Lecture Series

CAS Advisor Prof. Phil Nicholson discusses the basic geometry and terminology of lunar and solar eclipses, how and why they are governed by the ancient "Saros cycle", the circumstances of the eclipse of April 8, and some of the ways in which eclipses have been used historically to teach us about solar physics and the history of the Earth–Moon system.

Astronomy graduate student Maura Lally discusses primary exoplanet exoplanet detection methods, including transits, radial velocities, and direct detections. Maura also details the atmospheres of transiting exoplanets.

Today, evidence of life can be seen all over the Earth, from the land and oceans to the atmosphere. These observations define what we look for when searching for life on other planets. But what about ancient life on Earth? Would the earlier life that roamed the Earth during the past 500 million years (from sponges to the first trees to dinosaurs) have been detectable to aliens from faraway exoplanets? How can we tell? And should we be looking for space-dinosaurs?
Our second lecture of the semester, hosted by Dr. Rebecca Payne, will discuss research on the biosignatures of life on the ancient Earth and the potential use of similar biosignatures for our own interstellar life-seeking purposes.

The Irving Porter Church 12-inch refracting telescope in Fuertes
Observatory has an objective lens designed, ground, and polished by the
Brashear Company of Pittsburgh in 1920. Its original glass disks came
as a gift from Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin. Based on an
assumption that its two lens elements are made of the same glasses that
are in the 40-inch Yerkes refractor, a provisional study has been made of
its optical properties. Charles Hastings of Yale was a long-term
designer for Brashear. Hastings personally made a 9.4-inch objective
for the Johns Hopkins University and published its complete
specifications in 1882; the Church objective may have been a direct
scale-up of the latter lens with minor adjustments. The talk will include
a historical discussion of lens designing and evaluation methods, using
two Hastings-designed objectives as examples.

Voyager 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 and completed a grand tour of the Solar System. About ten years ago, they left the magnetic influence of the Sun and are still returning data. Prof. Cordes will discuss what we are learning from this data and more!

As part of our “Voyager Spacecraft Week,” CAS joined Cornell Cinema in presenting Cosmos Episode 6: Traveler’s Tales. After the showing, Carl Sagan’s wife and co-producer Ann Druyan featured in a live Q&A with the audience. In addition to her work on Cosmos in 1980, Ann Druyan was the writer and producer for the two newer seasons of Cosmos (A Spacetime Odyssey in 2014 and Possible Worlds in 2020). She has written and co-written dozens of books, television shows, and movies, including six books with Carl Sagan and the film adaptation of Contact. She was also a member of the Voyager Golden Record team, which selected pictures, sounds, and music from Earth to cast out into space; her heartbeat and brain waves will roam the stars for millions of years.