The Durham Region Astronomical Association: Event List

Posted by: Michael Cook Category: Monthly Meetings Contact: draa-president@drastronomy.com
When: Thursday 10 November 2011 at 12:00 am Ends: Thursday 10 November 2011 at 02:00 am
Location: Whitby Library - Central Branch
"The Star That Changed the Universe" by Michael Cook Up until the early part of the last century, the conventional thinking was that our Milky Way Galaxy is a star city that represented the sum total of the entire universe. Faint spiral nebulae were thought to be celestial objects within the Milky Way. Or were they? Some astronomers suggested that these spiral nebulae may be star cities in themselves, located at vast distances beyond the Milky Way. A "Great Debate" between two giants of astronomy (Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis) in 1920 prompted astronomers to develop new methods for determining distance scales. Using the 100-inch Hooker telescope in 1923, Edwin Hubble discovered the first variable star in the "spiral nebulae" M 31 (M31_V1) that determined the distance to M 31 was greater than previously thought, and proved that "spiral nebulae" are indeed separate galaxies outside of the Milky Way Galaxy. Nearly 100 years later, the Hubble Space Telescope was used in support of a public outreach project, under the auspices of the Hubble Heritage Project, aimed at obtaining the first concentrated data set of M31_V1 in modern times. The variable M31_V1 has become a star of both historical and astrophysical interest. In addition to recounting the Great Debate, and the work of Edwin Hubble, the presenter will describe his work that was used to assist the Hubble Heritage Team. Durham Skies by Gary Wilkins Gary announces his new Astronomy and Birding Store in Pickering Building an Observatory by Tom Hayko Tom describes the building of his observatory What's Up in the Night Sky by Jeff Dutton Jeff highlights celestial targets for November View Larger Map