Meeting Topics of the University Lowbrow Astronomers (Previous Years)

Meeting Topics

The University Lowbrow Astronomers are an amateur astronomy club that meets once a month. Each month has a different topic. In some months, professional astronomers are invited to talk on a particular area. In other months, club members will give a presentation. The following is a list of meeting topics for previous years.

(Some information prior to January 1999 was reconstructed from newsletters and other information, there were probably a few meetings that did not occur as described).

(Go here for more information on club activities, including meeting times and locations).

1991

October 18, 1991.
Various Lowbrows. “A Slide Show on the 1991 Astrofest Star Party.”
Various Lowbrows. “Demonstration of Astronomy Software.”
November 15, 1991. Steve Schaefer. “Pioneer High School Planetarium Demonstration.”
December 20, 1991. Stuart Fulkerson. “Project SETI: A Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.”

1992

January 17, 1992. Dr. Tony England (Former NASA Astronaut). “The Politics of Science.”
February 21, 1992. Roger Tanner. “Demonstration of Astronomy Image Processing on the Personal Computer.”
March 20, 1992. Bill Durrant. “A Slide Show on the LDEF (Long Duration Exposure Facility).”
April 17, 1992. Elections.
May 15, 1992. Dr. Kenneth Gibbs (Enrico Fermi Institute). “Chicago Air Shower Array (CASA) of the University of Chicago.”
June 19, 1992. Roger Tanner. “A Report on the 1992 Texas Star Party.”
July 17, 1992. Stuart Cohen and D. C. Moons. “The Restoration of the 24 Inch Telescope at Peach Mountain.”
August 21, 1992. Doug Nelle. “An 8 Inch Telescope Your Spouse Will Let You Take on Vacation.”
September 18, 1992.
“The International Dark Sky Association Slide Show.”
Video: “JMI Promotional Video (New Telescopes).”
October 16, 1992. Fred Schebor. “A Report on Astrofest 1992.”
November 15, 1992. Mark Vincent (Space Physics Research Laboratory). “What’s Really Being Done with Hubble?”
December 20, 1992. Fred Schebor. “The Artsy Meaningless Slide Show.”

1993

January 15, 1993. Tom Ryan. “Mirror Grinding: Theory and Practice.”
February 19, 1993.
Paul Etzler. “Fighting Light Pollution: The International Dark Sky Association.”
Various Lowbrows. “Some Recent Pictures Through the 24 Inch Telescope.”
March 19, 1993. Dr. Richard Teske (U of M’s Astronomy Department). “Mysterious Geminga: The Rise and Fall of a Naked Neutron Star.”
April 16, 1993. Elections.
May 21, 1993. Tom Ryan and Doug Nelle. “Crazy Eights: A Tale of Two Telescopes.”
June 18, 1993. Various Lowbrows. “The Computer Subgroup: All the Really Neat Software We Play With and Stuff Like That.”
July 16, 1993. Tom Ryan. “The Amazing Stepper Motor.”
August 20, 1993. Club Picnic at the Peach Mountain Observatory.
September 17, 1993. Various Lowbrows. “A Report on Astrofest 1993.”
October 15, 1993. Dr. Richard Teske. “SETI: Will it Work?”
November 19, 1993. Joady Ulrich (the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Windsor Centre). “The Earth as a Planet.”
December 17, 1993. Fred Schebor. “The Artsy Meaningless Slide Show.”

1994

January 21, 1994. Bill Durrant. “Particles in Space.”
February 18, 1994. Dr. Nick Steneck. “The History and Preservation of the Detroit Observatory.”
March 18, 1994. Dr. Richard Teske. “SETI: Will it Work?”
April 15, 1994.
Elections.
Various Lowbrows. “A Report on the 1994 Winter Star Party.”
May 20, 1994. Various Lowbrows. “A Review of the May 10 Eclipse Uplink and Club Future Directions.”
June 17, 1994.
Various Lowbrows. “Video from the 1994 Texas Star Party.”
“A Tour of the University of Arizona.’s Mirror Lab.”
July 15, 1994. Kevin Bozin. “The Cause and Chemistry of the Aurora Borealis.”
August 19, 1994. Tom Pettit. “Jupiter Impact Images from NASA Select.”
September 16, 1994. Tom Ryan and John Causland. “All About Telescopes and What Kinds to Buy.”
October 16, 1994. Fred Schebor and Doug Nelle. “A Report on Astrofest 1994.”
November 18, 1994.
Steve Musko. “TOMS.”
Chris Sarnecki. “The New Angell Hall Observatory.”
December 16, 1994. Fred Schebor. “The Artsy Meaningless Slide Show.”

