Observing the Venus Transit

On Tuesday June 5th, 2012 the planet Venus will transit across the disk of the Sun. That means that Venus will pass exactly between Earth and the Sun, appearing for us as a dark spot traversing the face of the Sun.

The University of Florida Astronomy Department will setup telescopes specially provided with a safe solar filter to observe this rare sight, which will not happen again until the year 2117, 105 years from now. Don’t miss it!

The event will be visible from Gainesville from 6:04 PM until sunset. UF telescopes will be set up on the east end of the UF band shell field or FLAVET field on the UF campus, off Museum Road.

 
Ver mapa más grande

This event is free and open to the public.

Please remember that viewing the transit involves looking at the Sun and requires special eye protection. Never look at the Sun without protection because severe eye damage may occur, even if you don’t feel any discomfort. Do not try to observe the Sun with the naked eye or with any optical device such as binoculars or telescopes unless they are properly fitted with a special solar filter.

In Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, Transits of Venus allowed astronomers to first calculate the distance to the Sun. Today astronomers use transits to find planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, which are called exoplanets. They do it by measuring the dips in brightness of these stars that happen when the exoplanets cross in front of them, for example with NASA’s Kepler Mission.

Check out http://www.astro.ufl.edu/public/jun.html for updated information.

You can also check this websites to learn more about the 2012 Transit of Venus:

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html

http://www.transitofvenus.org/

Or watch the 4 minutes video summary at www.transitofvenus.org

UF participates in nation’s largest science and technology festival

2010 Edition UF's participants, in front of their booth 

 

The University of Florida’s departments of astronomy, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and the Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences will participate in the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., Saturday and Sunday.

The theme of the UF booth is “Gators in Space,” where displays and interactive activities will be used to explain how astronomy and engineering allow a better understanding of the universe and life on Earth.

At the UF booth, Expo visitors will have the opportunity to build their own working telescopes, experience the physical principles needed to control a spacecraft, and handle samples of simulated Lunar and Martian regolith (planetary “soil”) and the palm-sized plant system launched to the International Space Station.

Static and dynamic displays will show how the university is using cutting-edge science and technology to provide solutions to challenges that the world is facing. The booth will have displays of the hardware used for the exploration of space: SwampSat, the first 4-inch-cubed satellite designed and built at UF; a scale model of the Gran Telescopio Canarias, the world’s largest telescope, used by UF astronomers for their research; an orbital plant growth facility and a clinostat (ground-based hardware used to disrupt the effect of gravity sensing in biology). Students and researchers will be available to demonstrate and discuss each of these items.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival is the country’s only national science festival. Its aim is to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of science and to encourage youths to pursue careers in science and engineering. The fair is a month-long celebration, culminating in a two-day exposition including 100 live performances and 3,000 different hands-on activities by more than 500 of the nation’s leading science and engineering organizations. It is free and open to the public.

“The previous Expo held in October of 2010 was a celebration of science; we had many visitors attending the UF booth, including a number of UF alumni. They were very impressed with the kinds of science and engineering projects that were coming out of their alma mater,” said Ata Sarajedini, professor of astronomy who is the overall coordinator of the UF group.

“We have created an official twitter @GatorsinSpace so people can follow all of our activities,” said Dante Buckley, a participating UF engineering doctoral student who is also a member of professor Norman Fitz-Coy’s SwampSat team.

Eric Schultz, an IFAS doctoral student in the space biology program of Robert Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul, is excited about the opportunity to show visitors advances in biological research in space, “This is a great opportunity to promote interest in the biological sciences and to educate the public about the benefits of astrobiology and extraterrestrial research in general,” Schultz said.

The following video was aired by the local news, before last expo's edition.

The participation of UF at this festival has been made possible by the UF provost’s office, department of astronomy, Florida Space Grant Consortium, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the Office of Admissions.

Professor Eric Ford TEDxUF talk

TEDxUF talk by UF Astronomy Professor Eric Ford is available online, for those who missed it and for those who want to enjoy it again.

More than one thousand people gather to discover the universe on Starry Night.

The weather was benignant and a clear sky allowed around eleven hundred all-aged humans to peer trough the telescopes and attend the talks and activities displayed last Thursday at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Starry Night is an annual event aimed to get earthly intelligent creatures to be more interested in space. The event is sponsored by UF astronomy department, the Museum of Natural History, the Alachua Astronomy Club and Santa Fe College, also supported by NSF and NASA.

“FLMNH
 photo by Kristen Grace.”

Many telescopes of different types, including a few home-made, where displayed outside the museum where visitors enjoyed great views of the Moon, Jupiter and the stars.

