals, and what the pheromones can communicate.  Examples will be taken from across the mammalian class including HUMANS!

Marieke Kester is currently a third year …

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 ‘Charismatic Megafauna’ by Lauren Wilson.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Tuesday 4 December 2012: 1st talk at 6 PM in Room 163, same talk at 6 :45 PM, observing starts at 6:40PM until 8PM.  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.  Just keep an eye out for weather – the event has been postponed (to December 4th) and the talk will be held even if observing has to be cancelled because of weather – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

Now a little bit about the talk and our speaker!

Lions, tigers, bears, oh my!  True, they’re ferocious and a little scary, but we still really like them, right?  And you’d be more excited to see an eagle or an elephant than an earthworm, wouldn’t you?  Join us Tuesday evening to talk about the animals we love, the …

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 ‘New Frontiers in Infrared Astronomy – The James Webb Space Telescope’ by Shobita Satyapal.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Tuesday 13 November 2012: 1st talk at 6 PM, same talk at 6 :30 PM, observing starts at 6:30PM until 8PM.  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.  Just keep an eye out for weather – the event may be postponed (to November 20th) or cancelled due to bad conditions – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

In the early 1980s the first space-based infrared observatory surveyed the entire sky and found that the sky lit up with over 300,000 sources, most of which were previously unidentified. Many of these sources were exotic star-forming-galaxies that emit up to 50 percent of the light in the Universe. Infrared telescopes allow us to peer into the dusty cocoons in …

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 ‘Observing Jupiter with a Telescope’ by Darryl Wilson.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited (details about the event: Tuesday 19 March 2013: 1st talk at 7PM, same talk at 7:45PM, observing starts at 7:30PM until 9PM)!  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

The planet Jupiter is bright and easy to find in the night sky. It is also large enough to show recognizable detail with almost any size telescope. This talk will describe Jupiter and its satellites, with an emphasis on the features of the Jovian system that are visible to the eye when viewed through a telescope. Specific details will be described so that the audience will be prepared to identify semi-permanent global atmospheric features, transient storms, satellites, and satellite transits, when viewed through the 0.8 meter Cassegrain reflector in the GMU observatory. A video of Jupiter, taken through …

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 ‘Introduction to Explosives and Explosive Effects’ by Matthew Miller.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited (Check updates on the time and date at the bottom of this post)!  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

The talk is an introductory discussion on the subject of explosions. Since so much inaccurate information on the subject floats around in various print and digital media, the discussion will focus itself on what exactly an explosion is, what they do, and what they look like. The talk will discuss the 3 types of explosions before focusing on chemical high explosives and detonations. From there the properties and hazards of detonations will be discussed, and why you shouldn’t walk away from your explosion in slow motion while it’s exploding! Finally, if there’s time, the speaker will discuss a few popular explosion scenes in movies.

Matthew Miller was an Army …