1995

January 20, 1995. Mario Mateo. “New Light on Dark Matter.”
February 17, 1995. Deano Smith. “Cataclysmic Variables.”
March 17, 1995. Patricia Hanlan. “Elliptical Galaxies.”
April 21, 1995.
Elections.
Various Lowbrows. Various Five Minute Talks.
May 19, 1995. Mark Vincent. “Results of the Jovian Auroral Spectrograph Rocket Launch.”
June 16, 1995. Steve Schaffer. A Planetarium Show at Pioneer High School.
July 21, 1995. Caroline Cox. “Recent Events in the Media.”
August 18, 1995. Picnic/Star Party at Peach Mountain.
September 15, 1995. Jim Abshier. “Home Made Radio Telescopes.”
October 20, 1995. Various Lowbrows. “A Slide Show Report on Astrofest 1995 and Amateur Telescope Making.”
November 17, 1995. Video: A Recording of Leon Lederman (Nobel Prize Physicist) at a Recent Lecture.
December 15, 1995. Various Lowbrows. Various Short Talks.

1996

January 19, 1996. Doug Drob. “Turbulence in the Near Earth’s Space Environment.”
February 16, 1996. Brian Ottum. “How I Built My Own Observatory.”
March 15, 1996. Various Lowbrows. Short Talks on Comet Hyakutake.
April 19, 1996. Elections.
May 17, 1996. Dr. Richard Teske. “Distance Scale of the Universe.”
June 21, 1996. Phil Schafer. “Astronomy and Philatelics.”
July 19, 1996. Peter Alway. “Retro-Rockets: Experimental Rockets 1926-1941.”
August 16, 1996. Unknown.
September 20, 1996.
Kurt Hillig. “A Pilgrimage to Mauna Kea.”
Fred Schebor. “The Artsy Meaningless Slide Show.”
October 18, 1996. Bill Durant. “ALSEP - 30 Years On.”
November 15, 1996. Five Short Talks by Five Lowbrows.
Mark Cray. “Eyepieces.”
Chris Sarnecki. “Double Stars.”
Doug Nelle. “Unique Telescopes.”
Dave Snyder. “The Internet.”
Tom Ryan. “Laser Testing of Optics.”
December 20, 1996. Brian Ottum. “The Christmas Star.”

1997

January 17, 1997. Doug Warshow. “The Flight of JASPR IV.”
February 21, 1997. Various Lowbrows. “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Comets (but were afraid to ask).”
March 21, 1997. Various Lowbrows. “All About Comets, Part II.”
April 18, 1997.
Mark Vincent. “Hale Bopping From Kitt Peak.”
Elections.
May 16, 1997. Peter Alway. “The Beginnings of the Lowbrows.”
June 20, 1997. Mark Deprest and Mark Vincent. “Introduction to Aided Visual Astronomy.”
July 18, 1997. Bill Albe. “The Black Sun - An Eclipse in South America.”
August 15, 1997. Unknown.
September 19, 1997. Various Lowbrows. “Astrofest Talk and Slides.”
October 17, 1997. “Supernovae and Black Holes.”
November 21, 1997. Dr. Philip B. James. “Observing Mars.”
December 19, 1997. Dr. Michael Combi (the University of Michigan Space Physics Laboratory). “Comet Research at the University of Michigan.”

1998

January 16, 1998.
Mark Deprest. “Dozen Deep Sky Delights.”
Paul Walkowski. “ATM Short Subjects.”
February 20, 1998. Various Lowbrows. “Necessary Accessories, Five Lowbrows Present Five Multimedia Planetarium Programs for the Home Computers.”
March 20, 1998. Dick Van Effen (the Sunset Astronomical Society). “A Visit to Russia: Art and Science in the Former Soviet Union.”
April 17, 1998. Various Lowbrows. “The February 1998 Solar Eclipse.”
May 15, 1998. John Wolter and William Bogen. “The Ann Arbor Space Society.” The Ann Arbor Space Society Web Page.
June 19, 1998. Dr. Mark Vincent. “Ultraviolet Observations of Jupiter: Wood’s Filters, Latitudinal Bands, Polar Regions, and Sounding Rocket.”
July 17, 1998. Andy Tomasch (Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Physics, University of Michigan). “Tracking Down Antimatter at 120,000 Feet: Astro-Particle Physics Aboard High Altitude Balloons.”
August 21, 1998. Various Lowbrows. “Dream Telescopes, Both Real and Imaginary.”
September 18, 1998. Dr. Rudi Lindner. “The University of Michigan’s South African Observatory.”
October 16, 1998. Dr. Patricia S. Whitesell. “The History of the Detroit Observatory.” The Detroit Observatory.
November 21, 1998. Mark Deprest. “Star Hopping through Vulpecula.”
December 18, 1998. Dr. Mark Vincent. “Former Lowbrow President Brings Us Up-To-Date on His Work at Apache Point Observatory.”

