Archives

Introduction to Explosives and Explosive Effects

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 …

October 2nd Observing Session/Talk postponed to October 9th!

The October 2nd Observing Session/Talk has been postponed due to inclement weather.  The Session will be held on October 9thall the other details remain the same. Contact GMUObservatory@gmail for more information and follow the latest news on twitter at https://twitter.com/GMUObservatory

Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond our Solar System

The second 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 ‘Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond our Solar System’ by Korey Haynes.  As always the event is free and everyone is invited!  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

Exoplanets are one of the hottest topics in astronomy right now. In its 3 1/2 year lifetime so far, the Kepler mission alone has found 2,321 planet candidates, with 77 of them confirmed by other programs. Between Kepler and other planet-finding missions, we have discovered everything from planets a few times the size of Jupiter to planets only slightly bigger than Earth, from star systems with only one lonely planet, to systems with as many as five planets. Come learn about how we find exoplanets, some of the biggest discoveries so far, and how we look for the holy grail of exoplanet studies: a habitable, Earth-like planet.

Some early details about the event: Tuesday 25 September 2012: 1st talk …

Sept 18th Observing Session/Talk postponed to Sept 25th!

The September 18th Observing Session/Talk has been postponed due to inclement weather.  The Session will be held on September 25thall the other details remain the same. Contact GMUObservatory@gmail for more information and follow the latest news on twitter at https://twitter.com/GMUObservatory

Sept 4th Observing Session/Talk postponed to Sept 11th!

The September 4th Observing Session/Talk has been postponed due to inclement weather.  The Session will be held on September 11thall the other details remain the same. Contact GMUObservatory@gmail for more information and follow the latest news on twitter at https://twitter.com/GMUObservatory

My Favorite Martian: Curiosity

The first 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 ‘My Favorite Martian: Curiosity’ by Prof. Harold Geller.  Learn about what an amazing project the Mars Science Laboratory is and how the Curiosity Rover is going to unlock secrets about one of the most exciting places in our solar system: Mars!

Some early details about the event: Tuesday 4 September 2012: 1st talk at 8 PM in the Showcase Room under the observatory, same talk at 8:30 PM, observing starts at 8:30PM until 10PM.

 

More info and cool stuff to come!

Schedule Posted

The schedule for observing sessions is now posted. Check the Observing page or the calendar on the Home page for details.