Webinars

“Chandra and the Invisible Universe”

18 February 2024 (Sunday) , 9:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time (01:00 UTC), 17 February, 2024 8:00 pm EST

By Jonathan C. McDowell, PhD (Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Chandra X-ray Observatory)

Abstract: The famous Hubble Space Telescope takes the sharpest visible-light images, but only its X-ray telescope cousins can see the invisible, high-energy light that helps complete the cosmic story. The sharpest X-ray pictures of the cosmos come from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched in 1999 but still making discoveries today. Chandra’s X-ray camera can see erupting black holes, exploding stars and colliding galaxies — some of the most energetic events in space.

Jonathan McDowell will highlight Chandra’s discoveries and explain how it and other X-ray telescopes probe cosmic dramas, while infrared images unveil the cool, gentle process of star birth, and pictures taken with ordinary visible light give an overview of the everyday life of the galaxies. Combining all three views has been crucial to the astonishing discoveries astronomers have made in recent decades.

Jonathan McDowell is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a member of the Chandra X-Ray Center, which operates the Chandra X-ray Observatory spacecraft.

McDowell obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England, in 1987. After postdoctoral research at Jodrell Bank radio observatory in the U.K. and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, he has been at CfA since 1992.

McDowell studies quasars, galaxies and black holes as well as the effects of satellite constellations on astronomy. He is also the author of the internet newsletter Jonathan’s Space Report, which has been reporting on satellite and rocket launches since 1989.

In 1993, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 1933 OB as 4589 McDowell in his honor.

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link – 

http://tinyurl.com/578uff2d 

or by scanning the QR code below

or in the poster shown here using your cellphone camera. After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. Please feel free to share to your friends and relatives. Thank you. See you!

“The Search for Planet 9”
20 January 2024, 10:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time (02:00 UTC)
By Dr. Michael E. Brown (Professor of  Planetary Astronomy, Caltech)

In 2006, Pluto was demoted to a “dwarf planet”. Since then, a team of planetary scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has been searching for a hypothesized planet on the edge of the solar system. This is Planet Nine, and its search will be discussed by no other than Dr. Mike Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy at Caltech.

Dr. Michael E. Brown scans the skies searching for and intensely studying distant bodies in our solar system in the hope of gaining insight into how our planet and the planets around it came to be. In this quest, he has discovered dozens of dwarf planets (and demoted Pluto from planet to dwarf planet) and is currently hot on the trail of Planet Nine — a hypothesized body that is possibly the fifth largest planet of our solar system.
Dr. Brown has been on the faculty of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 1996 and has authored more than 150 scientific papers. He has also won many awards and honors, including the Urey Prize from the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Sciences, a Presidential Early Career Award, a Sloan Fellowship, and the 2012 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics. He was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2014.

Abstract: In the past 175 years, more than 30 separate astronomers have suggested the existence of a giant planet beyond Neptune. They have always been wrong. In 2016, Konstantin Batygin and I joined the list, suggesting that Planet Nine, at a distance perhaps 20 times greater than that of Neptune, is the only plausible explanation for a wide range of phenomena in the distant solar system. I’ll talk about why we think Planet Nine is real, how we are continuing to develop our hypothesis, and what we are doing to track down this elusive planet and when we might find it. Or why we, too, might be wrong.

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link –

bit.ly/3Sjw5V6

or by scanning the QR code below

using your cellphone camera. After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. See you! Please feel free to share to your friends and relatives!

“NASA’s Best Space Images for 2023 “
By Dr. Robert J. Nemiroff, APOD co-founder
17 December 2023 (Sunday), 10:00 am Philippine Standard Time
(16 December 2023, Saturday, 9:00 pm EST)

The year is about to end, and for all amateur astronomers and astrophotographers out there, we would like to invite you to an online talk on “NASA’s Best Space Images for 2023 ” by no other than the co-founder of APOD, Dr. Robert J. Nemiroff.

Dr. Robert J. Nemiroff will present some of the favorite images and videos from NASA’s highly popular science website, “Astronomy
Picture of the Day,” or APOD (https://apod.nasa.gov). He will discuss the science and the stories behind these images. The subjects include the distant universe, the Solar System, auroral displays from our increasingly active Sun, and much more.

