Atlanta Astronomy Club

kosmickow writes "The August meeting of the Atlanta Astronomy Club will be held on August 15th, 2008. We have shifted the meeting schedule to follow more closely with the Lunar Calendar. August 16th is Full Moon.

The meeting will take place in room 207 of White Hall on the Emory University Campus. Directions on how to get there are on page 7 of the focal point and on our website. The best thing about our meetings is the socializing that goes on, plus we also love to hear the latest on new discoveries in science. Our featured speaker of the night is Dr Amy Lovell who will speak on Meteor showers and comets.

The following is in the speaker’s own words. The proper title is, "Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors for Everyone". As the space age and high-powered ground-based telescopes progress, we are endowed with a wealth of information about the small bodies that are found throughout the solar system. I will discuss some interesting new results in the studies of asteroids and comets, and a dramatic rise in the number of known meteor streams. Connections between these categories of objects continue to surprise and amaze us.

Speaker Bio: I have a BA in Physics-Astronomy from Agnes Scott College and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1999). I served as the Five College Astronomy Science Education Postdoctoral Fellow (1999-2000), and have been on the faculty in the department of Physics and Astronomy at Agnes Scott since 2000. My current titles are Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Chair of the Department and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. I spent the summer in Green Bank, WV, finishing up an exciting round of observations of OH molecules in comets with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). In the 2006-2007 academic years, I spent a sabbatical as a visiting scientist at the Arecibo Observatory (the world's largest radio telescope) in Puerto Rico.

My research is centered on longer-wavelength observations of objects within the solar system: large main-belt asteroids and comets. I've also dabbled in planetary atmospheres and molecular cloud chemistry.

Do you want anything non-academic? I live in Decatur, I have a husband and two children, and I like music, travel, and slightly dangerous sports.

Note that Emory University is in the process of making improvements to the parking and roads. So for the next year, we will have to endure road construction plus the closing of some of our favorite parking spots. For now, the best places to park are the Peavine Deck and the Fishburne Parking Deck. Fishburne parking deck is located on Fishburne Drive which is accessible from N. Decatur Rd. Take North Decatur Rd and turn onto Dowman Drive and then right on Fishburne Drive. You can also access Fishburne Drive from Clifton Road southbound on right before the N. Decatur Rd intersection. The Peavine parking deck is accessible from North Decatur Road. Turn onto Oxford Road. Take that to back entrance of Emory and turn onto Eagle Row. Take that to the Peavine Parking lot/deck.

September 19th, Dr Chris Sirola of Southern Miss will give a talk titled, “Happy 100th Birthday Tunguska! ”

October 17th, Dr Angela Sarrazine Astronomer at Fernbank Science Center will give a talk on “Open Cluster Research: Strengthening the Cosmic Distance Ladder.”
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Atlanta Astronomy Club Members should remember to update the Treasurer when their email address changes. This is especially important for receiving Focal Point announcements and renewal notices.