Dudley Observations

Volume 8, No 8 - October 2009

Greetings,

The Skywatch Lectures start tomorrow! In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the first talk, by astronomer and educator Eric Chaisson, will be free.

Come early, and have an astronomically-themed dinner, and then stop at our gift shop on the way into the theater. See you there!

Clear Skies,

Janie Schwab
Executive Director

October SkyWatch Lecture

Eric Chaisson "Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature"

October 13, 2009 at 7:30pm
GE Theater at Proctors

IYA2009 Special! Free tickets for this talk will be available at the door!

Using astronomical telescopes and biological microscopes, among a virtual arsenal of other tools of high technology, modern scientists are weaving a thread of understanding spanning the origin, existence, and destiny of all things. Now emerging is a unified scenario of the cosmos, including ourselves as sentient beings, based on the time-honored concept of change. From galaxies to snowflakes, from stars and planets to life itself, we are beginning to identify an underlying, ubiquitous pattern penetrating the fabric of all the natural sciences--a sweepingly encompassing view of the order and structure of every known class of object in our richly endowed Universe.

Eric J. Chaisson is an American astrophysicist and science educator best known for his research, teaching and writing on the interdisciplinary science of cosmic evolution. He is also noted for his original research on the interstellar clouds and emission nebulae of the Milky Way Galaxy, and for his leadership in improving science education nationally and internationally. Chaisson earned his PhD at Harvard University in 1972 and has since held appointments at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Johns Hopkins University, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. He is currently director of the Wright Center for Science Education at Tufts University.

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Astronomy Gastronomy

Two restaurants will be offering a $20.09 Prix Fixe dinner menu before each of the 2009 lectures. Thanks to Mazzone Management, the parent company, for arranging special astonomically themed menus on these evenings!

Angelo's Tavolo (the new restaurant at Glen Sanders Mansion )

Appetizer Outerspace "Pasta e Fagiole" with black beans and starlette pasta
Entrée "Tang"y Orange Chicken Breast, Roasted Fennel, Cous Cous
Dessert Chocolate Moon Pie with vanilla anglaise

Aperitivo

Appetizer Half Moon Dumplings: pork, shrimp & spicy yuzu sauce
Entrée Harvest Moon Ravioli: butternut squash, sage brown butter, roasted hazelnuts, pancetta
Starfruit Tuna: Ahi Tuna, blazing sun coconut curry sauce, grilled star fruit, sweet potato smashed
Dessert Milky Way Cake

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Upcoming...

Michael Turner - November 10, 2009
The Dark Side of the Universe: Beyond Stars and the Starstuff we are Made of

Owen Gingerich - December 8, 2009
Kepler, Galileo, and the Birth of Modern Astronomy

Clear Skies,
Janie Schwab