Category: Meeting Details
Details of club meetings.
Lowbrow Meeting – July 19, 2024 @ EMU
Wow, is that Hail to the Victors I hear playing? Is Art Fair really next week? Summer will be gone before we know what hit us, but before that happens is our July Lowbrow meeting! We will be meeting on Friday, July 19 at 7:30 PM… but not at the Detroit Observatory. Instead, we will be…
Meeting Details: December 15, 2023
December 15, 2023: Speaker: David Gerdes, Chair of UM Physics Department, “Shadow of a Fossil: Stellar Occultations and NASA’s Lucy Mission to Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids” Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, thousands of small icy worlds that orbit the sun 60 degrees behind or ahead of Jupiter, bear clues to our solar system’s formation history. NASA’s Lucy spacecraft,…
Meeting Details: September 20, 2019
September 20, 2019: Matt Linke (Planetarium Director). “The New U of M Museum of Natural History Planetarium.” For many years the University of Michigan hosted a museum, known as the “Exhibit Museum,” in a building on the university’s central campus. In recent years, the name of the museum was changed to the “Museum of Natural…
Meeting Details: June 21, 2019
June 21: Zachary Constan (Outreach Coordinator, National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at MSU). “Fantastic Nuclei and Where to Find Them.” Nuclei are combinations of protons and neutrons found in the center of atoms. Nuclei come in different types, some such as Carbon-12 or Nitrogen-14 are stable. Others such as Carbon-14 are unstable or radioactive. Unstable nuclei…
Meeting Details: March 15, 2019
March 15, 2019: Tom Drummond (Retired Public School Teacher). “Orion’s Quest Program: Authentic Research for Today’s Youth.” Tom Drummond spoke about Orion’s Quest Program. This program pairs classes of public-school students with cutting edge researchers to help with data collection from experiments running on the International Space Station. For example, experiments in space often have…
Meeting Details: January 18, 2019
January 18: Fred Adams (UM Physics & UM Astronomy). “Planet Nine From Outer Space.” Fred Adams gave a presentation on the search for a ninth planet in our solar system. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved a definition of the word “planet.” Before this, the solar system was considered to have 9 planets,…
Meeting Details: May 18, 2018
Sally Oey (UM Astronomy). Light pollution. Professor Sally Oey has led efforts to reduce light pollution in Southeast Michigan. She maintains an email list where light pollution issues are discussed. She spoke to the group about the detrimental impact of light pollution on astronomy viewing and on migratory birds and sea animals. She spoke of…
Meeting Details – March 16, 2018
2 Topics as follows: (1) Dave Jorgensen (Lowbrows). “Micro LIGO.” Dave Jorgensen gave a presentation on his home-made interferometer he dubbed “Micro LIGO.” The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves. LIGO consists of two large observatories and first detected gravitational waves in 2015….
Meeting Details: January 19, 2018
January 19: James W. Cutler (UM Aerospace Engineering). “Small Space Explorers.” Dr. James W. Cutler gave a talk on CubeSats. CubeSats are a class of small research spacecraft built to standard dimensions. They vary in size and weight but are always less than 1 cubic foot in size and typically weigh less than 20 pounds….
Meeting Details: December 15, 2017
Sandra Macika (Warren Astronomical Society). “Meteorites and Tektites: Types and Composition – Part 2: Chondrites.” Sandra Macika spoke to the group about meteorites and their composition. Samples of her collection from around the world were presented to the audience for their examination. Sandra had given part 1 of her talk to the club in July…
Meeting Details: November 17, 2017
Ken Bertin (Warren Astronomical Society). “Eclipses: How and Why They Happen.” Ken Bertin spoke to the group about eclipses. There is no recording of Ken’s talk with the Lowbrows, but Ken gave a similar talk to the Warren Astronomical Society watch that talk here. Return to list of all meetings.