1999

January 15, 1999. Fred Schebor. “Artsy, Meaningless Slide Show.”
February 19, 1999. Dr. Pat Seitzer. “Tales of the Lost Observatory: Heber Curtis and the Michigan Large Telescope Project.”
March 19, 1999. Chad Ohlandt from the Mars Society. “Why Mars?” (A presentation on the why and how we should explore and settle Mars). [See the Mars Society Web Page].
April 16, 1999.
- Paul Walkowski. “Globular Clusters.” [See the Newsletter Article “Concerning Clusters” by P Walkowski].
- Elections.
- Tom Ryan. “The Null Testing of Mirrors.”
May 21, 1999. Mark Deprest. “Constellations.”
June 18, 1999. Mark Cray and Tom Ryan. “CCD Cameras and the McMath Telescope.”
July 16, 1999.
- Lorna Simmons. “Type 1A Supernovae.”
- Mark Deprest. “The New 10” Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope.”
August 20, 1999.
- Chris Sarnecki. “My Recent Solar Eclipse Trip.”
- Dr. Mark Vincent. “My Recent and Upcoming Astronomical Activities.”
September 17, 1999.
- A Discussion of the NASA Budget.
- A Discussion of Deep Sky Issues at Peach Mountain Observatory.
- Mark Cray. “A Design for a Folded Refractor Telescope.”
October 15, 1999. Mark Deprest. “Deep-Sky Delights of the King of Constellations” - A Star Hop thru Cepheus.
November 19, 1999.
- Lorna Simmons. “Dark Matter.”
- Various Lowbrows. “Star Atlases.” A variety of different Star Atlases will be discussed (each will be on display to allow comparisons).
December 17, 1999. Clayton Kessler. A Video: “Spin Casting Giant Mirrors at the University of Arizona’s Mirror Lab.”