Dr. Robert J. Nemiroff worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, before joining the Physics Department of Michigan Technological University. He received his Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Pennsylvania, and his main research interests include gamma-ray bursts, gravitational lensing and cosmology. In 1995, he co-created the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), which he continues to co-write and co-edit to this day. In 2023, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 2002 GB185 as 270558 Nemiroff in his honor.

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link – https://bit.ly/3Grlkcs

or by scanning the QR code below or in the poster shown here using your cellphone camera.

After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. See you! Please feel free to share to your friends and relatives.

The Night Sky Over America’s Beautiful National Parks

By Wally Pacholka (Landscape astrophotographer)

29 October 2023 (Sunday) at 10:00 am Philippine Standard Time

(28 October 2023, Saturday, 10:00 pm EDT)

This October 29, 2023 (Sunday), at 10:00 am, you are all invited to our 2023 ALP Astronomy Experts Speaker series online talk by the noted landscape astrophotographer, Mr. Wally Pacholka.

In this presentation, you will learn from an award-winning astrophotographer how to capture stunning landscape astrophotos that get published using simple equipment and technique.

Mr. Wally Pacholka is a  pioneer in the field of landscape astrophotography, and specializes in capturing National Park landscapes across the United States. His astrophotos have been published by NASA 47 times, National Geographic 29 times and TIME-LIFE 18 times, including four times as its Annual Picture of Year.

His work sells in more than 35 U.S. National Park gift shops and online at AstroPics.com. He currently has exhibits at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and the Natural History Museum in New York City.

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link

https://bit.ly/3QjKpf0 

or by scanning the QR code below

or in the poster shown here using your cellphone camera. After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. See you!

Feel free to share this wonderful webinar event to your friends and relatives.

“New Windows to the Sun”
Dr. Valentin Martinez Pillet
Solar Physicist and Director, U.S. National Solar Observatory Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.
September 17, 2023, Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time (September 16, 2023 Saturday, 10:00 p.m. EDT)

We are currently at solar maximum (solar cycle 25), or at a period of heightened solar activity, wherein our Sun exhibits a lot of visible sunspots, solar flares, prominences and geomagnetic storms.The Astronomical League of the Philippines is very happy and honored to present an online lecture by Dr. Valentin Martinez Pillet . on the topic – “New Windows to the Sun: The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope and Its Companions” this coming September 17, 2023, Sunday, at 10:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time.
Dr Valentin Martinez Pillet is a solar physicist and the current Director of the U.S. National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Boulder, Colorado.

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link –

https://bit.ly/3PAxQMh

or by scanning the QR code below using your cellphone camera.

After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. Feel free to invite your friends and relatives as well. Thank you!

“Searching for the Oldest Stars and Galaxies in the Universe”
By Hillary Diane Andales
Ph.D. Student in Astronomy & Astrophysics, The University of Chicago
Filipino Science Communicator

On August 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time (August 12, 2023 Saturday, 10:00 p.m. EDT), the Astronomical League of the Philippines would like to invite everyone to an online lecture by Ms. Hillary Diane Andales, a young and brilliant Filipina physicist who will talk on “Searching for the Oldest Stars and Galaxies in the Universe”.

Ms. Hillary Diane Andales studies the oldest stars and galaxies in the cosmos. A native of Abuyog near Tacloban, Leyte, and a graduate of Philippine Science High School – Eastern Visayas Campus, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) this year, and she will soon start her Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.
While at MIT, she received the Barrett Prize and the Chambliss Medal for her outstanding research on galactic archaeology. Eager to make the physics community more inclusive, she also served as President of the MIT Society of Physics Students. Outside of MIT, she is a dynamic and creative Filipino science communicator whose work has reached more than 8 million viewers worldwide. In 2017, she received $400,000 worth of prizes after winning the international competition, Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
(You can follow her work at https://hillaryandales.com/.)

Abstract:
What was the early universe like? This is the big question that stellar and galactic archaeologists seek to answer. Much like how archaeologists search for fossils to learn about the early Earth, we look for cosmic fossils, such as billions-of-years-old stars and galaxies, to learn about the early universe. Using the clues from these fossils, we can answer even more big questions: How do galaxies form? Where do heavy elements like gold come from? What is the nature of dark matter? The emerging fields of galactic and stellar archaeology might hold some clues!