Meeting Details: July 21, 2017
2 topics as follows: (1) Sandra Macika (Warren Astronomical Society). “Meteorites and Tektites: Types and Composition – Part 1: Differentiated.” Sandra Macika (Warren Astronomical Society) spoke to the group about meteorites and their composition. Samples of her collection from around the world were presented to the audience for their examination. Sandra had given part 1…
Meeting Details: January 20, 2017
January 20, 2017: Paul Walkowski (Lowbrows). “Building a Ten Inch Edscope.” Paul Walkowski built a beautiful 10” wooden telescope many years ago. However, this scope was heavy and difficult to move around. He decided to build a new telescope, that wasn’t as heavy. After completion of this scope, the result was a reduction in weight…
Meeting Details: September 16, 2016
Fred Adams (UM Physics and UM Astronomy). “Fine-Tuning the Universe.” Dr. Fred Adams gave a presentation on his recent work. He discussed how much the universe can be “fine-tuned” and still support the structures we see in the universe (planets, stars and galaxies) and also support life. He looked at this question from a number…
Meeting Details: June 17, 2016
Jodi and Roy McCullough (Lowbrows). “Solar Eclipse Chasing and Getting ready for 2017.” Jodi and Roy McCullough just returned from a trip to Indonesia to view a total solar eclipse. They talked about their experience eclipse chasing in Indonesia, Svalbard and Australia. They presented material on eclipses and photos of their eclipse chasing trips. They…
Meeting Details: March 18, 2016
Vivienne Baldassar (PhD student, UM Astronomy). “Teeny super massive black holes.” For a summary of this talk, see Don Fohey. (May 2011). “University Lowbrow Astronomers, 3/18/2016 Meeting Minutes.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers, pp. 7-8. Summary Return to list of all meetings.
Meeting Details: January 15, 2016
2 topics as follows… (1) Pat Seitzer (UM Astronomy) and Mel Drumm (Director of the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum). “The Fate of the Old Angell Hall Telescopes (a 10-inch refractor and a 15-inch reflector).” (2) Ken Bertin (Warren Astronomical Society). “Galileo Galilei, the giant whose shoulders both Newton and Einstein mentioned they stood upon.” Ken…
Meeting Details: December 18, 2015
Thierry Legault (French astronomer, specialist in astrophotography). “Examples of Astrophotography and Techniques.” Thierry Legault talked to the club about astrophotography. See Thierry’s website: http://www.astrophoto.fr/ For more details about this talk:Charlie Nielsen (photo by Thierry Legault). (March 2016). “2015 In Review.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers, p. 2. [Here] Return to list of all meetings.
Meeting Details: November 20, 2015
November 20, 2015: Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ (Director of the Vatican Observatory). “Vesta and the Chaotic Formation of Planets.” Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ (Director of the Vatican Observatory) spoke to the club about formation of planets in our solar system. Since his last talk to the club, he has become the Director of…
Meeting Details: May 15, 2015
2 topics as follows… (1) Emily Rauscher (UM Astronomy). “Peering into the atmospheres of exoplanets.” For a summary of this talk, see: David Jorgensen (June 2015). “Lowbrow Monthly Meeting Minutes, May 15, 2015.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers, p. 8. Here (2) Matt Linke, (UM Planetarium Director). Status of the new University of Michigan…
Meeting Details: April 17, 2015
2 topics as follows… (1) Elections. (2) Michael Meade (Lowbrows). “Northern Exposure: A Total Solar Eclipse Over the Faroe Islands.” Mike Meade talked to the club about solar eclipses. This talk included:The Timing and Geometry of Solar Eclipses. His latest solar eclipse trip (March 2015) which included a stop in Paris (where Charles Messier made…
Meeting Details: March 20, 2015
March 20: Don Fohey (Lowbrows). “Build you own shaft encoder to Sky Safari device using Arduino Uno and a Bluetooth Modem.” Don Fohey gave a presentation about interfacing digital encoders mounted on an Alt-Az scope with Sky Safari using wireless communication (Blue Tooth) and an Arduino Uno computer system. The system could easily be applied…
Meeting Details: February 20, 2015
Carl Akerlof (UM Physics). “Radio Astronomy on the Roof – Two Undergrad Experiments in Astrophysics & Cosmology.” For a summary of this talk, see: Dave Snyder. (March 2015). “Lowbrow Meeting Minutes February 20, 2015, 7:30 PM.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers, p. 8. [Here] Return to list of all meetings.