2000

January 21, 2000. A Video: “Shadows & Signs.” (From the Wonders of the Universe Series, the Learning Channel).
February 18, 2000. Dr. Mark Vincent: “Ten days in an upside-down world, or whatsa Lowbrow doin’ at the South Pole.” Dr. Vincent described his brief, 10 day stay at the South Pole. He worked on the Viper telescope which is designed to study the cosmic microwave background radiation at millimeter wavelengths. What makes Viper so interesting is that it is located at the South Pole to take advantage of the thin, cold and VERY dry air. How cold, well it was -56°F with a -107°F windchill when he first stepped off the LC-130 at the Pole on November 2. Believe it or not, it’s easy to break into a drenching sweat. (Go here for photographs from Mark Vincent).
March 17, 2000. John Causland, Clayton Kessler, Lorna Simmons, Mark Deprest, Doug Scobel and Paul Walkowski: a presentation of various observing accessories.
- John presented his I³ Piece (Image Intensified Eyepiece) made by Collins Electro Optics.
- Clayton showed his Taurus Tracker and the telescope he built from a kit.
- Lorna brought her Zeiss 5x10 miniature telescope.
- Mark brought a metal instrument case from Orion. Inside was an illuminated reticle eyepiece, an Orthoscopic eyepiece and an Oxygen-III (known as O-III for short) filter. In addition he presented his hand-made position angle device (used to measure the position angle of stars in a double or multiple star system). He also mentioned several books, the Deep Sky Observer’s Guide and a set of four books written by Brent Wilson (the set of four books can obtained via an order blank which is included with a Telrad). These books are indispensable if one wants to locate objects with a Telrad.
- Doug presented a set of red flashlights. One was made by taking a Mag-Lite flashlight and painting the inside of the glass plate with red Testor’s paint. Another was made replacing the white light in a small illuminated magnifier with a LED; when doing this it is necessary to add appropriate resistors between the battery and the LED.
- Paul presented his combination viewing ladder, viewing chair and accessory stand. He constructed this from wood and can be readily converted between these three functions. He also brought a book called Viewing the Deep Sky by Fred Schaaf.
- For more information on I³ Piece, Clayton’s experiences and the books mentioned above, see:
  Dennis di Cicco. February 1999. “Intensifying Your Viewing Experience.” Sky and Telescope. pp. 63ff.
  Clayton Kessler. September, 1999. “The BW Optik 4” f6 Refractor Kit.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. pp. 2-3.
  Philip S. Harrington. Sky & Telescope Observer’s Guides: The Deep Sky. Cambridge, MA: Sky Publishing Corp.
  Brent Wilson. 1993. Finder Charts of the Messier Objects: Volume 1 - M1 through M55. Bountiful, Utah: Sky Spot.
  ------. 1993. Finder Charts of the Messier Objects: Volume 2 - M56 through M110. Bountiful, Utah: Sky Spot.
  ------. 1994. Finder Charts of Overlooked Objects. Bountiful, Utah: Sky Spot.
  ------. 1995. Finder Charts of Bright Telescopic Objects. Bountiful Utah: Sky Spot.
  Fred Schaaf. 1992. Viewing the Deep Sky: Telescopic Projects Beyond the Solar System. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
  Paul Walkowski. February, 2000. “Seeing the Deep Sky by Fred Schaaf: a Book Review by Paul Walkowski.” Reflections of the University Lowbrow Astronomers. p. 5.
April 21, 2000.
- John Kirchhoff (Ryders Hobby Shop in Livonia): “Recent Developments in Amateur Astronomy Hardware.”
  John brought a van load of demo items including some of the very latest and greatest. Among them:
  1. The Teleview 38mm Type 5 Nagler! [No words can describe the eyepiece to end all eyepieces!]
  2. The Orion “giant” telescope binoculars 25 x125 mm (recently reviewed in Astronomy).
  3. The Celestron Nexstar 5” or 8” computerized SCTs. (See pp. 54-63 and back cover of February, 2000 issue of Sky and Telescope).
  4. The Orion Skyquest Dobs with the altitude spring tensioner. (Top rated in last summer’s Sky and Telescope dob shootout. If you’re going to get started, why not start at the top?)
  5. Orion Short Tube - Affordable rich field “Cluster Busters” that go anywhere in a suitcase!
  6. Eyepieces by Kendrich, Orion, Vixen, Teleview Nagler, Celestron.
  7. Digital setting circles for dobs -- don’t leave home without one!
May 19, 2000.
- Elections.
- Swap Meet (exchange astronomy hardware, books, computer software, etc.).
June 16, 2000.
- Bernard Friberg: Star Charts of Comet S4 (Linear) and the asteroids Pallas and Ceres.
- Video: “Mysteries of Mars, the Learning Channel.”
- A discussion of this video.
July 14, 2000.
- Clayton Kessler: ATM show and tell.
- Mark Deprest: Beginning astrophography.
- Clayton Kessler: Intermediate astrophotography: including barn door photography and computer image processing (building up a print from two or more exposures and setting the black level to improve the quality of the image).
August 18, 2000. D. C. Moons: Terraforming other planets.
September 15, 2000.
- Daniel Slosberg (University of Michigan Space Physics Research Laboratory): The Martian Farmer: Water Mining on Mars.
- Jim Beyer (The Mars Society): The Michigan Mars Rover Project.
October 20, 2000. Joe Bernstein (Graduate Student in Astronomy, University of Michigan): “Distribution in Magnitude of Brightest Cluster Galaxies.”
November 17, 2000. Mark Deprest: “The Sky and Telescope Hour-Glass Chart.”
December 15, 2000. Mike Simonsen (The Warren Astronomical Society and The American Association of Variable Star Observers [AAVSO]): “Variable and Cataclysmic Stars.”

