Astronomy With the Highest Energy Light in the Universe

Major breakthroughs have been made in astronomy by expanding observations to far longer and far shorter wavelengths than we can see with our eyes. The shortest-wavelength photons are gamma rays, the highest energy photons in the Universe. Some of these photons are trillions of times more energetic than the human eye can detect. There is a surprising variety of astronomical sources glowing or flashing in these very-high-energy gamma rays. They are powered by some of the most extreme objects in the Universe: exploding stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes...

Remodeling the Milky Way

Thanks to high precision stellar distances and velocities obtained with the European Space Agency mission Gaia, astronomers are doing all sorts of Milky Way investigations that I personally never imagined would be possible. From identifying the ingredients that first formed the Milky Way, to unscrambling the young clusters around the Sun back to their point(s) of origin 40 million years ago to building highly accurate three-dimensional maps of the interstellar medium, we are in a Golden Age for Galactic astronomers. I will share some of these advances, how they are unravelling our old picture of the Milky Way, and pointing the path to something better.

If you’re interested in some background before the talk, check out the recent article about Bob’s resear...

Three Myths of Science Education

Few people question the importance of science education in American schooling. It’s the key, after all, to economic growth, develops the ability to reason more effectively, and enables us to solve everyday problems. Good science teaching results in all these benefits and more—or so we think. But what if all this is simply wrong? What if the benefits we assume science education produces turn out to be an illusion, nothing more than wishful thinking? In this talk, Rudolph will examine the reasons we’ve long given for teaching science and assesses how they hold up to what we know about what students really learn in science classrooms and what research tells us about how people actually interact with science in their daily lives...

A Window to the Universe in My Backyard….

Having a backyard observatory is like having my own window to the universe. Any clear night I can roll the roof back and marvel at all the wonders available to see.

Having a backyard observatory means not having to spend time setting up or breaking down my equipment. I can be ready to start imaging in just a few minutes and in the morning; just roll the roof closed and I can head off to work.

I designed my observatory with Shapr3D on my iPad. I looked at many different designs and chose the most useful features for my own needs.

Brian’s biographical sketch:

My astrophotography journey started a little over 25 years ago as an extension of my photography hobby...

1919 and the new Universe… Echos and Beyond, the Modern Eddington Experiment

When Einstein published his general theory of relativity it reinvented one of the most fundamental characteristics of the Universe, and as such it came with predicted phenomena that would settle the issue of whether or not the “King” of Newtonian gravitation was really dead. One of the predictions concerns the existence of a value for the curvature of spacetime based on the presence of mass...

The April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Prepare to be Gobsmacked!

Bob Hamers and Jeff Shokler will help you prepare for your total eclipse experience by sharing the insights, tips, and lessons learned from their own eclipse experiences. During the talk, they’ll help you consider your eclipse viewing and/or imaging goals, discuss the many ways one can enjoy experiencing a total solar eclipse (including the numerous phenomena to keep an eye out for), and share important safety considerations.

If photographing the eclipse is one of your goals, they’ll also talk about the kinds of imaging gear that is most appropriate for photographing total eclipses, and how to plan and prepare for taking pictures – particularly under the demanding, tight timelines total eclipses present imagers...

Chasing ghost particles: searching for neutrinos from high-energy sources in real time.

Neutrinos are tiny, nearly massless particles that interact very rarely. Because of this, astrophysical neutrinos can travel very far, all the way to the South Pole, carrying information directly from their sources. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has detected these astrophysical neutrinos, but only a few sources have been identified thus far. We search for these neutrinos from transient sources – sources that vary in their brightness over time, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), supernovae, novae, or mergers of compact objects. These sources often have very energetic processes happening inside them to accelerate particles and produce these neutrinos...

Searching for Exoplanets Born Outside the Milky Way

Over 5500 exoplanets have been found orbiting stars in the Milky Way, with projections that most stars host planets. This poses the question of whether planets also exist orbiting the remnant stars of smaller dwarf galaxies that merged with the Milky Way, and if so, how do they differ from their Milky Way counterparts? VOYAGERS Views of Yore – Ancient Gaia-Enceladus Exoplanet Revealing Survey is a radial velocity search using precision spectrographs to find exoplanets orbiting low metallicity ([Fe/H] from -2.8 to -0.x, Vmag 8 to 10 stars born in the dwarf galaxy Enceladus, which merged with the Milky Way galaxy about 10 Gyr ago...

Annual Holiday Party and Telescope Clinic

So You Want To Buy a Telescope?

There will be a short (15-minute) presentation by John Rummel, former president and current historian of the Madison Astronomical Society:

Do you have a telescope that’s giving you problems? Has it been gathering dust in your closet instead of giving great views of the moon and planets? Are you stuck and can’t get to the next step? Our experts can help you diagnose the issues and get it figured out. Bring your telescope to this meeting and we’ll take a look at it with you.

Also, feel free to bring a holiday snack to share with the group. Cookies, brownies, or similar finger foods are preferred for minimal cleanup.

This meeting will take place in-person at our usual Space Place classroom location...

Love Letters to the Universe

“My twin passions have always been writing and astronomy, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a career that combines the two. As a science journalist, I focus on astronomy and earth topics, and as an author, some of my books center on space. I will talk about the path of my career and how I branched off into creative endeavors and also share some of my writing.”

Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and is currently a writer and editor at EarthSky.org. She’s also an author of nine books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.

This meeting will take place in-person at our ...