The Galactic Center Group at UCLA has used the W. M. Keck Observatory for the past two decades to observe the center of the Milky Way at the highest angular resolution possible. This work established the existence of a supermassive black hole at the heart of our Galaxy. In this talk, Dr. Leo Meyer, Research Scientist for the UCLA Galactic Center Group, will focus on the black hole itself and the gas that it swallows. The feeding of the black hole is a turbulent process resulting in highly variable emission of infrared light. Observations of this variability provide a great way to learn about the black hole and its immediate environment.
Stars orbiting the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, credit: UCLA Zooming into the Center of our Galaxy Dr. Leo Meyer – UCLA
May 20, 2014
Show starts at 7 p.m.
Kahilu Theatre, Waimea
Over the next few days Venus will swing quite close to Uranus. Today the pair is separated by 2°48′. This will decrease to 1°15′ on the 15th for the closest approach.
Much like the Venus and Neptune pair we saw last month, the pair is quite a mismatch… Uranus is a mere 5.1 magnitude while Venus is a brilliant -4.0. There will be two 4th magnitude stars to the north of the pair, δPsc and εPsc, but these will be about 4° away from Venus and should be easy to distinguish. Look for Neptune betwixt Venus and the stars.
Tonight the planet Saturn will be quite close to the Moon. The pair will rise about 18:20 HST and be well up in the east in the late evening. Look for 0.1 magnitude object just north of the Moon, there are no nearby stars bright enough to confuse for the planet. The Moon is full at 09:16HST tomorrow, just short of full for tonight’s pairing.
Observers in the islands will see the Moon pass less than 1° south of the planet during the early morning hours of the 14th. Observers in the southern hemisphere will be able to view an occultation if at the correct latitude, check a planetarium program for the view from your location.
This is the seventh year I have travelled to Hilo to help out. The seventh year of watching students attempt a difficult mission of the bottom of a swimming pool. The 2014 MATE ROV Regional competition was held Saturday, May 11th at the Hilo High School pool.
The team from Kailua High School ready and test their ROV for a mission in the 2014 MATE Regional in HiloThe mission this year is to explore a Great lakes shipwreck. As usual the “shipwreck” is made of PVC pipe, shade cloth and other hardware store parts. By measuring the wreck and discovering various features the identity of the ship could be determined. The robots are also built with hardware store parts, most with frames of PVC pipe. Interestingly there was a notable presence of parts manufactured with laser cutters and 3D printing this year. It is great to see these technologies making their way into educational programs, giving students unprecedented power to design and create.
Students from Highlands Intermediate School run a mission in the poolSome teams did quite well. I was impressed by the professionalism and dedication it took to build and operate the ROV’s. Teams travelled from neighbor islands to compete in Hilo, raising the funds for plane tickets and to ship the ROV’s they had created. Besides the underwater activities the teams must also make presentations and supply technical reports that are also scored.
A scout class ROV getting ready for the waterIt takes a lot of work to properly judge the competition. I have noted that the rules and scoresheets just keep getting longer every year. I must tip my hat to the folks that make this competition happen every year, giving the kids a chance for invaluable experience.
Who won? Not really that important, even failure in the pool results in learning, even if the lessons are uncomfortable. The students will take that experience forward in life.
Tonight the Moon will be close to Mars. The pair will be obvious at sunset, having risen mid-afternoon. Look for the bright planet just 3° north of the Moon. Just a month after opposition the planet is still quite bright, shining at magnitude -0.9 and notably orange in color. The star Spica is about the same magnitude and visible 15° east of the Moon.
Today the planet Saturn will pass through opposition, directly opposite the Sun in our sky.
Saturn with Titan aboveSaturn orbits the Sun once every 29.45 years. As the ringed planet continues on its way the Earth swings around much faster on our inside track. As a result we lap Saturn once every 378.1 days, passing between the planet and the Sun. During opposition Saturn will be well placed for observation all night long, rising at sunset, transiting at midnight, and setting at sunrise.