2001

January 19, 2001. Dr. Carl Akerlof (University of Michigan Physics Department): “Doing Forefront Astronomical Research with a 4” Refractor.”
February 16, 2001. Fred Schebor. “Artsy, Meaningless Slide Show.”
March 16, 2001. Jim Abshier. “Amateur Radio Astronomy.”
April 20, 2001.
- Elections
- Phil McCausland (Graduate Student, University of Western Ontario; Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, London Centre): “The Tagish Lake Meteorite.” (For more information about the Tagish Lake Meteorite, see: Jeffrey N. Grossman. 2000. “A Meteorite Falls on Ice.” Science, October 13.)
May 18, 2001. Mark Vincent: “NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility” (IRTF). (Go here for photographs from Mark Vincent).
June 15, 2001. Mark Deprest and John Causland: “The Texas Star Party (Report, Video and Slide Show).”
July 20, 2001. Meeting held at Peach Mountain Observatory.
August 17, 2001. John Kirchhoff (Ryder’s Hobby Shop in Livonia). The latest astronomy hardware from Ryder’s Hobby Shop. Meeting held at Peach Mountain Observatory.
September 21, 2001.
- Milton French: Solar Eclipse Expedition (Part 1).
- Doug Nelle: Astrofest Slide Show.
October 19, 2001. Tihamer Toth-Fejel (Ann Arbor Space Society): “Uses of Nanotechnology in Space Applications.”
November 16, 2001. Milton French: Solar Eclipse Expedition (Part 2).
December 21, 2001. Clayton Kessler: “Shooting Stars.” There are at least five different ways the phrase “Shooting Stars” could be interpreted, however Clayton meant taking photographs of stars and other objects in the night sky and not necessarily meteors. This will primarily be a slide show of his astrophotos, but if there’s time there will be a discussion of lenses for piggyback astronomy. (For more information, see “Simple Astrophotography” by Clayton Kessler).

2002

January 18, 2002.
- Bob Gruszczynski: “Tales of the Black Forest Star Party.” (See http://www.bfsp.org/ for more details).
- Clayton Kessler: “83 mm Refractor Group Project.” (See http://www.ssoastro.org/83mm_refractor_group_project.htm for more details).
February 15, 2002. An ad-hoc discussion on various topics.
March 15, 2002. Joe Bernstein (PhD Student, University of Michigan Astronomy Department): “Windblown Bubbles: The Hydrodynamic Dance of Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Supernova Remnants.”
April 19, 2002.
- John Causland: Demonstration of Astronomy Software, “Deep Space Explorer.”
- Elections.
- Astronomy Swap Meet.
See also Photographs taken during this club meeting.
May 24, 2002. Matthew Walker (PhD Student, University of Michigan Astronomy Department): “Shedding Some Light on Dark Matter.”
June 21, 2002. Mike Garrahan: Demonstration of the Johnsonian Equatorial Telescope Tracking Platform (a platform that allows a Dobsonian telescope to track stars or the moon). Meeting was held at the Leslie Science Center.
July 19, 2002. Meeting was held at Hudson-Mills Metropark (no speaker, but we ate Pizza, looked at the sun and later moved to Peach Mountain for some observing).
July 26, 2002. Roger Tanner gave a talk on a prototype of a new Mars Camera at a special meeting. This camera might be selected to fly on a unmanned mission to Mars in the year 2007 (however this decision hasn’t been made yet). See a review of this meeting “Roger Tanner Comes Home” by Dave Snyder and photographs taken during this club meeting.
August 16, 2002. D. C. Moons talked about the removal of the 24” mirror from the McMath telescope (in preparation for the mirror recoating). There were slides taken by Doug Warshow and Tom Stoner. See a selection of some of these slides.
September 20, 2002.
- Black Forest Star Party Report. (See http://www.bfsp.org/ for more details).
- A discussion of the Lowbrow Constitution. This document is about 20 years old, and it is overdue for an update.
Minutes from the September 20, 2002 meeting.
October 18, 2002. Video: “Mysteries of Deep Space.”
November 15, 2002. Mark Deprest: “Autumn’s Astronomical Color Tour.”
December 20, 2002. An update from the By-Law Committee. This committee has been working on a set of by-laws to replace the constitution (which as discussed in the September meeting, is about 20 years old). The committee will present the current draft and there will be an opportunity for discussion. The current draft by-laws is available. Members should bring a copy of the draft by-laws to the meeting (there may not be any extra copies available).