Among the presentations, the portable planetarium was extremelly succesful, inflated to give a show on constellations, so popular that free tickets ran out in some cases more than an hour before the show.

“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

The 3D-show hosted by Robert Morehead and the “astronomy tools” demonstration carried on by Prof Stephen Eikenberry, both of them unleashing their inner showmen, made the delights of children and grown ups, specially when fruit and other vegetables were frozen using liquid nitrogen and afterwards used to hammer nails or shattered like glass, to the general amazement.

One of the more expected events was the lecture given by Dr. Michael Mumma, Director of the Goddard Center for astrobiology about the search for life in Mars.

Thanks to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the photographer for all the nice pictures. You can see the full galery on the museum's facebook page.

See you next year!

Children enjoy as stuff gets frozen.
"FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Dr. Michael Mumma amazes the audience
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Making Galaxies
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Meteorites!
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

UFAstro partners USA Science and Engineering Festival

If you check the UF Astronomy website, under affiliations and partners, you’ll find a new logo. It’s the one from the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

In its 2012 edition, UF astronomy, IFAS and Engineering will partner to set up a booth at the USA Science and Engineering Expo, to be held April 28^th & 29^th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. 

This Expo is the nation’s largest celebration of all things science and engineering and features over 1500 hands-on activities and over 75 performances. You can learn more about the upcoming activities on their blog.

UF Astronomy and Engineering sponsored a booth during the October 2010 edition of the Expo, which was held on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The booth was a spectacular success attracting over 7,000 people during the two days of the 2010 Expo.

Don't miss the largest celebration of science in the US!

Check out some pictures of 2011 edition:

From Telescopes to Satellites!

Engineering graduate student Katie Cason showing
a replica of one of small satellites.

Astronomy undergraduate Stefan O'Dougherty
 building a Galileoscope with one of the
 many visitors.

Assembling a Galileoscope kit was
a popular activity.

National Mall was a great location!

A group picture of the team just before the expo
 opened on Saturday morning.

Our friends at Channel 20 didn't miss the story!

Stars Shine on East Gainesville

As part of an ongoing effort to reach out to the community, the University of Florida Music and Arts for Science Outreach Initiative in the Department of Astronomy is hosting “Stars Shine on East Gainesville,” a celebration of art, science and culture, from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. Friday October 8 at the Martin Luther King Center (1028 NE 14th St). The event is free and open to the public.

Participants will be able to view the night sky with telescopes, participate in art projects, and learn about the ASTREC small satellite project. Pizza and soda will be available for purchase. Other events include:

6:30 pm at the Northeast Pool: Gainesville Gaviatas Synchronized Swimming will present The Art & Science of Conservation of Motion

Following at the MLK Center:
Jorge Variego, Music From Space: Black holes, Planets, Light Waves
Performance by the Howard Bishop Symphonic Winds
Astro Art Exhibit from the East Gainesville Initiative Summer Camp Students and award ceremony with Dr Jaydeep Mukherjee.
NASA Hands on activities outreach group from Kennedy Space Center.

Sponsored by: The National Science Foundation through a grant to Stephen Eikenberry and Reba Bandyopadhyay in the Department of Astronomy; NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium, University of Florida Music and Arts for Science, ASTREC, Gainesville Gaviatas, UF School of Music: College of Fine Arts, and Cotton Club. Partnering With: Santa Fe College East Gainesville Initiative, and the Alachua Astronomy Club.

UF Astronomy professor is invited speaker at American Astronomical Society meeting in Miami

Professor Ata Sarajedini of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Florida was invited to speak at a plenary session during the semi-annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society meeting held in Miami, Florida on May 23-27, 2010. Sarajedini's talk was entitled "A Guided Tour of Globular Clusters in the Local Group."

As with all guided tours, the person in charge of leading the group shows and describes the most interesting sights available to the tour group. Sarajedini's talk was no different - focusing on the most exciting research in the area of Local Group globular clusters. Along these lines, the multiple stellar populations being discovered in several Milky Way globular clusters was one topic covered in this talk. The conclusion of the presentation emphasized the broad foundation of evidence in favor of the theory that large galaxies like the Milky Way and Andromeda are built through a process of disruption and ultimate destruction of smaller (dwarf) galaxies.

University of Florida Astronomer Calls on Congress to Support Investments in Research and Development

by Reba Bandyopadhyay

Reba Bandyopadhyay, Assistant Scientist at the University of Florida, traveled to Washington, DC, to express thanks and appreciation to Congress for recent appropriations actions in the FY2010 spending bill in support of science, engineering, and technology research and development (R&D).
Dr. Bandyopadhyay joined with more than 250 scientists, engineers, and business leaders who made visits on Capitol Hill as part of the 15th annual Congressional Visits Day, sponsored by the Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group (www.setcvd.org), on April 28-29. She was one of 16 members of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) who traveled to Washington for the event.

