Killing the hurricane at the south pole of Saturn

Cassini observations show that Saturn’s polar regions contain giant cyclones and unusual cloud configurations, including dark eyes that bring to mind the eyes of earthly hurricanes. Both on Earth and on Saturn, these eyes are regions of reduced cloud cover resulting from descending motions. Cassini images of the south polar regions also showed that circular cloud bands at the edge of the eye cast very long shadows. This led to the conclusion that there were towering convective storms reaching into the stratosphere, producing eyewalls that were casting shadows, much like hurricanes on earth, but on a vastly larger scale...

Friday, December 14, 7pm
Space Place, 2300 S. Park St., Madison WI

MAS’s annual telescope clinic is a chance for people in the Madison area to get their questions answered about telescopes and binoculars. It may also help you with some ideas for the gift-giving season.

Do you have an old telescope that’s gathering dust because you don’t know how to use it?

Maybe it’s broken or missing a piece.

Maybe you tried it last year and just couldn’t get it to work.

Whatever the case, come on out and learn something. MAS members will be on hand to look your scope over with you, diagnose any issues, and teach you how to use it if necessary. If you’re not a scope owner yet, you may walk away with some ideas. We’ll have a few popular types of telescopes on hand to serve as models.

This is also our an...

Kelly Tyrell, MAS guest speaker for the November 9, 2018 monthly meeting.

Topic: Has science lost the public trust?

Description: Some say astronomy is a “gateway science.” With compelling images, a long and storied history, and the power to spark curiosity, astronomy has often succeeded better than other sciences at capturing public attention. With news announcements like the first detection of high-energy neutrinos at IceCube and the audible “chirp” of gravitational waves from LIGO, the scientific community celebrates the opportunity to share with others the excitement of the field. Astronomy seems to have earned the public’s trust.

But we also live in an age where people dismiss information off-hand if it doesn’t fit their world view. Some despise expertise...

On Friday, April 14, 2017, 7:00 pm at UW Space Place, the MAS general meeting will feature a talk by Craig Deller on the Conservation of the Historic Dearborn Telescope.

The Dearborn Telescope has been in the collection of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum since 1930. Considered the largest in the world when it was built, the telescope has significant historical importance to both Chicago and astronomy. This presentation will examine the telescope’s history, condition examination, and original surface recovery treatment.

Craig Deller is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works and on the faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s “Interior Surfaces Conservation Lab...