2003

January 17, 2003. Jim Wadsworth: “The Nebraska Star Party, A Personal Perspective.” (See http://www.nebraskastarparty.org/ for more information on the Nebraska Star Party).
February 21, 2003. Eric Miller (Graduate Student, Astronomy Department, University of Michigan): “Gas in Galaxies and Beyond: Cold Clouds, Hot Haloes, and the Missing Baryons.”
March 21, 2003. Joe Bernstein (Graduate Student, Astronomy Department, University of Michigan): “Dark Energy: What Can It Do For You (and Do You Want It To?)”
April 18, 2003.
- Elections.
- Ratification of new by-laws (more information about the by-laws).
- Swap Meet.
May 16, 2003. Mark Deprest: “Catching Comets.”
June 20, 2003. Patrick Koehn (Solar and Heliospheric Research Group, University of Michigan): “MESSENGER-FIPS and Controversies at the Planet Mercury.”
July 18, 2003. John Kirchhoff (Riders Hobby Shop, Livonia, Michigan): A “goodies” demo. John brought telescopes and other astronomy equipment for club members to look at. This meeting was held at Peach Mountain instead of the usual location. Pictures from this club meeting.
August 15, 2003. This meeting was cancelled due to a power failure in the eastern United States.
September 19, 2003. The meeting location has been changed to Auditorium D, Angell Hall, 435 South State Street (on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus). The University of Michigan Astronomy Department will be holding a public lecture at 7:30PM that evening. This lecture is part of the Cosmic Origins Public Lecture Series. The September 19th lecture is the first lecture in the series and will be given by Professor Rocky Kolb of the University of Chicago and is titled “The Quantum and the Cosmos.” More information about the lecture series. Directions to Angell Hall.
October 17, 2003. The meeting location has been changed to Auditorium B, Angell Hall, 435 South State Street (on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus). The University of Michigan Astronomy Department will be holding a public lecture at 7:30PM that evening. This lecture is part of the Cosmic Origins Public Lecture Series. The October 17th lecture is the third in the series and will be given by Harvard University’s Professor Alyssa Goodman. Goodman is a leading authority on star formation and the recipient of several major awards for her research. The lecture is titled “A Recipe for Making Stars and Planets.” More information about the lecture series. Directions to Angell Hall.
November 21, 2003. A presentation by several club members about this year’s Black Forest Star Party.
December 19, 2003. John Causland spoke about his new binocular telescope attachment. Mike Radwick gave a demo of the Astroplanner program.

2004

January 16, 2004. Dr. Fred Adams (Physics Department, University of Michigan): “Into the Dark, The Long Term Fate of the Universe.” Professor Adams studies theoretical astrophysics at the University of Michigan. He specializes in star formation and cosmology, is the co-author of Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity (published 1999 by The Free Press, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.) and author of Origins of Existence: How Life Emerged in the Universe (published 2002 by The Free Press, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.) [See photographs taken at this meeting.]
February 20, 2004. Mike Garrahan (University Lowbrow Astronomers) and Steve Moore (University Lowbrow Astronomers): Demonstration of Astronomy Software. Mike demonstrated “KStars” (a program that runs on Linux) and Steve demonstrated “Starry Night” (a program that runs on Windows and on Macintoshes).
March 19, 2004.
- Joe Bernstein (Graduate Student, Astronomy Department, University of Michigan): “Superconductivity in Neutron Stars.”
- Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A short presentation on two upcoming comets, C/2001 Q4 Neat and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR).
April 16, 2004.
- Elections.
- D. C. Moons (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A short talk about the Moon.
- Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A short talk about comets.
- Swap Meet.
May 14, 2004. Chris Sarnecki (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Travels of a Wayward Lowbrow, From Smithonian’s New Astronomy Exhibit to Palomar.”
June 18, 2004. Mike Combi (Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic & Space Sciences, University of Michigan): “Fragmenting Comets.”
July 16, 2004. John Kirchhoff (Rider’s Hobby Shops): “Goodies Show.” John will bring a variety of telescopes and other astronomy equipment for people to look at.
August 20, 2004. Rudi Lindner (History Department, University of Michigan): “Hammers and Chisels against Einstein: Relativity at Michigan.”
September 17, 2004. Mark Deprest, Doug Scobel, Doug Nelle, Chris Sarnecki, Jim Wadsworth (all from the University Lowbrow Astronomers): Report from the Black Forest Star Party.
October 15, 2004.
- Bob Gruszczynski (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “PortaBall Show & Tell.”
- Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Incoming.”
November 19, 2004. Perry Samson (Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic & Space Sciences, University of Michigan):“ Oh Say Can You... Observe.”
December 17, 2004. Pat Seitzer (Astronomy Department, University of Michigan): “The New Angell Hall Planetarium.” A demonstration and show of the brand new Angell Hall Planetarium with Zeiss ZKP 3/B projector. See the stars as seen from Ann Arbor without city lights, and from a mountain observatory in Chile. Learn what lies beyond the stars! For more information view the planetarium web site: http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/planetarium.