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link –

https://bit.ly/3DycCHY

or by scanning the QR code below using your cellphone camera.

After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. Feel free to share to your friends and relatives. See you!

“Vesta and the Chaotic Formation of Planets”

A talk on falling stars, ” Meteorites in the Vatican”

Please join us this June 24, 2023 (Saturday) at 8:30 pm Philippine Standard Time (8:30 am EDT, 12:30 UTC) for an online talk on meteorites by Br. Robert Macke, S.J. , Curator of the Vatican Meteorite Collection.

Biography:

Brother Robert Macke S.J. is a research scientist and curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory. He received a bachelor of physics from MIT in 1996, then studied at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, to receive a Master of Arts in physics in 1999. He taught astronomy for two years at Bowling Green State University in Ohio before entering the Jesuit order in 2001. As a Jesuit brother, he received a Master of Arts in philosophy from St. Louis University in 2006, and after a year teaching astronomy at Rockhurst University began work toward a Ph.D. in physics (planetary science specialty) at the University of Central Florida, which he completed in 2010. From 2011-2013, he studied for a Master of Theological Studies at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and then joined the staff of the Vatican Observatory in 2013. He became the curator of the Vatican Meteorite Collection in 2013. To date, he has been involved in numerous research collaborations, including membership in the science teams of the Lucy and the OSIRIS-REx space probes, and has applied his research techniques to a large number of moon rocks from the Apollo missions. Outside of research, he makes YouTube videos both for the Vatican Observatory and for his own channel, “Macke MakerSpace.”

Abstract:

The Vatican Observatory is a research institution with a long and proud tradition in the astronomical sciences. The work of the observatory, done by Jesuit scientists, serves as a sign to the world of the compatibility of faith and science as well as the Catholic Church’s support of science. In addition to traditional astronomy, the Jesuits of the observatory also study theoretical physics, planetary science, and laboratory work with meteorites. The Vatican collection of over 1,200 meteorite specimens is housed at the Vatican Observatory. Research with the meteorites focuses primarily on physical properties: density, porosity, magnetic susceptibility, and thermal properties. These measurements are not limited to the Vatican collection; through international collaborations, we also study other collections. I will also speak a little bit about the application of my work to the OSIRIS-REx space mission and the specimens from the asteroid Bennu that it is delivering to the Earth.

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link –

https://bit.ly/3X3pXRm

or by scanning the QR code below  using your cellphone camera.

After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. See you!

“A Glimpse of Galaxies at the Dawn of the Universe”
by Debra M. Elmegreen, Ph.D. (President, International Astronomical Union)
May 20, 2023 (Saturday), 8:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (8:30 a.m. EDT)

Our home planet Earth resides in a spiral galaxy which is the Milky Way. Have you ever wondered what galaxies are, their structure, and how they are formed in the Universe? Please join us this May 20, 2023 (Saturday) at 8:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (8:30 a.m. EDT) for an online talk on ““A Glimpse of Galaxies at the Dawn of the Universe”, by no other than Dr. Debra M. Elmegreen, the current President of the. International Astronomical Union. Dr. Elmegreen’s talk will explore the composition and structure of galaxies across cosmic time, probing the evolution of galaxies as they grow and interact with one another.

Dr. Debra M. Elmegreen was the Professor of Astronomy on the Maria Mitchell Chair at Vassar College from 1994 to 2022, after joining the faculty in 1985. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University (the first female to major in astrophysics) and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University and was a Carnegie Observatories Postdoctoral Fellow (the firs Her research focuses on the structure and evolution of galaxies at optical, infrared and radio wavelengths. She enjoys observing with the Hubble Space Telescope and now, with the James Webb Space Telescope. Dr. Elmegreen is President of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) — the first U.S. female to hold this position in its 103-year history — and Past President of the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

Register now for this free Zoom online talk using this link –

https://bit.ly/3M0yr84

or by scanning the QR code in the poster or shown here

using your cellphone camera. After registration, check your registered e-mail for the Zoom meeting link. See you! Please feel free tobshare to your friends and relatives as well!