Drawing of Observatory
Seminar Group

Dr. Lewis Thomas invites everyone who is interested in lively discussion to join him and his Seminar Group as they delve into a wide range of topics at each meeting, ranging from mathematics to cosmology. Discussions, of course, are not limited to these topics. Come with your astronomical questions!

The following are suggested topics to be discussed at the AAI Seminars held every Friday night at the Alumni Conference Room (except main meeting nights). Discussions, of course, are not limited to these topics and the topics may be presented in any order. Come with your astronomical questions!

The group gathers at Sperry Observatory at 7:30PM every Friday night except on General Meeting nights. They then assemble on campus (usually in the Alumni Conference Room) where they can exchange ideas of universal proportions.

Some possible topics follow:
  • Do Kepler's Laws work for the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn?
  • How many years elapse between successive planetary line-ups?
  • How far away is the horizon?
  • Planets beyond Pluto.
  • Rotation of the Milky Way
  • Measuring the diameter of a lunar crater from Sperry Observatory
  • What is the Harvest Moon?
  • What is the Roche Limit and how does it effect planetary satellites?
  • How can we travel to the stars?
  • Defining celestial coordinates and explaining their use.
  • Measuring the speed of light: ancient and modern.
  • Ways to enhance your telecope viewing.
  • Star types
  • Why does the long hand method of square roots differ from your computer?
  • Determining what's inside a planet
  • Celesial coordinates and their use.
  • Determining position and elemens of earth satellites
  • To the edge of the universe
  • One down, two to go
  • Size of the universe
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Page last updated 08/08/2006