Meeting Details: January 16, 2015
Claude Pruneau (WSU Physics). “How studies at the CERN Large Hadron Collider inform us about the Big Bang!” For a summary of this talk, see: Dave Jorgensen. (March 2015). “Lowbrow Meeting Minutes Jan 16, 2015, 7:30PM.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers, p. 7 [Here] Return to list of all meetings.
Meeting Details: November 21, 2014
November 21, 2014: Brian Ottum (Lowbrows) and Stan Watson (Lowbrows). “Live Observing Using a Remote-Control Telescope — A Demonstration.” Brian Ottum (Lowbrows) and his friend Dr. Stan Watson built an observatory near the SW corner of New Mexico. This observatory can be operated from thousands of miles away. Brian and Stan demonstrated that a user…
Meeting Details: October 17, 2014
Lowbrow ATM Group. “The Club’s 17.5” ATM Project.” The Lowbrow ATM Group gave a presentation on the 17.5-inch telescope project. The team had refigured an old Coulter 17.5-inch mirror and built a new club telescope around it. The telescope team carried on in the garage of VP David Jorgensen until it was determined that the…
Meeting Details: August 14, 2014
Kevin Iott (Design engineer for Planewave Instruments). Planewave’s new 1-meter telescope. Kevin Iott, the design engineer for Planewave Instruments, presented the design of Planewave’s new 1 meter telescope. He explained the Corrected Dall-Kirkham optical design, and the direct drive motor system of the altitude, azimuth drive system. The telescope will have a Nasmyth Focus along…
Meeting Details – May 16, 2014
Claude Pruneau (WSU Physics). “The Perils of Asteroids.” Dr. Claude Pruneau from Wayne State University gave a talk “The Perils of Asteroids.” Among other things, he talked about the Chelyabinsk meteor. The Chelyabinsk meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on 15 February 2013. It was a near-Earth asteroid that weighed…
Meeting Details: July 15, 2011
Norb Vance (Director, Sherzer Observatory, Eastern Michigan University). Tour of the new EMU Planetarium. Norb Vance gave a tour of the planetarium within the new EMU Science Complex. See also:“Eastern Michigan University unveils new $90M Science Complex,” Ann Arbor News, December 16, 2010. Here Norb Vance. (May 2011). “Conversion Factor.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow…
Meeting Details: July 16, 2010
Two topics as follows (This meeting was held at Sherzer Observatory located on the campus of Eastern Michigan University): (1) Charlie Nielsen (Lowbrows). “The Trials and Tribulations of a New GoTo Mount.” Charlie Nielsen gave a demonstration of the club’s new SCT GoTo mount. Some photos taken during the meeting: (2) Norb Vance (Director, Sherzer…
Meeting Details: August 21, 2009
Sandra Macika (Ford Amateur Astronomy Club). “Science at the Lick Observatory.” Sandra Macika gave a presentation on the science results from Lick Observatory. Sandra’s talk covered: professional developments at Lick including early work on Adaptive Optics, Artificial Guide Stars, Colorimetry, Spectroscopy, Exo-solar planet detection via Doppler shift and proper motion, and Direct Imaging of Exo-solar…
Meeting Details: May 15, 2009
Belinda Lee & Mark Deprest (Lowbrows). “The Night Sky Network: How to Share the Joy of Astronomy.” Belinda and Mark showed the club toolkits from the Night Sky Network, these toolkits can be used to explain topics of Astronomy to the general public. The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs…
Meeting Details: February 20, 2009
February 20, 2009: Yasu Inugi, Charlie Nielsen, Dave Snyder, Jack Brisbin (all Lowbrows). “Amateur Astronomy: From Ann Arbor to the Universe.” On March 14, 2009, the University Lowbrow Astronomers, an Ann Arbor-based community, gave a presentation for Saturday Morning Physics. It was entitled, “Amateur Astronomy: From Ann Arbor to the Universe.” The photo above shows…
Meeting Details: September 19, 2008
Two topics as follows: (1) Mark Deprest (Lowbrows). “SLOOHing.” (2) Mark Deprest, Charlie Nielsen and Dave Snyder (all from the Lowbrows). “The Night Sky Network.” (See also March 16, 2007). Return to list of all meetings.