2005

Friday January 21, 2005.
- Charlie Nielsen (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A demonstration of astronomy software, Celestia. For information about Celestia see the web site http://www.shatters.net/celestia/.
- Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A discussion of currently visible comets.
Friday February 18, 2005. Elena Adams (PhD Student, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, the University of Michigan): “Titan, as seen through the eyes of Cassini-Huygens.”
Friday March 18, 2005. Fred Schebor (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Artsy, Meaningless Slide Show.”
Friday April 15, 2005. Election and Swap Meet. See Pictures taken at this club meeting.
Friday May 20, 2005. Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A presentation on comets that included a video.
Friday June 17, 2005. Bob Gruszczynski (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “A New Star Party with a New Scope.”
Friday July 15, 2005. John Kirchhoff (Rider’s Hobby Shops): “Goodies Show.” John will bring a variety of telescopes and other astronomy equipment for people to look at. See Pictures taken at this club meeting.
Friday August 19, 2005.
- Norbert Vance (Director, Sherzer Observatory, Eastern Michigan University): Slide Show: Slides of Sherzer Observatory and Fish Lake (Fish Lake is an astronomical observing site); Slides from Norb’s Light Pollution Talk. [More information about Sherzer Observatory].
- John Causland (University Lowbrow Astronomers): Slide Show: Trip to China, Pictures from Beijing, Shanghai and Xian (Xian is pronounced “she-on”).
Friday, September 16, 2005. Ken Bertin (Warren Astronomical Society): “A Venus Transit from Greece.”
Friday, October 21, 2005. Instead of the usual meeting in the Dennison Building, we will attend a talk given by David Spergel from Princeton University entitled “The Size, Shape and Fate of the Universe.” It will be held in room 1800 Chemistry. (This is part of the Distinguished speaker series hosted by the University of Michigan Astronomy Department, the Exhibit Museum of Natural History, and the Student Astronomical Society).
Friday, November 18, 2005. Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Black Forest Star Party or What you SHOULD save your vacation time for!!!!” Mark says: “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!!’ ” See Pictures taken at this club meeting.
Friday, December 16, 2005. Nathan Murphy (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Optical Jargon or How to Tell Petzval Curvature from Astigmatism.” (Nathan passed out a handout that covered the material in this presentation. Read this handout “Optical Jargon.”)

2006

Friday, January 20, 2006.
- Nathan Murphy (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Refractors or How to Tell Nagler-Petzval from a Frauhofer.”
- Yasuharu Inugi (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A demonstration of the Sega Toys Homestar (21st Century Home Planetarium).
Friday, February 17, 2006. Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): A brief discussion of two naked eye comets: C/2006 A1 ( Pojmanski ) & 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3.
Friday, March 17, 2006.
- Nathan Murphy (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “A Survey of Telescope Designs, Part 3” or “How to Tell a Dall-Kirkham from a Ritchey-Chretien.”
- Doug Scobel (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “A Demo of the Ugliest, Most Useful Computer Program a Deep Sky Observer Could Ask For.”
Friday, April 21, 2006. Elections and Swap Meet.
Friday, May 19, 2006. Clayton Kessler (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “To Film or Not to Film... That is the question. Getting started with astrophotography.”
Friday, June 16, 2006.
- John Kirchhoff (Rider’s Hobby Shops): “High Resolution Web Cam Imaging.”
- David P Tucker (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “An Intro to Digital Deep Sky Astrophotography.”
Friday, July 21, 2006. This meeting was held in Room 402 Sherzer Observatory (located on the campus of Eastern Michigan University) instead of the usual location. (A group of lowbrows had gone to Sherzer a few months earlier, see “A Night at EMU’s Sherzer Observatory” for a description of that trip and some photographs).
- Joe Bernstein (Graduate Student in Astronomy, University of Michigan): “Neutron Star Debris Disks.”
- Norb Vance (Director of Sherzer Observatory): Norb ordered pizza for the group and gave a demonstration of the Sega Toys Homestar (21st Century Home Planetarium).
- Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): The Black Forest Star Party is one month away and a number of Lowbrows will be attended. Mark discussed various things Black Forest attendees should know about.
Friday, August 18, 2006. Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): Mark will give his constellation tour talk (the indoor version of the talk he will give at the Black Forest Star Party).
Friday, September 15, 2006.
- Don Fohey (University Lowbrow Astronomers): Digital Setting Circle Project. Don 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 by Doug Braun. For more information see the following web sites: http://www.usdigital.com/ http://home.earthlink.net/~david.ek/digicircles/ http://www.farcircuits.net/ http://palmdsc.dougbraun.com/ http://www.telescope.com/ http://www.skyeng.com/ http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~de-smet/intelliscope.html .
- Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): One of the doorprizes at the Black Forest Star Party was a Coronado PST. Mark won the Coronado and showed it to the club.
- Nathan Murphy (University Lowbrow Astronomers): Nathan showed the club a DVD entitled “A Sidewalk Astronomer” that highlighted John Dobson, the inventor of the Dobsonian Telescope. (For more information about the Sidewalk Astronomers, an organization co-founded by John Dobson see http://www.sidewalkastronomers.us/).
Friday October 20, 2006. Dave Snyder and Mark Deprest (University Lowbrow Astronomers): Slide Show: 2006 Black Forest Star Party (featuring photographs from Charlie Nielsen, Dave Snyder, Doug Scobel, Mark Deprest, Nathan Murphy and Yasuharu Inugi).
Friday November 17, 2006. Eric Webster (Webster Telescopes): Eric gave a talk on new telescope designs (Webster Telescopes specialize in large aperture telescopes).
Friday December 15, 2006. Tom Ryan (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “Earth Orbiting Telescope.”