While visiting congressional offices, CVD participants discussed the importance of the nation’s broad portfolio of investments in science, engineering, and technology to promoting U.S. prosperity and innovation. Most importantly, they provided a constituent perspective on the local and national impact of these programs and their significance to Florida. Dr. Bandyopadhyay visited the offices of Senators Bill Nelson and George LeMieux and Representatives Corrine Brown and Cliff Stearns, speaking to staffers for each Congressperson about the importance of federal funding for science R&D. She spoke specifically about ground- and space-based astronomical instrumentation development currently underway at UF, and how such work can help to build Florida’s “knowledge economy”.

“I was very pleased to participate in Congressional Visits Day. I believe that discussing the benefits of federal science and technology programs in person with our elected legislators is critical to securing the ongoing support of agencies such as NSF and NASA. The technology arising from the research in these federal agencies is central America’s competitiveness in the world economy.”

More than 50% of all industrial innovation and growth in the United States since World War II can be attributed to advances pioneered through scientific research, with publicly funded R&D the vital foundation for today’s scientific and technological progress. Achievements from federally funded science, engineering, and technology include global environmental monitoring, lasers, liquid crystal displays, the Internet, and many other scientific and technical advances.

The federal government supports a unique research and education enterprise that fuels the American economy. This enterprise provides the underpinning of high-technology industries and expands the frontiers of knowledge in every field of science. Much of this research is carried out at academic institutions across the country, ensuring knowledge transfer to future generations of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, physicians, and teachers. Additionally, technology transfer from academic research adds billions of dollars to the economy each year and supports tens of thousands of jobs.

Dr. Bandyopadhyay said that her most memorable experience was visiting the offices of Florida’s two Senators. “I was impressed with the interest in and knowledge about science and technology research shown by the staff members of both Senators Nelson and LeMieux. They clearly understood the importance of R&D to Florida, and how federal funding is vital to such research in our public universities and NASA.”

* * *

The Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group is an information network comprising professional, scientific, and engineering societies, institutions of higher learning, and trade associations. The sponsors represent more than a million researchers and professionals in science and engineering. The Work Group is concerned about the future vitality of the U.S. science, mathematics, and engineering enterprise.

More information about 2010 Congressional Visits Day can be found at on the Web: http://www.setcvd.org

The Formation of Stars

University of Florida professor Jonathan Tan gave recently a science symposium at the Space Telescope Science Institute on the formation of stars. For an up to date description of the field and professor Tan's past, present, and future research, follow this link.

Stars to Galaxies Conference

The Stars to Galaxies conference was held in Gainesville, FL from the 7th to the 10th of April. The conference, which was chaired by University of Florida professor Jonathan Tan, was a complete success. Scientific posters and talks are now available online for the scientific community.

Life in the Universe

Five scientists consider the formation and evolution of worlds and life, through a public roundtable discussion this Friday in UF's New Physics Building 1001. Three professors from UF's Geological Sciences, Physics, and Astronomy Departments are joining two scientists from the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution to consider: "Life in the Universe?"

Some questions to be discussed include: How do we think habitable worlds form and evolve? How might living systems emerge from these worlds? And, where else might biogenesis have occurred in our own Solar System?

The panel will consider questions from the audience throughout this event, which lasts from seven to eight o'clock in the evening.

Panel speakers include Dr. Steven Benner, who's laboratory has pioneered synthetic biology research, and who wrote the critically-acclaimed book "Life, the Universe, and the Scientific Method" and coauthored the NAP report "The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems;" Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, who studies earth history and life through organic geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and geomicrobiology; Dr. Katia Matcheva, who investigates the physics and chemistry of planet atmospheres through study of NASA space missions to Jupiter, Saturn and Mars; Dr. Stephen Gottesman, who has expertise in galactic structure and dynamics, and currently teaches the Astronomy Honors Life in the Universe course; and Dr. Matthew Carrigan, who is researching the origin of life by study of molecular evolution.

This event is hosted by the Undergraduate Astrophysics Society (UAS) in partnership with SPS. Our goal is to create an intellectually engaging environment that both experts and beginners can enjoy.

image credit: Undergraduate Astronomy Association

Our Cosmic History: From Big Bang to Big Molecules

Join the Department of Astronomy at the University of Florida in an evening of astronomical discovery next Friday, April 9th, 2010 in the New Physics Building starting at 6:30pm. The event will include public lectures by Professor Mordecai-Mark Mac Low (National Museum of Natural History and Columbia University) and Professor Paola Caselli (University of Leeds).


image credit: Jonathan Tan