Meeting Details: July 18, 2008
Over the past few years we have held our July club meeting at Sherzer Observatory (on the campus of Eastern Michigan University). There were two topics as follows: (1) John Kirchhoff (Rider’s Hobby Shops). “New Equipment Show and Demo.” Charlie presides over the meeting. John Kirchhoff is looking on along with some of…
Meeting Details: February 15, 2008
February 15, 2008: Ken Bertin (Warren Astronomical Society). “The Herschel Family.” There is no recording of this presentation. However, Diane Hall & Ken Bertin gave a presentation to the Warren Astronomical Society “Four Women in Astronomy (Herschel, Leavitt, Cannon, Payne).” Diane and Ken traded off short biographies on some of the most significant women in…
Meeting Details: July 20, 2007
July 20, 2007 For the July 20 club meeting, John Kirchhoff, of Rider’s Hobby Shops in Livonia, gave his annual “Goodies Show.” This is the time that John shows us telescopes, eyepieces and other astronomical products. This year the meeting was held at Sherzer Observatory (on the campus of Eastern Michigan University). Among the items…
Meeting Details: May 18, 2007
DVD Presentation “The View From the Center of the Universe.” This is a recording of a talk given by Joel R. Primack (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Nancy Ellen Abrams (also from the University of California, Santa Cruz). Primack and Abrams have written a book (also entitled “The View From the Center of the…
Meeting Details: March 16, 2007
Mark Deprest and Charlie Nielsen (both Lowbrows). “An Introduction to the Night Sky Network.” Mark and Charlie gave an introduction to the Night Sky Network. The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology, and inspiration of NASA’s missions to the general public. Clubs in the network share…
Meeting Details: September 15, 2006
Three presentations as follows: (1) Don Fohey (Lowbrows). Digital Setting Circle Project. Don Fohey (University Lowbrow Astronomers) discussed how he built a digital setting circle. For the encoder interface electronics, he used the Interface for Digital Setting Circles by David Ek. For the positioning controller he used A Digital Setting Circle Program for Palm OS…
Meeting Details: July 21, 2006
Three topics as follows: (1) Joe Bernstein (Graduate Student, UM Astronomy). “Neutron Star Debris Disks.” (2) Norb Vance (Director of Sherzer Observatory). “A demonstration of the Sega Toys Homestar (21st Century Home Planetarium).” The Sega Toys Homestar is described in: Yasuharu Inugi. (August 2006). “‘Homestar,’ A Compact Home Planetarium.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers,…
Meeting Details: January 20, 2006
Two topics as follows: (1) Nathan Murphy (Lowbrows). “A Survey of Telescope Designs, Part 2: Refractors or How to Tell Nagler-Petzval from a Frauhofer.” (2) Yasuharu Inugi (Lowbrows). “A demonstration of the Sega Toys Homestar (21st Century Home Planetarium).” The Sega Toys Homestar is described in: Yasuharu Inugi. (August 2006). “‘Homestar,’ A Compact Home Planetarium.”…
Meeting Details: November 18, 2005
Mark Deprest (Lowbrows). “Black Forest Star Party or What you SHOULD save your vacation time for!!!!” Before the meeting, Mark told us “I will have a PowerPoint slide show and a Video that are absolutely fabulous!!! Come prepared to be entertained!! To quote ‘Flounder’ from the movie ‘Animal House,’ ‘THIS IS GOING TO BE GRREAT!!’…
Meeting Details: April 15, 2005
Three items as follows: (1) Elections The first order of business: running the annual election. Due to a mixup, at first Percival Lowell was not listed as Observatory Directory Emeritus (as traditionally happens at each election). This oversight was corrected at the last minute. The only contested position was Observatory Directory. So each club member…
Meeting Details: April 16, 2004
(1) Elections. (2) D. C. Moons (Lowbrows). A short talk about the Moon. D. C. Moons During the meeting there were two short talks, one by D. C. Moons and one by Mark Deprest. In addition the annual elections where held at this time. Here D. C. Moons talks about the moon. Club members listening…