2007

Friday, January 19, 2007. Norb Vance (Director of Sherzer Observatory and member of the University Lowbrow Astronomers): “California Dreamin’.”
Friday, February 16, 2007. Paul Walkowski (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “How to Build a Newtonian Telescope.”
Friday, March 16, 2007. Mark Deprest and Charlie Nielsen (both from the University Lowbrow Astronomers): “An Introduction to the Night Sky Network” [note, this is a change from the earlier announcement].
Friday, April 20, 2007. Elections and Swap Meet.
Friday, May 18, 2007. We will watch a DVD entitled “The View From the Center of the Universe.” This is a video 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). [note, this is a change from the earlier announcement].

Primack and Abrams have written a book (also entitled “The View From the Center of the Universe”), the book covers similar ground as the talk (but goes into more detail). Primack, one of the world’s leading cosmologists, and Abrams, a philosopher and writer, use recent advances in astronomy, physics, and cosmology to frame a compelling new theory for understanding the universe and our role in it.

For a decade, Primack and Abrams have been co-teaching a course at UC Santa Cruz called “Cosmology and Culture,” from which the book and the talk were developed. They are married and have a daughter. For more information, see their website http://viewfromthecenter.com/
Friday, June 15, 2007. Brian Ottum (University Lowbrow Astronomers): “An Introduction to Astrophotography.”
Friday, July 20, 2007. John Kirchhoff (Rider’s Hobby Shops): “New Equipment Show and Demo.” This meeting will take place in room 402 of Sherzer Observatory. Sherzer Observatory is located on the campus of Eastern Michigan University [click here for a map]. (Note, Last year there was parking access from Washtenaw Ave by the famous water tower. That entrance is closed due to construction at McKenny Union. Use the entrance from the Oakwood Street. See the map for details).
Friday, August 17, 2007. Mike Simonsen (American Association of Variable Star Observers): “Variable Stars and The Stories They Tell.”
Friday, September 28, 2007. [Note, The date and location of this meeting has changed]. For this meeting we will piggyback on a talk by John Spencer (Southwest Research Institute): “Taking the Measure of our Solar System.” Unlike other Lowbrow meetings, it will not take place in the Dennison Building. It will be held in room 1800 Chemistry [click here for a map]. This talk is part of the Scales of the Universe lecture series and is hosted by the following units of the University of Michigan: the Department of Astronomy, the Exhibit Museum of Natural History, the Student Astronomical Society, and the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics. For more information see the Scales of the Universe web page.
Friday, October 19, 2007. Michael Foerster (NASA Ambassador, JPL): “To Infinity, and BEYOND! The Future of Exploring Space 50 Years after Sputnik.”
Friday, November 16, 2007. Mark Deprest and Doug Scobel (both from the University Lowbrow Astronomers): Okie-Tex Star Party Report.
Friday, December 14, 2007. Fred Adams (Physics Department, the University of Michigan): “Planets and Planet Formation.”

2008

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